E-commerce Technology Opportunities

5 international e-commerce shifts businesses should be acting on now: March 2026 Most businesses are still building their digital presence for human buyers. That's already the wrong strategy. I've spent the last month deep in the trends shaping global digital commerce so far in 2026. Here are the five things internationally ambitious businesses need to act on right now. ➡️ Agentic commerce is here AI is moving from supporting e-commerce to actively buying and selling. Platforms like Shopify are opening up product catalogues directly to AI agents across borders, around the clock. Takeaway: You are no longer just selling to people. Your products need to be discoverable and purchasable by AI systems, so you don’t become invisible to a growing share of global shoppers. Act now: Make sure your product data and content are structured and machine-readable. ➡️ European marketplaces are consolidating The ‘list everywhere’ approach is losing effectiveness. Local platforms remain strong and competition is intensifying, with new entrants like JD.com now live across six European countries. Not all current players will survive. Takeaway: Growth in Europe will come from focus, not spread. Act now: Bet on the marketplaces that will still be relevant in the next five years in an AI-driven future. ➡️ New trade corridors are opening up The UK–Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP) is one powerful example of targeting £8 billion in bilateral trade, removing barriers across tech, fintech and the creative economy. Takeaway: The next growth opportunities are not always in traditional markets. Act now: Track where trade barriers are being reduced and position early. ➡️ The AI agent era is replacing the metaverse Meta has pivoted from Horizon Worlds to acquiring an AI agent social network, Moltbook. Amazon's Alexa has had a major AI upgrade in the UK. Takeaway: The infrastructure for the next era of commerce is being built right now. Act now: Prioritise AI-native and conversational experiences in your digital growth roadmap. ➡️ A new generation of digital talent is coming New qualifications like Digital V-levels signal a shift towards more practical, job-ready digital skills in the UK from 2027. Takeaway: Digital and AI capability remains a competitive advantage. Act now: Build a hiring pipeline for the skills your business will need over the next 3 to 5 years. Taken together, these shifts point to a clear direction. International growth is becoming more AI-driven, more localised and more capability-led. The opportunity is significant and will favour those who move early. Which of these shifts are you seeing in your markets right now? Drop a comment below - I'd love to hear what you're seeing. ⬇️

🛒 The future of shopping is here 🤖 Tech giants have taken the lead with a range of autonomous (and agentic, in the case of OpenAI’s 'Operator' & Perplexity's 'Buy with Pro') shopping tools. At the same time, payment behemoths Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are all developing solutions to enable agentic payments. To keep up, retail leaders are building out the foundational layer for autonomous commerce, integrating AI technology into everything from search and personalization to supply chain automation. To my knowledge, only Amazon have launched an autonomous shopping agent - it's 'Buy For Me' solution - that can make purchases on behalf of a customer. But retailers are actively investing in AI with the aim of maintaining control of the customer experience, first-party customer data, and pace of innovation in the longer term. CB Insights examined the top 20 global retailers by market cap and ranked them based on their current AI capabilities to gauge their preparedness to evolve with the rapidly changing AI landscape. They used data on investments, acquisitions, partnerships, patents, and earnings transcripts to determine the companies’ AI activity. Key Takeaways: 🛒 Amazon and Alibaba Group have launched AI shopping solutions, but both retailers’ real advantages lie deeper - they’ve built AI infrastructure from custom AI chips (Amazon) to proprietary LLMs (both retailers) 🛒 Relationships with AI leaders and big tech companies will be crucial - external partnerships and infrastructure will be essential for most retailers to effectively integrate AI throughout their operations 🛒 Agentic commerce remains further on the horizon - with ChatGPT, Perplexity & Google taking the lead - but retailers are investing in AI to streamline operations, especially in merchandising 🛒 Investments in AI business: Amazon (53), Alibaba.com (28), The Home Depot (3), Coupang (2), Inditex (2), JD.COM (2), Seven & i Holdings (2) & Walmart (2) AI solutions for merchandising are becoming table stakes, delivering more personalized and effective genAI e-commerce search. GenAI is also powering online content generation across retailers. Retailers’ merchant teams are also using specialized genAI tools and assistants to quickly translate data and trends to inform product decisions. Notably, AI-powered tools are not limited to digital or online use. For example, 7-Eleven is partnering with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Solutions to track customer activity in aisles using vision detection. Home Depot, Target, Walmart, and others have also deployed specialized genAI assistants and agents to provide store associates with quick answers to customer questions. Agents’ entry into shopping could turn the traditional customer journey on its head - to stay competitive, retailers must quickly build partnerships with big tech and other agent leaders or risk consumers excluding them from their buying decisions. #AI #agenticshopping #AIagents #ecommerce #retail #merchandising

