In the e-commerce area, the success of your business greatly depends on how quickly you react to the market trends and offer people convenience. In 2026, as technologies will keep evolving and become even more widespread, this statement is especially relevant.
Of course, it is impossible to predict what will shape e-commerce in 2026 with 100% probability, and we’re not going to make plain predictions here. Instead, we have analyzed customers’ behaviors and businesses’ approaches, and asked Amasty’s partners, Amr Shalaby, COO of the Sabat e-commerce agency, and Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO of the Factor Blue e-commerce agency, for an expert comment backed by their experience.
Today, we’ll guide you through the top 7 e-commerce trends that seem to be shaping the online commerce landscape in 2026 and beyond.
1. AI-Powered Solutions
Not a surprise at all, to be honest. AI automation and personalization are now mainstream in e‑commerce; more than ever, they’re shifting from “nice to have” to core business capability. In 2026, AI is going to become even more popular, being introduced to the areas and markets that have traditionally been conservative about it.
According to the AI in Ecommerce Market report, the AI market size is expected to be worth around $2,745 billion by 2032, from just $177 billion in 2023. The same report says that 51% of e-commerce businesses use AI to ensure customers have a smooth shopping experience. With the market value figures in mind, it becomes clear that the number of businesses using AI will keep growing, too.
How e-commerce businesses use AI
AI is embedded into every customer touch‑point: product discovery, recommendation engines, dynamic pricing, inventory optimization, chatbots, and more. For a brand using a platform like Magento 2, many of the modules and extensions now support AI‑powered modules, from predictive product recommendations to automated search relevance.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
AI offers routine automation and is definitely a trend for 2026, which is clearly demonstrated by what our clients ask. For example, one of the most commonly requested things by our customers is the AI-powered price comparison. Businesses need an AI engine to compare their prices and the prices of other merchants and retailers, targeting the same customer segment, and automatically adjust the price on the website to win the competition.
What’s interesting is that even the always-traditional businesses like grocery stores incorporate AI these days. For example, some of our clients asked for an AI engine to help the merchants put the goods on the shelves, optimizing the customer journey and adding to their profits. Here’s how it works: a seller uses cameras to monitor customers' behavior inside the grocery stores. Then, they show these recordings to AI, which analyzes the journey and gives recommendations on where different types of goods should be placed.
So, yes, our customers now are asking to embed AI solutions in their online stores or even in their physical stores, and in 2026, I am sure, these AI solutions will become more advanced and widespread.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
At Factor Blue, we treat AI as part of the architecture, not an afterthought. For existing Magento stores, we often start with a proof of concept, like AI search or intelligent recommendations based on profiling or a customer service tool on top of Magento and Hyvä.
But even with all the automation, the human side remains critical. AI depends on good data, solid processes and smart implementation. That’s where skilled people are needed more than ever. You still need strategists, merchandisers, data specialists and developers to guide the models, interpret insights and turn logic into commercial value. AI does the heavy lifting, but people steer the outcome. That role will only grow in importance.
2. AR and Immersive Commerce
Augmented Reality (AR) is no longer something experimental. In 2026, AR will be expected for many product types, from apparel to furniture. Immersive commerce, where users “try on” or “preview” in their own space, is becoming a differentiator, and big brands like IKEA or Nike have already incorporated this technology into their strategies.
How AR works in e-commerce
In 2026, AR is supposed to give customers an opportunity to:
Visualize products in a realistic context (furniture in your room, clothing items on your body, cosmetics on your face);
Play around with multi‑sensory or interactive elements (3D models, AR filters, live “try‑before‑you‑buy”);
Personalize the experience by adapting things to a person, device, and environment.
Agencies helping brands succeed in this area go beyond simply adding an AR viewer. They integrate AR into the entire shopping flow (discovery – choose – visualize – purchase) and tune the brand’s ecosystem (mobile app, website, store) to support these immersive features.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
From our experience, AR is becoming a trend for apparel brands, especially those that sell clothes for special occasions. People prefer not to buy ready-made items when it comes to important events, but want to tailor something unique.
For example, one of our customers in the UAE requested an AR feature to tailor and customize kandura (or thawb). It’s a traditional white garment of Emirate men, typically worn on official events, feasts, and other important occasions. In this case, AR in combination with AI helps clients tailor and adjust the elements of the garment (collars, buttons, pockets, decorations, etc.), immediately visualizing the look on their device. First, AI asks some questions to offer a solution that would suit a customer. Then, a client can tweak the design and finally “try it on” in the AR environment to see how it is going to look.
This way, AR helps clients get a better visualization of what they get, because it is hard sometimes to make a decision without seeing how the item will look on you (in your room, yard, etc., if we speak about furniture or household appliances). Besides, people seem to like AR experiences because they bring some kind of gamification, making the customer journey more engaging and even entertaining.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
Immersive commerce will be channel-neutral, context-aware and data-driven. Magento becomes the engine, Hyvä the high-speed interface and integrations ensure AR stays in sync with prices, stock and configurations. But AR doesn’t build itself.
3. Social Commerce and UGC
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are becoming not just social media but buying platforms. Brands need to extend presence beyond their website: integrate product catalogues into shoppable social posts, support live livestream‑shop events, manage orders & inventory across these platforms. Collaboration with influencers and the growth of user-generated content popularity will also become even more important in 2026 – customers are more likely to buy goods and services chosen by opinion leaders and real people, not just showcased in ads, no matter how good and visually appealing they are.
