Smarter Stores, Faster Sales: The Rise of Ai in Ecommerce

The world of ecommerce never stays still for long and in recent years, advances in tech have seen a significant upshift in gear. Global ecommerce sales are projected to hit around US$7.5 trillion in 2025. That eye-watering scale of business shows the epic opportunity the industry still represents. But it also flags more competition, higher customer expectations and increased pressure to deliver personalised, seamless experiences

Enter artificial intelligence (AI) – not as a magic wand, but as a strategic capability for online retailers. In this article we’ll explore how AI is being adopted in ecommerce and what it can realistically deliver. We’ll also look at the ways AI can interact with automation workflows to speed up and scale operations, what the real outcomes of this look like, and the key challenges any retailer should keep in mind.

Is AI a silver bullet? No. But the opportunities are clearly there – and they’re constantly evolving. The goal: smarter stores, faster sales – grounded in reality.

The State of AI in E-commerce: Where Are We Now?

According to recent market research, the global “AI-enabled ecommerce” market is valued at about US$8.65 billion in 2025, and is forecast to grow to ~US$22.6 billion by 2032. Another source shows that 84 % of ecommerce businesses regard AI as a top priority, with claims of “more than a 25 % improvement in customer satisfaction, revenue or cost reduction” for those implementing it well.

Further data show that 89 % of retail/CPG companies are using or testing AI. And from a consumer behaviour standpoint: 58 % of consumers in 2025 are already saying they prefer AI tools instead of traditional search engines.

Of course, these numbers don’t mean every retailer will magically double their sales overnight. They tell us that AI is moving from pilot to mainstream, but only when anchored in solid data, process and human oversight.

"When deploying AI, whether you focus on top-line growth or bottom-line profitability, start with the customer and work backward."

Rob Garf, VP & GM Retail at Salesforce

This quote underscores the point: customer needs first, technology second.

How AI is Being Used Across the E-commerce Value Chain

It's helping to evolve front-end / shopper experience...

On the customer-facing side, AI is already driving:

Personalised product recommendations based on behaviour and purchase history. For example, in one trend-analysis, “product recommendations” accounted for ~15 % of the conversation around AI in ecommerce.
Conversational assistants / chatbots that help shoppers, answer queries, and remove friction. Data suggests shoppers complete purchases ~47 % faster when assisted by AI.
Search and discovery are still evolving but clearly picking up pace: For example, 47 % of Gen Z report using generative-AI weekly.

It's supporting back-end / operations...

Of course, AI isn’t just about the front page. On the operational side, we’re already seeing it:

Demand forecasting, inventory optimisation and replenishment: AI models allow better decisions, reducing under-stock or over-stock risk.
Assisting with logistics, warehouse automation and smarter fulfilment decisions.
Fuelling data insights, extracting meaning from large customer-feedback volumes (e.g. sentiment analytics)

And we're starting to see the impact of trust, transparency and ethics.

It’s important to remember that AI also brings non-technical challenges. A recent study found significant consumer concern around data collection, algorithmic fairness and transparency in retail AI systems.

“Even the best technologies don’t add value if people don’t use them properly.”

Sebastian Hamann, CEO of Shopware.

AI and Automations: How Intelligent Stores Use Both

An increasingly impactful combination in modern ecommerce is AI + automation. Here at Arigato, we leverage integrations with AI tools to provide practical, scalable workflows that can do a lot of heavy lifting in a short amount of time – all while having a really tangible impact on the running of your store. Here are a few example Arigato workflows that pair AI with automation – think of them as jumping off points – the beauty of the AI/automation combination is its flexibility.

Benefits

When we pair AI with automation, one of the most immediate benefits is, of course, speed. The time from insight to action shrinks dramatically. You'll also see instant impact when it comes to scale. You can apply rules across thousands of SKUs, segments and channels. Finally, consistency and repeatability – once defined, workflows execute predictably.

Realistic caveats and governance

Automation without clean data or good rules is a one way ticket to errors (wrong offers, over-discounting, stock mis-allocation.) AI must always be designed with oversight: humans set the guard-rails. And as we've already touched upon, when it comes to AI, trust really matters. If customers feel they’re being “pushed” by opaque automation, you risk backlash. That's why we recommend clearly defined, practical applications that might not push the limits, but deliver dependable, predictable results.

"When it comes to AI, the smaller the lift, the more likely it is to deliver solid results."

