Mary Beth Westmoreland, Amazon's VP of Worldwide Selling Partner Experience, announced a new feature that creates an Amazon product page based on the seller's brand website using Amazon's generative AI. Sellers only need to provide the product link and the information is automatically parsed into a new page.

While AI-powered chatbots can improve e-commerce experiences, their use also risks driving away customers. 1 in 5 shoppers are likely to abandon purchases after interacting with them due to clunky user experiences. On the other hand, consumers who engage with chatbots don’t mind seeking AI assistance for automated pricing, real-time promotions, and product discovery. The key to the successful integration of AI lies in hyper-personalized recommendations and creating a frictionless shopping experience.

Cart recovery popups are effective for capturing potential customers leaving your site without finishing a purchase. This article contains 7 popup examples from TOMS, Prada, and Sundays for Dogs.

HAPPYBOND decided to launch its shelf-stable dog food via pet retail rather than direct-to-consumer. Its founder hypothesized this would suit the delicate packaging and allow customers to experience the product first-hand. This plan ultimately failed due to slow sales, small margins, and lack of control over customer education. The brand pivoted to a D2C subscription model, which had its own complexities but ultimately resulted in 267% month-over-month growth.

Ferplast, an online pet supply store, found through research and analysis that visitors were failing to find what they wanted and almost 90% of them never reached a product page. The brand tested a full-width navigation menu against the control hamburger menu, resulting in a 32% increase in sales. This worked because the new navigation gave users a clear forward path and exposed the breadth and depth of the brand’s product range.

Salud, a vitamin drink brand, leverages quizzes to capture valuable zero-party data and personalize its product recommendations and marketing efforts. The quizzes are designed to be concise and visually appealing to maintain a high completion rate. The quiz results page shows optimized product recommendations and also kicks off personalized post-quiz email flows. The first-party data from these quizzes enables the brand to produce highly targeted marketing campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and tailored content.

71% of customers are confident in using AI to virtually try on products before buying. This indicates the potential for AI to streamline decision-making processes in online retail. The top generative AI use cases consumers look forward to are automating product filters based on customer needs, creating customized items, and summarizing product reviews.

Fierce buy-now pay-later competition among payment card brands and independent providers is expanding conversion opportunities for merchants. Iconic credit card brands share a crowded stage with cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, and alternative payment schemes, each with their own value proposition and target demographic. Companies like Affirm and Klarna pose a significant threat to incumbent financial institutions by offering an alternative to bank or credit union cards.

Customers in the United States can now shop alongside their favorite creators, brands, and celebrities on Amazon Live's new interactive, shoppable, and free ad-supported (FAST) channel on Prime Video and Freevee. While watching the new channel, customers can open the Amazon Shopping app on their phone, type “shop the show” into the search bar, and they'll be directed to a carousel highlighting featured products they see on TV in real time.

Google's new Performance Max for Marketplaces allows sellers to create Google ad campaigns that send traffic to their product listings on third-party e-commerce platforms without needing a website or Merchant Center account. After connecting their Google Ads account to a supported marketplace, like Amazon, brands can use existing marketplace product data (i.e. images and pricing) in ads and will get detailed reporting on campaign performance within Google Ads.

Google is encouraging merchants to enable “conversion annotations” – social proof badges that highlight a product's purchase popularity when displayed in Google Shopping ads. Conversion annotations like “best selling” or “1K shopped here recently” provide visual cues about a product's sales performance directly in the ad unit.

Adobe Analytics data reveals that U.S. e-commerce spending reached $331.6 billion in the first 4 months of 2024, up 7% YoY. Consumers are increasingly opting for cheaper goods across various categories, influenced by persistent inflation. Buy Now Pay Later services are expected to drive up to $84.8 billion this year. Mobile shopping continues to dominate, with mobile revenue expected to surpass desktop during the upcoming holiday season. Paid search remains the biggest driver of sales for retailers.

Popups are not only for capturing email addresses – they are also a great way to increase on-site e-commerce conversions. They build social proof, drive traffic to your newest products, tease upcoming sales, and more. This article walks through 9 popup use cases that don't include asking for an email address.

Walmart has launched Walmart Realm, a new virtual home for gamified, immersive shops created in partnership with influencers. Three initial virtual shops highlight products selected by popular creator partners: So Jelly, an underwater playground; Y'allternative, a gothic Western destination; and Go Chromatic, a futuristic metallic world. Walmart Realm also includes creators' social content and three mini-games inspired by the featured products. Walmart plans to expand the platform to include additional digital storefronts and partnerships with creators beginning in July.

Businesses must offer diverse payment options to cater to different generational needs to stay competitive. Baby Boomers prioritize security, but are wary of new technologies. Gen X values secure, proven payment methods. Millennials and Gen Z favor convenience and are open to new technologies if secure. Financial health influences payment preferences. Boomers prefer simplicity, millennials seek tools for debt management, and Gen Z prioritizes avoiding extra fees.

