You’ve likely heard — and are probably getting tired of hearing — the buzz about how fast things are changing in eCommerce. But this isn’t just noise.
It’s worth repeating because even your best products or services might struggle to compete if your brand doesn’t adapt to these changes. Don’t get us wrong; we’re not saying you should chase every shiny new trend. Instead, zero in on what truly matters for your brand and customers.
It’s about understanding what’s next to help you make informed decisions about what fits your brand’s strategy and what doesn’t. This post explores eight eCommerce trends poised to shape 2025 and help you navigate what’s next.
1. Augmented Reality (AR) in Online Shopping
AR has come a long way since its days as the dominant technology in video games. In 2025, it will be among the top ad tech and eCommerce trends to watch.
Let’s explore the main areas in which eCommerce marketers will integrate AR the most:
Immersive Product Visualization
What better way for customers to interact with a product in a real-world environment before buying it than with augmented reality? AR allows customers to see and understand products better, making it easier to decide which is the right fit for them.
Dynata found that about 75% of shoppers curious about AR shopping say it could nudge them toward a purchase. Immersive product visualization provides personalized experiences, is convenient, and transforms shopping into an enjoyable and interactive activity. It also reduces return rates.
Take the BMW i Visualizer app, for example. It allows users to customize and interact with virtual models of BMW cars to learn the details — inside and out — of the vehicles they’re considering purchasing. Of course, it can’t compare to the real deal, but it’s much better than comparing photos from different angles.
AR was worth about $3.5 billion in 2017 and could reach over $198 billion by 2025. It’s clear that AR is taking off and improving customer satisfaction in a big way!
Virtual Try-Ons
Virtual try-ons let customers see how products, like clothes or accessories, would look on them using their phones or computers without actually trying them on.
Top brands like L’Oréal offer virtual try-on tools for makeup, including lipstick and foundation shades. Ray-Ban also provides a virtual try-on tool for customers to see how different pairs of glasses look on their faces.
The virtual try-on market is expected to grow from $5.85 billion in 2024 to about $7.05 billion in 2025, demonstrating the rapid growth of this technology.
2. Artificial Intelligence and Personalized Marketing
In 2024, the AI space has experienced unmatched development compared to previous years, and this is just the beginning. In fact, 78% of marketers will automate over a quarter of their marketing tasks in the next three years.
So, what 2025 top AI advertising trends are we talking about here?
Personalized Product Recommendations
In case you didn’t know, 81% of customers want personalized experiences. They want to feel your brand truly understands them and can match their interests and needs.
How do you do that?
Personalized product recommendations are a good place to start. And we’re not talking about adding customers’ names to product recommendation emails; that’s not nearly enough. We’re talking about using AI to analyze your customers’ shopping habits, preferences, and even real-time behavior to suggest products they’ll love.
It’s like ordering coffee online and getting a message that says, “Since you love Colombian beans, we think you’ll love this new dark roast blend.” Doesn’t that sound like your barista knows you personally, even if they’re a thousand miles away?
In 2025, AI will work fast, learning what your customers like, getting smarter with every interaction, and making the online shopping experience seamless and tailored for each customer.
AI Agents: Customer Interaction Automation
No one likes contacting customer support and hearing the annoying on-hold tone, beep, or sometimes total silence. In 2025, AI will make that all obsolete.
A Forbes Advisor survey found that 56% of marketers plan to automate and improve customer service using AI-powered agents like chatbots in several ways, including:
- Provide 24/7 assistance
- Respond instantly to common questions
- Use a customer’s data to give tailored solutions
- Handle multiple customers at once, so no long queues
- Transfer the customer to a human agent with all the details ready (if necessary)
- Chat in multiple languages, making help accessible to more people
- Provide real-time updates on shipping and delivery
- Collect feedback after chats to improve services
- Reduce the need for extra staff while keeping support quality high
3. The Expansion of Social Commerce
These days, social media is no longer primarily about meeting friends and forming social groups. With social commerce, social media has been converted into eCommerce pipelines, allowing people to buy products easily via their favorite social platforms.
Social commerce will continue to thrive in 2025, with global sales expected to hit $1.2 trillion. Let’s look at the leading trends shaping social commerce in 2025.
