Personalization
Personalization is central to ecommerce, but few get it right; heavy-handed marketing erodes trust. Future Shopper research shows that guided offers and contextual recommendations elevate personalized shopping and overall experience.
The Future Shopper 2025: Key trends shaping e-commerce
The definitive report on e-commerce trends, consumer behavior shifts, AI-driven shopping, omnichannel, marketplaces, personalization, and sustainability.
Download VML's "The Future Shopper 2025" report
The Future Shopper 2025 - Introduction
For the 9th consecutive year, VML presents The Future Shopper report, drawing insights from 25,000+ shoppers across 16 countries. This comprehensive report offers a clear view into the evolving landscape of online shopping, detailing current trends, shifting spending habits, and what to anticipate as physical and digital commerce converges.
Amid a backdrop of economic, political, and tech challenges, consumers are adopting a more balanced approach across channels, becoming familiar with AI, continuing to value physical shopping experiences, yet still demanding more, faster, and better across mobile, search, personalization, and delivery experiences.
We also take a deeper dive into specific trends inspired by our research. Scroll down to see our Future Shopper Deep Dives.
In The Future Shopper 2025 report, get VML’s insights on:
The Future Shopper Deep Dives:
New Tech, UI & Blurred Reality
From voice AI to virtual worlds, shoppers are blurring the lines between digital and physical life.
Physical Retail
Shoppers are returning for instant gratification and sensory experiences but crowds and queues hold them back.
Essential Insights: Answers to the Big Questions On E‑Commerce
From The Future Shopper 2025 and further leading research, several macro-trends are shaping the next phase of e‑commerce:
- Omnichannel dominance – Shoppers increasingly blend online and offline journeys, with many using multiple touchpoints before purchase. The “channel” matters less than the experience.
- Marketplace centrality – Marketplaces remain the top destination for product search and purchase, but brand-owned channels are regaining traction through improved experiences and loyalty programs.
- AI‑driven personalization – AI is moving from novelty to necessity, powering product recommendations, predictive fulfillment, and hyper-relevant content.
- “Compressed commerce” – Inspiration-to-purchase cycles are shortening as AI, social commerce, and shoppable media remove decision-making steps.
- Frictionless payments & checkout – Growth in one-click checkout, digital wallets, and BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) options is reducing abandonment rates.
- Regulatory readiness – Data privacy, sustainability reporting, and product traceability rules will shape how brands operate.
- Sustainability integration – Secondhand clothing is on track to take 10% of global fashion sales with consumers wanting to purchase more and more second-hand products.
- The Future Shopper 2025 confirms that online retail continues to grow globally, with over half of all shopping journeys now starting online. The full report presents more detail on growth areas.
- Global retail e‑commerce sales are projected to reach $6.9 trillion in 2024 and $8.1 trillion by 2026, up from $5.8 trillion in 2023 (Statista, 2024).
- Growth is strongest in emerging markets (Southeast Asia, India, LATAM) due to mobile-first adoption and expanding logistics networks.
The outlook is strong but competitive:
- E‑commerce will continue to outpace brick-and-mortar growth, but margin pressure will increase due to logistics costs, returns, and price competition.
- AI, automation, and predictive analytics will drive operational efficiency and personalization at scale.
- Social commerce and live shopping will expand, especially in Asia-Pacific, influencing Western markets.
- Direct-to-consumer (D2C/DTC) models will evolve toward community-based commerce and membership ecosystems.
- Sustainability will shift from “differentiator” to baseline expectation, with regulatory compliance becoming a key competitive advantage.
Consumer shopping habits are set to become more deliberate, data-driven, and AI-assisted. Economic uncertainty is making shoppers more value-conscious and research-oriented, but they will also expect faster, more intuitive experiences.
Channel fluidity will define the customer journey — shoppers will move seamlessly between online, mobile, and in-store touchpoints, expecting the same level of personalization and service everywhere.
Marketplace diversification will continue, with global giants like Amazon and Alibaba dominating mass retail, while niche and vertical marketplaces grow by offering curated, specialist experiences.
Agentic AI — will play a transformative role. These AI systems will not just recommend products but act on behalf of the shopper, automating discovery, comparison, and even purchasing based on predefined preferences, budgets, and ethical considerations. This will shift some decision-making power from consumers to their AI “shopping agents,” compressing the buying journey and changing how brands compete for attention.
Personalization as standard will become the norm, with AI delivering tailored recommendations, dynamic pricing, and adaptive content automatically.
Faster fulfillment will remain a competitive battleground, with same-day and next-day delivery becoming table stakes in many markets, supported by micro-fulfillment centers and local inventory hubs.
Rise of resale and recommerce will accelerate, driven by both sustainability and affordability, making second-hand and refurbished goods mainstream.