E-commerce platforms are about to double in size. And most brands are still stuck on outdated tech. The global market for e-commerce platforms is set to hit $16.5 billion by 2030, up from $9.1 billion today. Why? Because the rules are changing fast, and only agile sellers will keep up. 🧩 Composable is no longer optional APIs, modular stacks, and AI-native storefronts are becoming the norm. Monoliths are melting. 📱 Asia-Pacific is on fire Smartphone-first markets like India and Indonesia are pushing 14% CAGR, with low-code tools unlocking millions of new sellers. 📦 B2B is the real growth engine The fastest-growing slice isn’t fashion or DTC… it’s distributors and manufacturers digitising their wholesale ops. 🧠 AI is no longer a buzzword It’s writing your product copy, forecasting your bundles, and answering your support chats at 3 a.m. 💸 Cross-border + BNPL = big baskets Easier checkouts, broader reach. Your best customer might be three countries away. Meanwhile, the top dogs like Shopify, Adobe, and Salesforce are getting squeezed by regional challengers like VTEX, Nuvemshop, and Shopware – fast, local, and API-obsessed. 👉 If your platform still can’t handle multiple currencies, dynamic pricing, or TikTok Shop integration… it’s not 2025-ready. The e-commerce engine is being rebuilt mid-race. Time to ask: is your tech stack pushing you forward, or slowing you down? #ecommerce #marketplaces #b2bcommerce #shopify #digitalcommerce #platformeconomy #ecommercetech #marketplacestrategy #vtex #composabledx

“What are the main opportunities for the retail sector at the moment?” It was a question posed to me at a recent event that took me a while to organise my thoughts. There’s no escaping the fact that it’s a tough market. It’s the consistent feedback I get from our clients and others I’ve spoken to across the sector. Whether it’s changing consumer habits, Gen AI, or squeezed margins, for many businesses, it’s about trying to maintain a competitive advantage. Increasingly, competitive advantage is going to be secured by tech sophistication and leadership while keeping the customer at the heart of the business. Looking for new market opportunities, perhaps through social commerce, LLM platforms, or international expansion through marketplaces - new routes to market and partnerships will be critical. Over the past decade, new business models and operating structures have emerged around increasingly advanced digital stacks. But technology alone won’t deliver a competitive advantage. But there are three main areas where I see retailers winning. Strategy and leadership ➡️ Executive Focus: Depth and distribution of digital and tech-related roles across the business ➡️ Strategic Focus: Strength and breadth of digital ambition ➡️ Partnerships and investment: Breadth of digital investment signals and commitment to innovation Tech and infrastructure ➡️ Tech stack sophistication: Quality of the retailer’s digital technology stack ➡️ Fulfilment capabilities: Range and quality of delivery and returns options ➡️ Payment flexibility: Convenience and credibility of payment infrastructure Customer Centric Commerce ➡️ Digital experience: Use of visible digital tools that enhance product discovery, service, and confidence ➡️ Mobile maturity: Readiness for mobile-first shopping across app, mobile site, and traffic share ➡️ Visibility & online reach: How easily the retailer can be discovered via search, AI and social platforms In our research with Zühlke Group, we developed an index which draws on 30 distinct metrics and over 3,000 data points across 100 leading European retailers. It represents a broad mix of regions, sectors and business models. By combining strategic disclosures, independent intelligence on technology and performance, and hands-on audits of customer-facing capabilities, we have built a rounded, objective view of digital maturity. The leaders are consistently high across all three pillars, with strong leadership alignment, well-developed operational capabilities, and seamless customer experiences. Retail brands like IKEA, Tesco, Next, Zalando, Allegro, Inditex and others. I'll be discussing these themes alongside Zühlke Group’s David Elliman FRSA FBCS and Laurence Smith in a webinar that will explore this research in much more detail. Please join us to hear more. 📅 25 March at 10am-11am (GMT) Sign up here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/esjcUPwQ