John Carbon, Founder of Bonify

That “Start with the customer and work backward” quote from Rob Garf is also relevant here – the automation must serve the customer’s experience, not just the retailer’s metrics.

To sum up, intelligent stores don’t view AI as standalone – they build systems combining AI insight + automated workflows + human oversight.

Realistic Outcomes and What Smart Retailers Are Seeing

Let’s look at what the data says – and how to interpret it.

For retailers who implement AI well, one report claims “more than a 25 % improvement in customer satisfaction, revenue or cost reduction”.
For conversion and purchase speed: AI-assisted shoppers completed purchases ~47 % faster in one sample.
From a market-perspective: the AI-enabled ecommerce market is poised for strong growth – which implies many retailers are placing bets.
But here’s the realism hot take: AI is not a plug-and-play guarantee of 10× growth. Implementation quality, strategy alignment, process readiness and customer trust matter enormously.

So what should a retailer realistically expect?

A measurable uplift in conversion, perhaps in the low-to-mid tens of % rather than hundreds of %.
Improved operational efficiency (fewer stock-outs, less wastage, faster cycles).
Enhanced personalisation and experience – but only if you have the data and infrastructure to deliver.
The need to commit: AI is a journey, not a one-time install. And it’s going to need to evolve alongside the advances we see across the industry.

Key Challenges and Considerations

Thinking about bringing an aspect of AI into your ecommerce operation? Before diving in, keep your eyes open to the following:

Data quality & integration
AI thrives on data – customer behaviour, inventory, product attributes, feedback. Many retailers struggle with data silos or messy data. Without clean data, any insights drawn will be flawed. We talked a little about this in our recent integration article.

Governance, ethics & transparency
Retailers deploying AI must remain mindful of consumer concerns around privacy and fairness. One study emphasises that consumers worry about how their data is managed, and whether AI systems treat them equally. Transparent communication (e.g., “here’s why we asked you these questions”, “you can opt-out”) builds trust.

Skills & change management
You need more than technology – you need people who can interpret AI insights, set up automation workflows, monitor performance and, when necessary, course-correct. Process redesign often follows technology investment.

Avoiding over-hype
Yes, AI is powerful. But it’s not going to magically fix a broken product line or an incompetent fulfilment system. As the CEO and Co-Founder at Bloomreach mused “90 % of the AI out there today is noise – ignore it. But that also means there’s 10 % of AI that can move the needle.”

ROI measurement
Focus on metrics: conversion uplift, average order value (AOV), churn reduction, stock-out rate, fulfilment cost. Define baseline before AI, then measure after. If you can’t measure, you won’t know whether AI delivered value.

Consumer trust and control
Even in 2025, consumers show caution: e.g. many prefer to retain control rather than allow AI to make autonomous purchase decisions. Build systems that offer control, transparency and choice.

Looking Ahead – The Future of Smarter Stores

What’s coming next in the AI-ecommerce space? A few trends worth watching:

Agentic commerce

AI agents that act on behalf of customers (or brands) – for example completing a repeat-order, selecting items based on preferences.

Immersive experiences

AI-powered virtual try-ons, augmented reality (AR) showrooms, integrated data + automation systems. According to a recent report, immersive tools like virtual try-on are gaining traction in retail.

Greater convergence of AI + automation + cloud + IoT

Retailers will increasingly run “end-to-end” intelligent systems from discovery to fulfilment.

Ethical & trusted AI as differentiator

As more retailers adopt AI, those who emphasise transparency, fairness and human-centric design will stand out.

Operational agility & speed

The biggest gains may come from speed of reaction – stores that can respond quickly to trends, supply-chain disruptions, changing consumer behaviour will benefit.

Again: AI doesn’t replace the fundamentals (product, fulfilment, service, brand). But it does augment them – making stores smarter and sales faster.

So, what’s the final word?

AI in ecommerce has moved way beyond a “nice to have” or buzzword status. The data show strong adoption, measurable benefits and growth ahead. At the same time, it’s not a guarantee of instant transformation. Success depends on alignment with data, process, automation workflows and human oversight.

If you’re running or advising an ecommerce business: approach AI as a strategic capability. Start with the customer, pick a focused use-case, link AI insights to automation actions, measure outcomes, build trust with customers and scale deliberately.

We believe the future of online retail is less “human vs machine” and more “human + machine” – the stores that win will be those that combine technology with trust, brand and operational excellence, without over-reaching (or underperforming!)