Google is enhancing its shopping features with a new deals destination and membership price display to aid consumers during the summer sales season. These updates are expected to intensify competition among retailers and could significantly impact advertising strategies. Retailers may need to emphasize promotions and special offers to take advantage of Google's centralized shopping experience.

Amazon is planning to launch a new section on its site dedicated to low-priced fashion and lifestyle items. The new storefront will allow Chinese sellers to ship directly to US consumers, with items arriving within nine to 11 days. It is an aggressive attempt to fend off competition from Temu and Shein, who have expanded their presence in the US in recent years. Amazon will start accepting products for the storefront this fall. The company has yet to announce when it intends to debut the storefront.

Online spending during this year's 48-hour Amazon Prime Day event was up 11% year-over-year, with customers spending $14.2 billion. The strong showing was driven by back-to-school shopping and an apparent product refresh cycle. Consumer behaviors during the sale indicate a shift to more conscious shopping and a preference for saving over splurging.

88% of carts are abandoned before purchase. To address this, offer limited-time discounts and send triggered text messages to remind customers of their incomplete purchases. Use progress bars on checkout pages to guide users and reduce drop-offs. Automated email reminders and transparent cost disclosures help recover lost sales. Building trust through social proof and offering a money-back guarantee also encourage purchase completion.

Unexpected fees, sign-in requirements, and payment issues contribute to 70% of shoppers abandoning their carts. Brands can address these issues by providing upfront shipping fees, providing guest check-in options, and offering multiple payment methods. Enhancing checkout involves recognizing customers early, personalizing the shopping experience, and simplifying the buying process with features like one-click checkout.

55% of Gen Z shoppers have made online purchases while browsing social media in the past 6 months, compared to 38% of shoppers overall. 44% of Gen Z start their shopping with online searches, while 42% begin in stores, and 40% use mobile apps or websites. About half of the respondents of the survey expressed a willingness to buy more clothes if virtual try-on tools were available.

Amazon Prime Day has proven to be the most effective summer sales event, with 84% of shoppers only purchasing from Amazon during this period. About 19% of Amazon shoppers made purchases during Prime Day, compared to 12% at Target, 5% at TikTok Shop, and only 2% each for Walmart online and Wayfair. Amazon's sales surged by 46% during the week of Prime Day compared to the previous 4 weeks. It outpaced other events like Wayfair's Black Friday in July, which rose by 42%.

Mobbin, a mobile and web design reference library, found that adding elements like feature tables and FAQs on the pricing page dramatically increased engagement and conversion rates for free plans, but in some scenarios reduced paid plan sales. Its team believed that this extra content was a distraction for the segment of users who had already decided to buy. Mobbin ran a test that routed higher-intent users (those who clicked on a ‘Get Pro' link) to a slimmed down version of the plan pricing, without the free option. This resulted in an 18% increase in transactions.

Customers often search for “[Company] coupon code” only to find expired or fake discounts. Creating a secret discount page on your website can capture these searches, rank highly on Google, and provide customers with a genuine deal. This tactic has proven to increase conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

YouTube has enhanced its partnership with Shopify in response to TikTok's rapid growth in U.S. e-commerce, enabling creators to access a much wider range of brands through its Shopping affiliate program. This expansion is part of YouTube's broader strategy to increase revenue from e-commerce as digital advertising slows, with new tools like a Chrome extension making it easier for creators to incorporate products into their content. By boosting the number of brands available and streamlining the shopping experience, YouTube aims to solidify its position against competitors like TikTok Shop.

Ikea's new platform, Ikea Preowned, allows customers to sell secondhand furniture directly to each other.

Google's new tools in Google Merchant Center include product trend insights that highlight popular search and purchase trends. Enhanced AI features now offer summaries of product performance, and conversational queries allow for easier access to tailored data reports. Additionally, Google has improved product availability notes with an automated onboarding process and introduced new customer acquisition goals in Performance Max and Search campaigns.

Google's virtual try-on tool now includes dresses, allowing shoppers to see how they'll look on various models. Using generative AI, the tool displays detailed images, showing features like shadows and draping. This has increased engagement by 60%, with users trying clothes on multiple models per product. The tool is available for dresses from brands like SIMKHAI and Boden. It provides a more accurate view of both the dress and the person wearing it.

33% of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year due to high interest rates. Older generations, particularly Gen X, are more stressed about holiday budgets compared to younger groups. Nearly half of shoppers intend to start their holiday shopping by Halloween, with e-commerce expected to be a major channel. 42% plan to shop online and a significant portion of Gen Z shoppers will use social media platforms for their purchases.