Trends

Marketing leaders say SEO isn’t going away. Instead, it’s evolving alongside AI search, creating new challenges in attribution, discovery, and content strategy.

In the print industry, e-commerce success hinges on connecting digital ordering with real-world production. Automation is replacing manual workflows and helping providers scale.

The Buy Now button is losing its luster. Shoppers are intentionally slowing down, stepping away from their screens, and heading back to physical stores.

AI-powered apps are driving higher conversions and revenue, but retention remains weak. High churn, shorter trials, and rising costs expose a gap between early excitement and lasting value.

AI-driven spam filters and rising buyer expectations are pushing marketers to abandon "spray and pray" email tactics in favor of hyper-personalized outreach that delivers more relevant, higher-engagement messaging.

As discovery commerce accelerates, customer support expectations are collapsing into real time. New research shows delayed responses drive abandoned purchases, lost trust, and missed revenue.

eBay is moving to curb agentic commerce, blocking autonomous AI checkout while allowing approved uses as it weighs marketplace fairness, pricing integrity, and operational risk.

U.S. e-commerce orders surged 147% in 2025, but growth was uneven as the top performers pulled ahead. Shoppers clicked less, yet spent more — rewarding brands that reacted faster.

Shorter B2B buying cycles are putting pressure on sales teams to respond quickly, revealing the growing gap between modern buying behavior and legacy RFP processes.

January, known in retail circles as Returnuary, is often the cruelest month for merchants, as post-holiday returns erode margins and strain reverse logistics.

As retailers enter 2026, unified platforms, agentic AI, and automation are changing e-commerce operations, affecting personalization, payments, fulfillment, and the cost of competing at global scale.

Retailers are bracing for a predicted post-holiday surge in returns as customer service teams and back-office operations face mounting pressure from fraud, refund abuse, and rising costs.

Agentic, intent-based commerce is beginning to bypass search and browsing altogether, introducing a new competitive challenge to Chinese retail models and traditional e-commerce funnels.

As prices rise and AI tools shape product discovery, consumers increasingly trust what they can verify — rich information, user experiences, and transparent feedback — rather than the logo on the box.