Dani Nadel, President and COO, Feedvisor.
Welcome to 2025, a year poised to redefine e-commerce and marketplaces. What started as simple convenience is now the backbone of global commerce—a dynamic space where technology and consumer expectations collide in unpredictable ways.
Advances in AI, sustainability demands and shifting shopping behaviors are redefining how we shop and do business. From logistics breakthroughs to predictive audiences, the trends that I believe will shape 2025 are bold, immersive and full of surprises.
Smart Subscription Commerce
Subscriptions evolve beyond convenience—they’re becoming increasingly deeply personal, anticipatory and central to shopping.
Amazon, one of the many marketplaces my company supports, will continue transforming from marketplace to ecosystem, connecting services like Amazon Clinic, Whole Foods, Fresh, and Prime Video. AI can continue to shape subscriptions into data-driven, cross-category solutions. Think curated meal kits personalized to dietary preferences and predictive deliveries.
For brands, advanced tools will allow the design and optimization of subscription models, including tiered memberships, dynamic perks or tailored bundles. Smarter, seamless subscriptions can become long-term growth engines.
Shopping Goes Social
Social commerce will generate $2 trillion in global sales, representing 27% of e-commerce. Why? Because social and messaging platforms are becoming shopping hubs.
Platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram will further merge storytelling with seamless purchasing. Leveraging AI to analyze preferences and engagement, they’ll deliver hyper-personalized, embedded recommendations. Imagine pausing a TikTok video to explore 3-D AR products. Platforms won’t merely support shopping—they’ll anticipate needs and guide decisions.
But one key question looms: who will acquire TikTok’s US operations? Meanwhile, platforms like X and Bluesky may introduce decentralized models for content ownership, privacy and monetization. As ownership debates grow political, decentralized “safe spaces” could disrupt the status quo.
Programmatic: From Finite To Infinite Possibilities
The groundwork laid in 2024—transparency, private marketplaces deals, AI, and a cookieless future—sets the stage for smarter, more impactful experiences.
Plans for cookie deprecation saw a throwback to contextual targeting, with focus on placement and ad relevance. Advertisers who shifted from targeting “on the viewer” to “on the page” will use advanced signals that pinpoint high-propensity users to achieve KPIs, blending contextual relevance with predictive precision.
Privacy-first clean rooms should take center stage, securely integrating datasets to move beyond historical behaviors and third-party data. By delivering predictive audiences—an infinite list powered by myriad signals—they enable smarter decision-making and unlock omnichannel insights, unifying fragmented retail media data.
As online retailers expand upper-funnel channels, measurement must evolve beyond RoAS to capture incrementality and longer-term brand-building impact alongside shorter-term sales. Combining traditional methods—such as media mix modeling and experimentation—with metrics like lifetime value, purchase-path analysis and multi-touch attribution optimizes the media mix and uncovers synergies across platforms.
The future of ads? AI-driven and hyper-personalized. Machine learning will dynamically tailor content, visuals and offers to individual preferences. Imagine a fitness enthusiast browsing marathon-related content when an ad for running shoes dynamically appears, adjusting based on the user’s location, preferences and needs to showcase lightweight running shoes in their favorite color, alongside a curated bundle of energy bars. This next-level personalization creates eerily intuitive, fully predictive dynamic experiences.
Meanwhile, programmatic delivery is evolving. Private marketplaces (PMPs), once constrained as publishers reserved premium inventory, leaving buyers with fewer high-quality options, may reshape supply based on performance, prioritizing quality and reducing inefficiencies. Publishers will need to align audience targeting, ensuring ads are served to the right users in the most relevant contexts—breathing new life into PMPs.
Underlying these advancements is the evolving infrastructure of programmatic. The future lies in empowering partners to build their own fully-customizable DSPs, moving beyond API-first approaches.
Green Is The New Gold
Eco-conscious consumers are driving a sustainability revolution, making green practices a competitive differentiator for marketplaces.
As shoppers align purchases with their values, marketplaces are adopting carbon-neutral shipping, eco-friendly packaging and transparent sourcing. Expect sustainability to influence search algorithms, increasing visibility for eco-friendly products; and don’t be surprised if “green rankings” for sellers and brands are introduced for greater transparency.
Brands will increasingly tell their ethical stories, but they must ensure their credibility to avoid backlash or greenwashing accusations.
Logistics As A Competitive Battleground
Faster, smarter logistics is becoming the new frontier.
Advanced delivery models will be central as marketplaces invest heavily in drone delivery, same-day fulfillment, and decentralized micro-warehousing to meet consumer expectations. Add self-driving trucks and delivery robots into the mix and we’ll see end-to-end optimization for long-haul and last-mile logistics.
Amazon is making strides in this arena, and Walmart is keeping pace, innovating with in-home delivery that places goods directly into refrigerators or pantries using smart lock technology. It’s a race for speed—and seamless convenience.
Emerging Technologies: From Virtual To Reality
The future of e-commerce is immersive, transparent and incredibly smart.
AR-powered ads will let consumers virtually try on clothing, test makeup or visualize furniture in their homes, while VR storefronts turn shopping into gamified, interactive shopping experiences. These tools are turning transactions into moments of discovery.
Blockchain will underpin trust and loyalty in this space, powering secure, tailored rewards programs for purchase moments and microtransactions, such as likes or watching an ad, through transparent wallets. Rewards can even be tokenized and traded. It will also authenticate high-value goods for luxury brands and strengthen supply chain transparency, allowing customers to trace products from source to shelf.
2025: Where Innovation Meets Imagination
2025 isn’t just another year for e-commerce; it’s a leap into the future. As AI redefines personalization, AR and VR make shopping immersive, and sustainability sets new standards, opportunities for brands, sellers and consumers are limitless.
This year, commerce isn’t just about transactions—it’s about stories, experiences and connections that are personal and unforgettable.
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