Ecommerce Predictions for 2025. 6 Trends Shopify Merchants Need to Know

2025 is almost here and it is already shaping up to be a transformative year for ecommerce. From AI personalization to the growing dominance of mobile commerce, new trends and technologies are reshaping how online businesses can connect with their customers.

Whether you're a seasoned Shopify merchant or just starting out, it is always a good idea to know what’s coming up in the industry. Let’s look into some key ecommerce trends and predictions for 2025 and explore how you can use them to grow your business.

P.S We have added some practical tips for all Shopify merchants!

1. Shoppable Everything

Content and commerce are officially blending into one seamless experience and it’s …confusing. Social media, streaming platforms, and even podcasts are turning into mini shopping malls. From QR codes on live streams to shoppable ads on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, the trend is exploding and it is currently trying to find its form. Social platforms are turning into digital malls - brands are showcasing in real time what they sell, while the audience (shoppers) directly purchases a product in real-time.

Think about your brand, product list, and audience. Are these new sales channels a good fit for your business? If your answer is “yes” or even “maybe,” it’s worth exploring. The upside of emerging trends in the digital space is that there are no rigid rules yet. This gives you the chance to get creative, move quickly, and potentially overtake your competitors in adopting these trendy shopping platforms. Just be prepared to invest time and resources into A/B testing your ideas to find out what resonates best with your audience.

By 2025, even more platforms like BeReal will join the shoppable bandwagon. And if all of this sounds too new to you, chances are you’ll get a hang of it soon. Social commerce is projected to hit $1.2 trillion by 2025, as brands race to create purchase-ready experiences wherever consumers are hanging out. Certainly this makes it worthwhile to think hard if such a shopping experience may be beneficial for your business goals as well.

2. Personalization: Redefined by AI

Consumers love shopping experiences tailored to their needs, but privacy concerns are reshaping personalization. For businesses, AI is becoming the secret sauce, allowing brands to deliver unique, tailored experiences without crossing any legal boundaries.

So, what does personalization look like today? Let’s start with a classic email marketing example. Dynamically inserting a client’s name in an email template is a basic personalization experience. However, technology has advanced far beyond that. Enter AI.

Imagine creating a fully personalized email flow for every individual customer. Forget the hassle of segmenting users into broad audiences which may or may not capture their true preferences and needs. By using your real historical data, AI can design custom email journeys tailored to each of your user’s behavior and needs. This is a great example of peak automated personalization. 

Pro Tip: If your store runs on Shopify, explore Shopify Email tools to enhance your campaigns with personalization, segmentation, and automation. As Shopify continues to evolve its platform, staying updated on their advancements in personalization could benefit your strategy.

The personalization trend continues to grow worldwide, in not just email but across the marketing mix. In fact, the personalization software industry is expected to be worth $11.6 billion by 2026! Harness this potential from all your preferred marketing tools.

3. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Options

"Buy now, pay later" isn’t just a trend; it’s becoming a necessity for younger shoppers. With still rising inflation, payment flexibility has become non-negotiable for many shoppers. The ability to spread payments over time often makes the difference between completing a purchase or abandoning it.

In 2024, 50% of adults used BNPL, and the numbers are climbing. Millennials and Gen Z shoppers especially love this option, with around 70% having tried it. Adding a BNPL option to your online store can remove price barriers and possible close more sales, particularly during high-spending seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

As a Shopify merchant, we advise on testing out a BNPL tool if you don’t have one integrated already. Shopify provides its own service called Shop Pay Installments. To check your eligibility, log in to your Shopify admin and go to Settings > Payments. Click Manage under Shop Pay Installments. If you’re eligible for the premium package, you'll have a chance to review the financing options. You can read the full details on Shop Pay Installments and other approved providers here.

Adding a BNPL option to your store not only boosts accessibility for your customers but also boosts your competitiveness. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your products more available, especially if your price point is above industry average. 