Influencer Marketing Expansion
Brands are working overtime to reach more customers and will use influencers to go into overdrive in 2025. The global influencer marketing industry was valued at $19.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $22.2 billion in 2025, showing a steady increase.
Brands will spend more money to reach audiences through influencers, giving rise to the following trends:
- More LinkedIn influencers
- Rise of micro-influencers who have smaller (10,000 – 100,000 followers) but highly engaged audiences
- Deinfluencing, where influencers advise against unnecessary purchases
- B2B (business-to-business) influencer marketing
- Gen Z influencers, with their unique preferences and behaviors
In the U.S., brands spent $8.14 billion on influencer marketing in 2024, according to an EMARKETER report. The same report also predicts that U.S. brands will spend $9.29 billion in 2025.
Engagement Through Live Shopping
Live shopping is booming and is poised to become an even bigger deal in 2025. People love watching live streams on social media where they can see their favorite products and services in action and ask questions.
According to Coresight Research and Bambuser, live shopping will generate $68 billion by 2026, making up over 5% of total eCommerce sales in the U.S. And in China, live shopping is expected to generate around $952 billion in 2025, up from $802 billion in 2024.
Live shopping is a fun way to shop and get a real-time experience.
4. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices
A PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey shows that 85% of consumers feel the impact of climate change and are now prioritizing sustainable products. As one of the leading eCommerce trends in 2025, the following sustainability and eco-friendly practices will emerge:
Eco-Friendly Product Offerings
Eco-friendly product offerings are expected to dominate the eCommerce landscape in 2025 in several areas, including:
- Biodegradable packaging, like Polylactic Acid (PLA) plastics and starch-based bioplastics
- Reusable materials like stainless steel water bottles, natural beeswax food wraps, and organic cotton tote bags
- Products made from recycled or sustainable sources
- Portable solar kits
- Plant-based cleaning products
- Energy-efficient lighting
Adopting eco-friendly product offerings reduces your company’s environmental impact and appeals to eco-conscious consumers.
Transparent Supply Chains
Where and how do you source the raw materials for your products?
What are the working conditions and ethical practices in your supply chain?
What measures have you implemented to ensure your suppliers follow environmental and social standards?
These are some questions to expect from consumers in 2025 as they demand greater visibility into your supply chain. They want to feel confident that brands are making their favorite products ethically, making this a way to build trust and loyalty. And according to Salsify, 87% of consumers will pay a premium for products if they trust your brand.
If you want to stay competitive in 2025, sharing detailed information about your production process could help.
5. Demand for Seamless Payment Options
According to the Baymard Institute, 2024 saw a 70.19% cart abandonment rate. Of these, 13% were due to insufficient and complicated payment options. When customers shop, they don’t have time to hunt for their credit cards and risk missing out on offers.
That’s why the following are leading eCommerce trends to watch in 2025 when it comes to seamless payment options:
Digital Wallets and Cryptocurrencies
Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal will offer consumers unmatched convenience in 2025.
According to FinTech Magazine, by 2025, digital wallet payments will account for over 50% of eCommerce transactions, up from 40% in 2021.
Cryptocurrencies are also on the rise, with the share of crypto eCommerce payments increasing by a compounded annual growth rate of 17% from 0.15% in 2022 to 0.19% by 2026.
The future is sleek, secure, and as simple as a tap on your screen.
Flexible Checkout Processes
Among the top reasons for cart abandonment is — you guessed it — an overly complicated checkout process.
Customers loathe experiencing checkout delays because there are too many steps, their preferred payment method is unavailable, or they’re forced to create an account. These situations are frustrating, and many customers abandon their carts without a second thought.
That’s why a flexible checkout process will be crucial in 2025 to reduce friction and cart abandonment. So, how exactly do you achieve this?
- Offer multiple payment options.
- Allow purchases without mandatory account creation.
- Integrate autofill features in forms.
- Display a progress bar or step indicators to let customers know where they are in the checkout process.
- Provide transparent pricing, a mobile-friendly checkout process, and clear shipping information.
Remember, the smoother the checkout, the happier the customer — and the less likely they are to abandon their cart.
