
eCommerce in 2025: What Growth-Focused Brands Are Planning Next
As we move into the second-half of 2025, the noise around AI, channel mix, and digital transformation continues to grow louder. But what are eCommerce leaders actually doing? To find out, we surveyed over 50 senior decision-makers from brands including PUMA, Dormeo, Hamleys, Selco, and Numatic. The result is our eCommerce 2025 Insights Report - a grounded, honest look at how businesses are investing, evolving, and adapting in a challenging market.
As we move into the second-half of 2025, the noise around AI, channel mix, and digital transformation continues to grow louder. But what are eCommerce leaders actually doing?
To find out, we surveyed over 50 senior decision-makers from brands including PUMA, Dormeo, Hamleys, Selco, and Numatic. The result is our eCommerce 2025 Insights Report - a grounded, honest look at how businesses are investing, evolving, and adapting in a challenging market.
This report gives you data AND direction. It’s shaped by the thinking behind our eEvo Model™, helping you:
Get clear on where you are
Understand what’s holding you back
Map your next strategic move with confidence
Here’s our Top 5 take-aways from the report:
1. Growth expectations are high. But investment remains cautious.
74% of respondents expect higher sales in 2025
But 46% will reinvest less than 5% of their online revenue into platforms
And only 20% have a well-defined roadmap
"When the market is noisy, expensive, and shifting fast, caution isn’t a weakness - it’s a strategy." – Carl Walker, eCommerce Strategist at GENE
Businesses are making small, deliberate moves, not sweeping overhauls. The priority? Getting the basics right. Performance, personalisation, and platform stability dominate the agenda.
2. Platform performance is priority #1
Performance topped the list of eCommerce challenges in 2024. But underinvestment is leaving many businesses exposed:
38% experienced infrastructure failures during peak
32% saw slow page loads
20% faced checkout errors
“They’re not just IT headaches - they’re barriers to revenue, loyalty, and trust.” – Osvaldo Spadano, Akoova
3. AI: Trending. But not transforming.
56% of brands say AI will have the biggest impact in 2025. But right now, usage is largely tactical:
24% use AI for product recommendations
18% for search
12% for email automation
“From streamlining workflows to accelerating testing and iteration, AI is reshaping day-to-day operations behind the scenes.” - Catherine Rees, Numatic
Strategic use of AI remains rare. Most businesses are still laying the foundations - cleaning up data, stabilising platforms, and building capacity for smarter automation.
4. Personalisation is underused and underperforming
Despite being the top planned AI use case, personalisation still isn’t widely adopted:
Only 24% plan to introduce AI-driven personalisation
Even fewer apply it to search or content
“In a marketplace overflowing with options, personalised experiences cut through the noise.” – Catherine Foot, Klevu
Brands that get it right are seeing:
Up to 300% more revenue from product recommendations
A 30% lift in conversion from improved on-site search
5. Strategic alignment is the real unlock
“Clarity and cohesion are what separates eCommerce leaders from the rest.” – Duncan Copeland, Client Services Director at GENE
Most brands are still working from fragmented plans and siloed teams. Only a fifth have a structured roadmap that aligns tech, marketing, CX, and commercial outcomes.
That’s exactly what the eEvo Model™ is designed to fix.
Where do you go from here?
If your ambition is to grow, but your tech, team or roadmap is stuck, you’re not alone. The 2025 Insights Report shows that many brands are in the same place: cautious, constrained, and looking for clarity.
Whether you need a benchmark or a blueprint, we can help you take the next step.
GENE Commerce. eCommerce evolved.
Author
Emily Highland
Emily has a healthy scepticism for buzzwords and a soft spot for smart strategy. She believes great eCommerce starts with saying something worth listening to.