Imagine snapping a photo of a jacket you love, asking your phone where to buy it, and getting instant results. No typing, no scrolling—just seamless shopping. This “shopping nirvana” is becoming a reality as image recognition, voice search, and AI-powered natural language understanding converge: ● Visual search. Snap a photo, find similar products instantly. Example: Syte and ViSenze enable retailers to power visual search in e-commerce ● Voice shopping. Say what you need, and AI finds the perfect match. Example: Walmart and Amazon are refining voice-assisted shopping ● AI-powered recommendations. Ask an AI assistant what to wear to a wedding, and it builds an outfit for you. Example: Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses analyze real-world objects and suggest purchases ● Real-time translation & personalized search. Speak in any language, and AI ensures results match your needs. Example: Google Lens translates product descriptions instantly For #ecommerce and retail, this means fewer barriers, better personalization, and faster conversions. Shoppers get what they want, how they want, instantly. [Insights from Coresight Research] How do you see these innovations shaping online and in-store shopping? Let’s discuss! #shopify

Africa's e-commerce market: explosive growth ahead Africa's e-commerce sector is on the verge of a massive leap forward. From $7.7 billion in 2017 to an estimated $46.1 billion by 2025, the market is expected to skyrocket to $113 billion by 2029, with 518 million online users projected by 2025. Key drivers of growth: - Mobile commerce dominance: By 2025, 60% of all e-commerce transactions will come via mobile devices. The region's young, tech-savvy population is embracing mobile-first solutions. - Digital payment innovations: Embedded finance options like digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later are improving accessibility and security. - The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat effect: The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is creating a unified digital market, simplifying customs, reducing tariffs, and enabling cross-border e-commerce. Leading markets: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt are at the forefront. These nations benefit from: - High internet penetration. - Growing urban populations. - Widespread mobile device adoption. - Advanced payment systems. The big players: Platforms like Jumia Group, Konga Group, and takealot.com are shaping the e-commerce ecosystem: - Jumia operates in 11 countries with a robust logistics network. - Konga leverages data analytics and offers flexible payment options. - Takealot dominates South Africa with fast delivery and eco-conscious practices. Challenges to overcome: Despite rapid growth, Africa’s e-commerce sector still faces hurdles like limited banking access, cross-border regulations, and infrastructure gaps. Payment processing and logistics remain key areas for innovation. To thrive, businesses must adopt mobile-first strategies, focus on solving logistical challenges, and leverage regional trends. The African e-commerce market is evolving rapidly, offering unparalleled opportunities for growth. #ecommerce #africa #digitalmarketplace #fmcg #mobilecommerce #afcfta #logistics #startups #jumia #konga #takealot #southafrica #nigeria #kenya #egypt #africaneconomy #digitalpayments #crossborderecommerce #retail #onlinetrading #emergingmarkets #mobilepayments #futureofcommerce #growthmarkets #internetpenetration #innovation #businessgrowth #africatech #fmcgmarketing #globaltrade #retailtech #economicgrowth

A few weeks ago I talked to dozens of e-Commerce leaders about how they plan to use AI in their Customer Service. Here’s what I learned… Most e-Commerce leaders are thinking about AI across two simple time horizons, short term and long term. Short Term: In the short term, brands are focused on using AI to improve customer experience and drive revenue. How? By using automation. With AI tools, we see brands automating up to 30% of their customer service activity - leading brands like GLAMNETIC are already there and I expect to see brands hit up to 60% in the coming months. Customer Service agents are then using this time to focus on higher value activities, like upselling, following up on negative reviews and being proactive about any potential problems that would impact a customer’s experience. This all helps to increase revenue with no increase in cost. Long term: On longer term time horizons, e-Commerce leaders see huge potential in AI to increase their efficiency. As acquisition costs continue to increase, brands are looking for ways to become more profitable, and using AI to automate more of their customer support is one the biggest opportunities they see to do this. ___ The takeaway? AI is a huge opportunity for e-Commerce brands - driving revenue in the short term and increased profitability in the long term.

🚀 Marketplaces trends for 2026: when purchasing no longer starts with search, but with discovery The latest Ecommerce Nation (ECN) study on the global e-commerce ranking for 2025 highlights a profound shift in consumer behavior. 👉 The purchase journey is no longer triggered by search intent, but by discovery. For years, the path was linear: 🔍 I search for a product → 🛒 I buy Today, it has become exploratory: 🎥 I discover content → 💡 I get inspired → 🛍️ I purchase This evolution largely explains the rapid rise of content-driven commerce platforms. 📈 TikTok Shop is the most striking example: +59% growth in 2025 and a direct entry into the global Top 12 marketplaces. This is not an anomaly — it is a clear signal of a structural shift: content is becoming the new gateway to commerce. 🔄 Another major trend is converging toward the same outcome: The gradual replacement of traditional search engines by LLMs and conversational AI assistants. Here again, the buying journey starts much earlier and at a far less mature stage: 👉 consumers are no longer searching for a specific product, 👉 they are exploring a need, an idea, an inspiration. 🎯 What this means in practice for brands and retailers: Yes, historical marketplaces still generate the majority of sales volumes today. But ignoring new entrants means leaving aside sales channels growing at double-digit rates in 2025 — and missing out on the commerce of tomorrow. 💡 At Lengow, we firmly believe that performance comes from anticipating consumer behavior. That’s why we have already integrated these new players into our feed aggregation platform in 2025, including TikTok Shop and ChatGPT, enabling our clients to sell where discovery happens — before purchase. 🔮 The future of e-commerce will not be purely transactional. It will be conversational, inspirational, and content-led. #Ecommerce #Marketplaces #TikTokShop #AI #LLM #DiscoveryCommerce #Lengow #RetailTech #Innovation