6. Enhancing Customer Experience
Improved customer experience is among the top eCommerce trends in 2025, and for good reason. Delivering a top-notch customer experience is essential for standing out, building loyalty, and driving growth.
Here’s how to achieve this:
Customer Feedback Integration
Suppose you buy something online, and the next day, you get a friendly email asking how the purchase went. You’ll be inclined to answer truthfully when asked a direct question, right? The same is true for your customers.
They want that chance to be blunt, and like you, they also want to be heard and valued. That’s the kind of personal touch that builds loyalty.
Here are just some of the ways you can solicit customer feedback In 2025:
- Social media surveys and contests
- A link to a feedback form on order confirmation pages
- Invites to live chats on social media channels
You might also consider offering rewards for feedback.
Once you have customer feedback, it’s time to take action. Listening to your customers and improving your offerings based on their suggestions will create a more satisfying shopping experience in 2025.
Building Trust Through Transparency
Transparency is the cornerstone of eCommerce. In 2025, customers will demand full transparency about where products come from, how they’re made, and how their data is used.
The more open you are about your processes and policies, the more hearts you stand to win in 2025. According to Marigold Engage, 65% of customers have no problem paying more for products from transparent brands that work to earn customer loyalty.
7. Mobile Commerce Dominating Sales
Mobile devices are everywhere nowadays; kids on playgrounds, adults in coffee shops, and even people crossing the street have their necks bent and eyes glued to their screens.
It shouldn’t be shocking, then, that mobile commerce dominating sales is among the leading eCommerce trends for 2025.
By Q3 2024, smartphones drove 77% of global retail traffic and 68% of online sales. Furthermore, global mobile commerce projections are expected to hit $2.51 trillion in 2025.
The reason?
Mobile apps are making shopping easier, faster, and more fun. In 2025, over 70% of online shoppers will choose apps over websites, thanks to features like personalized shopping experiences and one-click checkout. Not to mention, social media platforms help make online shopping feel more interactive.
Customers are also spoilt for choice with payment options like crypto, digital wallets, mobile money, and contactless payments. As discussed earlier, these help customers complete their purchases quickly and conveniently without the hassle of adding their payment details.
The mobile phone is the future. Sounds cliche, we know, but brands that focus on the mobile shopping experience are winning over customers.
8. Convergence of Performance Marketing and Brand-Building
Performance marketing drives conversions and measurable return on investment (ROI), while brand-building fosters the emotional connection that brings customers back.
In 2025, you’ll need to balance these two elements using data-driven insights while telling an engaging brand story. This balance ensures that the customer journey is as much about connecting to your brand as buying your offerings.
Done right, this combo creates a strong brand presence that delivers short-term sales and long-term loyalty.
How Should Marketers Approach eCommerce Trends in Q1?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. However, a great place to start is:
- Look at how your brand did in 2024 — what worked and what didn’t?
- Set clear goals for the next few months, like boosting sales or getting more customer engagement.
- Plan your marketing early, matching it with holidays and events that matter.
- Keep your site easy to use on mobile.
- Listen to customer feedback and use it to improve your offerings.
- Stay flexible and try new tech like AI or AR to keep the shopping experience fresh.
- Be open and personal with your customers.
2025 eCommerce Trends FAQs
What is the future of eCommerce in 2025?
Experts expect eCommerce to hit $4.8 trillion In 2025. As you can see, the future of eCommerce is brighter than ever!
What is the next big thing in eCommerce?
There are several ‘next big things’ in eCommerce in 2025. However, the two with the most significant impact are augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI), which provide unique online shopping experiences.
What category sells the most online?
Consumer electronics and apparel sell the most online.
Prepare for the Future of eCommerce With AUDIENCEX
Ready or not, these eCommerce trends are coming in 2025. And while there’s nothing anyone can do to change that, there are things you can do to prepare for them that will benefit your brand and customers. First and foremost, consider partnering with an eCommerce marketing company that understands these changes and can help you take advantage of them.
At AUDIENCEX, we’ve seen our fair share of eCommerce trends over the years. Our unmatched experience drives us to develop solutions that give your brand the best chance for success in an ever-changing eCommerce landscape.
Contact us today and discover how we can help your brand weather and benefit from the coming changes.