4. Mobile Commerce Takes Over

If you’re not optimizing for mobile, you’re already falling behind. Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is skyrocketing, making up 60% of global ecommerce. You might feel like you are always reading about how mobile is the preferred user device, but it’s no longer #1 just for scrolling and surfing. Now, users are buying more from their phones which is a significant change if you are an ecommerce business owner.

Younger generations are driving this shift. Gen Z, for example, spends hours browsing and shopping directly from their social feeds. This means mobile brand apps, SMS campaigns, and mobile add-ons are must-haves for your business to capture their attention. Your new bare minimum needs to be a fast, reliable and intuitive mobile checkout. 

If you are a Shopify store owner, make sure to take advantage of Shop Pay if you can - an accelerated checkout experience. It allows customers to save their email address, credit card, and shipping and billing information, making the checkout process faster and more convenient.

Lastly, keep in mind that with 5G rolling out globally, mobile shopping is only going to get bigger, faster and more preferred in 2025. Especially by new generation shoppers who as they like to say so themselves are “chronically online”.

5. Even more privacy laws

Consumer privacy is taking center stage in 2025, with eight new U.S. state privacy laws set to go live. Think of these as California’s CCPA with even more twists, adding extra layers of complexity for marketers. Staying compliant in this fragmented landscape will need to be a priority.

So, what’s all this talk about evolving privacy? It basically means more rules about how and what type of user data businesses can use. For example, third-party data is slowly being phased out due to tougher privacy laws, and it’s getting harder to access detailed, individual-level data. Instead, in order to be legally compliant, data tools start to group users together and offer more general insights.

The way forward? Start gathering your own data directly from customers. Tools like quizzes, chatbots, and personalized marketing messages aren’t just great for engagement - they help you get to know your customers better and collect relevant user data. Use this info to your advantage - refine your store’s experience, shape your marketing strategies, and build accurate buyer personas.

Here at Consentmo, we are getting ready for everything that is to come in 2025 regarding privacy laws & compliance. If you want to keep your Shopify store safe and not have to worry about ever-changing regulations - install our app, focus on your business and have one less thing on your plate.

6. Pinterest?

With 537 million active users, Pinterest presents a sometimes underestimated platform for generating leads and making sales. For many, Pinterest is a go-to visual search engine for inspiration and with recent updates to the platform - potentially for making a purchase as well. 

While you were busy with your online store, Pinterest was busy giving its well known pins an extreme makeover. Enter: Rich Product Pins. They are an enhanced type of pin that syncs information from your business’s website (like price and shipping details), providing bonus info around an image. When you update your site content, the rich pin automatically refreshes, keeping the pin relevant.

Think of these new pins as mini product listings in front of eager eyes.  In some cases, your Pin might have a "Best seller' badge if it’s one of the most purchased items within a Pinterest product category among competition. Or, it might have a "Popular" badge if it’s one of the most clicked product Pins which is a nice little extra flair. If this sounds good and you want to create test rich pins, you will need a Pinterest business account. Making this switch also grants you access to detailed Pinterest analytics (helpful for your Pinterest marketing strategy!).

Shopify merchants - you can use the Pinterest for Shopify app to connect your Shopify store to your Pinterest business account. By doing so you will connect your product feed to Pinterest and be able to generate Rich Product Pins.

We all love low effort organic reach and featuring but if you already have products worth showcasing, high quality visuals, and want to try another traffic source - it makes sense to give Pinterest a try in 2025.

Conclusion

2025 is shaping out to be an exciting year for ecommerce, packed with opportunities and challenges. From adapting to stricter privacy laws and exploring new platforms like Pinterest to embracing AI-driven personalization and leveraging BNPL tools, there are many ways to innovate and be creative. 

As consumer behavior evolves and technology advances (thankfully at the same time), staying open to change and being proactive is key for your online business. We can’t wait to see what 2025 brings along and are excited for how the industry will be shaped now that AI is here to stay.

As we count down the last days of 2024, we wish you a successful and inspiring New Year! 🎉

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