As we approach the halfway point for 2025 it’s time to look ahead to next year and what that is likely to bring in terms of ecommerce evolution. In 2025 online trading transformed at an astonishing rate with many businesses trying to adapt to changing consumer behaviours, technological innovations, and market conditions. So, as soon as next year, the industry is expected to look markedly different from today. I’ve picked out 10 examples of what will be gobbling up the headlines over the next 18 months.
1. AI-Based personalisation will become the norm
By 2026, artificial intelligence will be underpinning ever more of the ecommerce customer experience. This will range from dynamic content recommendations to predictive analytic tools, and AI will offer highly personalised interactions with users. Machine learning algorithms will take into account contextual data such as the weather or the time of the day to tailor experiences when interacting with us. And of course, Agentic AI will be everywhere as it continues to grow rapidly.
2. Social Commerce will hit its stride
Social Commerce has had so many false dawns over the past decade or more, but things have really changed, and it is set to be a truly dominant channel, especially on platforms where it’s seeing real growth such as TikTok and Instagram (and increasingly YouTube). Consumers will increasingly discover, source, and purchase products without even leaving the app. This is likely to be highly disruptive to many leading platforms.
3. Zero- and first-party data will replace cookies
With the phase-out of third-party cookies, merchants will rely more and more on zero- and first-party data to receive insights and learnings. Loyalty programmes and quizzes will become signally more common data collection methods.
4. Voice and Conversational Commerce will mature
Voice commerce is another area full of expectation but that has yet to really take off. However, I think it will continue to evolve with smarter Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI assistants. This means it will be more intuitive to use voice to reorder, ask questions and complete checkouts.
5. Sustainable ecommerce will be non-negotiable
Despite contrary headwinds from the US, environmental concerns here in the UK will continue to push green logistics, carbon-neutral shipping and sustainable packaging to the top of the agenda.
6. Hybrid retail (Phygital) will see increased growth
The restructuring of how shoppers buy will continue to transmogrify before our very eyes. The rate at which retailers will use digital tools in-store (like Augmented Reality and mobile POS) will accelerate as will the promotion click-and-collect to create genuinely joined-up shopping journeys.
7. Subscriptions will surge
Customisable subscription and the utilisation of auto-replenishment powered by AI will become mainstream, especially across pet care, groceries, and health sectors. The Business to Business (B2B) sector, which has hitherto seen low uptake of subscription, will also see significant pick up in this area, again frequently driven by AI models.
8. Buy Now, Pay Later will be regulated
Now in the process of being regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), BNPL will remain a popular payment method. There are ethical considerations around this (debt accumulation is a very real problem) but transparency will certainly boost user trust and adoption in 2026.
9. “Hyperlocal” delivery will increase market share
Fast, sustainable delivery via local hubs and multiple micro-warehouses will see increased growth in 2026, especially in sectors such as fast fashion and groceries according to recent trends.
10. B2B will be behind significant ecommerce growth
B2B ecommerce remains the biggest area of growth. In an environment where replatforming is less and less frequent, green and brownfield ecommerce builds are far more common in B2B than the B2B space currently. New and innovative technology is emerging from this sector (rather than simply B2C innovations being adopted). Unlikely to change anytime soon.