Yesterday #Amazon announced the launch of #Rufus, a new generative AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, in the UK. In this episode of the podcast Digital Transformation for Humans, we explore the cutting-edge AI-powered search solutions that are reshaping the future of e-commerce, as Amazon's Rufus & Cosmo and Google’s Gemini. Take a deep dive into the Latest Trends & Powerful Strategies with Max Sinclair from London, UK, a former senior executive at Amazon who played a significant role in shaping the company’s marketplace strategies. Today, as the founder & CEO of Ecomtent, Max is leveraging #AI to drive innovation and marketplace expansion for his clients, multi-billion companies and even smaller players. With vast experience from one of the world’s most influential tech companies and now steering his own thriving business and helping other companies to expand as Angel Investor, Max offers a wealth of knowledge on how to effectively expand a marketplace presence using AI. We continue our conversation to reveal how AI is set to impact marketplace success, from search optimization to customer-centric business growth (previous conversation: Episode 19 "Strategic Playbook Expanding Your Marketplace Presence & Impact with AI. Guest expert: Max Sinclair") . With Max's extensive background from Amazon and now as an AI-focused #business #leader, he provides invaluable insights on how AI is transforming e-commerce search and customer experience. In this episode, we cover: - Max's experience at Amazon and how it shaped his approach to AI-driven digital solutions in e-commerce. - Emerging AI and search trends that could surpass the current mobile-first approach. - The impact of Google and Amazon’s evolving algorithms on e-commerce businesses and search behavior. - Practical strategies to adapt to the latest updates from Google and Amazon. - How Cosmo and Rufus are revolutionizing online shopping on Amazon. - The biggest challenges e-commerce businesses face when major platforms update their algorithms. - Powerful tips to stay competitive and future-proof your business in a rapidly evolving AI landscape. - Max's advice for leaders focused on digital business growth through AI and innovation. Max’s visionary ideas on AI’s impact on consumer behavior and marketplace presence will provide listeners with practical strategies to thrive in this new era of AI-powered e-commerce and help implementing innovative strategies that ensure long-term success. YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dUrYdn8C Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/dPKV5aXU Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dC53FRKC #retail #ecommerce #SEO #cx

The Untapped Potential of TikTok Shop in Western Europe! 🚀📱 Did you know that TikTok is evolving far beyond viral content into e-commerce? The platform is building incredible momentum, and the data already hints at a massive opportunity across Europe—if its expansion continues. 📊 UK Insights: In the UK, our analysis shows a 55% conversion rate from TikTok users, meaning over half of TikTok users in our Foxintelligence panel made at least one purchase on TikTok Shop! 🤯 These shoppers spent an average of £86 on TikTok Shop, dedicating 5% of their total e-commerce spending to the platform. Clearly, TikTok is carving out its space in the e-commerce ecosystem. 🌍 What’s Next for Europe? We applied this 55% conversion rate to TikTok’s user base in Germany, with 21.7M monthly users, and estimate a potential prize of €1.1B from TikTok Shop sales alone! And a total of $3.7B for Western Europe ! 🔑 Key to Unlocking This Growth: However, TikTok Shop’s growth potential is contingent on its deployment across more European markets. Expanding into more countries will unlock even greater revenue opportunities. For retailers looking to capitalize on this trend, Foxintelligence by NielsenIQ is the ultimate tool to identify top-performing brands and products in social commerce. This data-driven approach helps retailers optimize their strategies and spot growth opportunities in this dynamic space. 🚀 Social Commerce Is Just Getting Started: The rise of social commerce—the fusion of social media and e-commerce—isn’t limited to TikTok. Platforms like Instagram are also tapping into this trend. Brands that embrace this wave can capitalize on real-time engagement, personalized shopping experiences, and stronger brand connections with consumers. #ecommerce #socialcommerce #tiktokshop #digitaltransformation #retailtrends