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Home / eCommerce Trends in 2025: Are You Missing Out?
The pace of change in eCommerce right now is nothing short of relentless. The industry has always been quick to jump on the latest tech and emerging trends, but right now, it feels like things are moving more quickly than they ever have.
Why is this? Well, the rise of generative AI certainly has a part to play. Because of how quickly it burst onto the scene and how capable it was from the outset, people have started searching and shopping differently. Their expectations have heightened. At this point, a swift, frictionless experience isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a vital foundation that any eCommerce brand needs in order to succeed.
So, that’s where we are right now – but what’s next? Predicting the future is always a tricky task, but there are already some trends beginning to emerge that we think you should keep an eye on. Here are 10 of the biggest trends in eCommerce right now – and what they might mean for your brand and the industry as a whole.
We’re all familiar with TV shopping channels like QVC. But let’s be honest, their customer base isn’t getting any younger. Younger people don’t really watch TV any more – they watch Netflix or spend time on socials.
The concept of TV shopping, however, is a sound one. And it’s now thriving in a whole new format on apps like TikTok and Instagram. Live social media shopping offers a more interactive, involving and personalised shopping experience than TV shopping ever did, and it’s perfectly-placed to win over Gen Z shoppers. Expect it to continue growing.
The starting point for most online shopping sessions is a search engine. But thanks to the launch of Amazon’s Rufus AI, that might be about to change.
Rufus aims to cut search engines out of the equation altogether, acting as your personal guide to the countless brands, products and variations the eCom giant has to offer. Instead of having to scroll through the SERPs and study reviews yourself, Rufus handles the process for you. That’s the idea, anyway.
The idea of an on-site chatbot that can handle virtually every stage of the customer journey is huge. And because it has Amazon’s backing, we’re pretty confident it’ll take off.
We don’t just mean addressing customers by their first name in your marketing emails. We mean offering them a truly tailored experience, sending them product recommendations and special offers that are based on their own individual preferences and requirements.
Personalisation in eCommerce is nothing new, but its importance continues to grow. If you want to set your brand apart and build customer loyalty, collecting and managing data effectively – and using it to personalise the experience – is more crucial than it’s ever been.
Back to AI again. Sorry!
We’re increasingly seeing large eCom stores mould their on-site AI chatbots to make them more personable and more ‘human’ – and as they get smarter, they get closer and closer to delivering an experience that resembles a personal shopper. AI like Rufus can answer specific questions about specific products in seconds, and even offer updates on orders.
The result is a totally new shopping experience that guides the user from awareness to conversion without giving them the hard sell. If that’s not a game-changer, we don’t know what is.
As we already touched on earlier with the rise of TikTok live shopping, social media and eCommerce are becoming more closely linked with each passing year.
Now we’re midway through the decade, it’s clear that this trend is set to continue. More and more buyer journeys are starting on social media – thanks to influencers – and more of them are ending there too, thanks to livestream shopping and in-app stores.
Gen Z shoppers are starting to earn more money and they’re eager to spend it – but up to 70% of them will pay more for a product that’s been created sustainably and responsibly.
The word ‘premium’ means different things to different people, but for many younger buyers, premium and sustainable are inextricably linked. If you want customers to buy your products as opposed to a cheaper alternative, you’ve got to take sustainability seriously and shout about it.
If you don’t have something like Klarna or PayPal Pay in 3 on your site, chances are you’re going to be losing out on customers. There’s no point getting a customer right the way through to the checkout stage only to then lose them to a competitor, just because you don’t offer a flexible payment option. Nowadays, it’s an expectation – and if you don’t get onboard soon, you’ll get left behind.
Augmented reality, or AR for short, allows shoppers to imagine what a product would look like in their home. Some clothing brands even allow you to ‘try on’ clothes and shoes virtually, giving you a slice of the high street experience but without any of the downsides. We’re confident that AR will continue to gain popularity, especially because the tech is improving month by month.
Subscriptions and loyalty schemes are everywhere right now, and they’re not going away. You can get a subscription for practically anything at this point – even Amazon allows you to ‘subscribe and save’ by signing up to receive products on a regular basis, preventing you from running out of things like toothpaste, facial cleansers or household cleaning products. Our advice? If you can implement some kind of subscription or loyalty programme on your site, do it.
The way you promote a product and communicate its USPs to customers is always going to be vital. We’re not diminishing the value of well-written, on-brand content or glossy promo videos here.
What we are saying is that user-generated content (UGC) is fast-becoming as important as traditional promotional content. Words and videos from reviewers and influencers can now carry just as much weight as those from your own brand, so it’s important to embrace them and use them to your advantage.
That’s where we can help. With more than 25 years of eCommerce experience (and counting), Brave is an eCommerce marketing agency here to help you navigate emerging trends and make sure your brand keeps pace. Discover more about our range of digital marketing services today, or request a free audit to get started.
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