How social commerce improves conversions
E-commerce findings uncovered that UGC has a high level of 86% trust amongst consumers. This content is considered more realistic, and people are more likely to identify with it. Consequently, a higher level of trust results in higher conversion rates. Numbers vary from 29% to 32% increase in conversions for brands using UGC and social media in their marketing strategies.
Author’s personal experience: I am sure that UGC improves conversion rates and persuades more people to buy the showcased item. As for me, I have many examples when I made a decision to buy a product after watching a video on TikTok rather than after seeing an ad. Besides, social media improves brand discoverability. I personally don’t search for brands on purpose, but I can come across something interesting while scrolling reels.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
Social commerce is 100% a trend for 2026. Many sellers may not even have an online store in the form of a website, but they successfully sell their products through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and so on. For example, one of our clients, the biggest marketplace in our country, has around 20% of orders placed via social media, and this number will only keep growing as more and more people accept technology.
Social commerce is something that sales in 2026 will depend on. And right now, we are working on a dedicated e-commerce streaming platform for one of our clients, which is actually not just a social media platform, but a platform created for selling. Streamers will be able to hold their live streams and record them, while buyers will be able to follow them, place orders in real time, or get back to some old streams to place an order from them. Similar technology already exists in Korea, where social media traditionally plays a very important role not only in commerce but in many aspects of life in general.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
As social commerce keeps gaining popularity in 2026, Magento becomes the commerce engine that AI agents and Social commerce tools talk to. Agents request product data, stock, pricing and place orders directly through Magento’s APIs. Magento stays the system of record that enforces valid configurations, rules and workflows. As frontends matter less, stable backends matter more. So yes, Magento remains essential, but also as an API-driven engine rather than a traditional storefront.
4. Omnichannel or “Phygital” Experiences
Gone are the days when “just a website” sufficed. In 2026, the winners will be brands that deliver a seamless experience across online, physical stores, marketplace, and social platforms. Some of the key channels include live shopping, social commerce, mobile commerce, and marketplaces.
Seamless omnichannel execution: online – retail – marketplaces
Creating a true omnichannel experience remains a major challenge for many merchants: synchronizing inventory, orders, customer data, loyalty, returns across store, web, mobile, marketplaces, and social. Key solutions include:
Unified commerce platforms (one system of record for inventory, orders, customers).
Modular/composable commerce architecture (so you can plug in marketplace, live‑shopping, AR modules).
Real‑time analytics and customer data platforms to maintain consistent profiles across channels.
Flexible fulfillment: buy online, pick up in store; return in‑store; cross‑channel loyalty.
Author’s personal experience: As a customer, I can agree that omnichannel solutions have proved to be really convenient in improving customer satisfaction. For example, when an apparel brand I regularly buy from started to hold an online discount lottery this year, I was really happy. Now I don’t have to visit an offline store on that very day to win a discount – I do this online and only go to the store to choose an item if I am happy with the amount of that discount. I can also apply the discount online if I want, but I do like to touch and see the item physically before I buy it :)
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
Omnichannel experience is a rewarding yet challenging thing to manage for e-commerce stores, especially when it comes to stock management and order fulfillment. From my experience, this is the biggest challenge for omnichannel environments, and I recommend everyone who’s going into this trend to carefully plan stock management. Poor planning may lead to customer frustration and sellers’ panic when, say, some unplanned situation happens.
For example, one of the clients in our agency had a similar problem. This client has a chain of fashion stores and sells online and offline, but without a big warehouse. So, the items available online are the same as are available in physical stores. That often led to situations when there’s only one item left, and both an online and an offline shopper wants to buy it. Whom to sell that item to? One of the customers would be irritated anyway. So, we came up with the solution to prevent this, but the way it is managed depends greatly on each particular store.
Say, store A has a steady flow of offline shoppers. For this place, the solution is to mark the item “out of stock” online if the quantity is below 5 (or below 3, or any other individually chosen number). For store B, where the online stream of sales is higher than the offline, the solution would be to keep the item “available” online till the last piece. But if the situation from the abstract above happens, a seller will give preference to the online order only if it has been paid for online. If a buyer selects “cash on delivery”, then the preference is given to an offline customer. This way, a seller doesn’t lose profits and has a clear algorithm of how to act so as not to lose buyers or cause extra frustration.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
The real challenge for omnichannel experiences is creating a single source of truth. Magento only works well omnichannel if the data landscape is designed properly. And designing that landscape requires architects, analysts and integration specialists.
Amasty products for seamless stock management
5. Mobile Commerce
In 2026, mobile commerce (m‑commerce) will continue to dominate, as mobile device users are now the driving force in online retail. Huge percentages of online sales are now mobile (77%), so merchants should never ignore mobile optimization.
These days, an optimized mobile experience is much more than a working mobile version of a website or an app. It is all about making mobile shopping native – with easy, user-friendly UX, optimized catalogs, tailored recommendations, comfortable payment options, easy check-out, one-click solutions, timely and relevant notifications, and so on.
Will mobile replace desktop entirely?
While mobile will dominate for many industries, desktop remains relevant, especially for complex purchases, B2B, large‑ticket items, or multi‑task research. If your brand belongs to one of the categories where desktop sales still win, you should treat mobile as the lead device, but not abandon desktop. Ensure consistency and convenience across devices.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
As mobile commerce is a global trend and a number-one priority for many users, more and more e-commerce businesses are starting to use it in their strategies. Yet, many of those new to m-commerce often make one big mistake – they treat mobile apps as replicas of the website. They make it exactly the same, without any extra features or special functionality, as if it were just an easier way of placing the order. In 2026, it will not work. Of course, there are e-commerce areas where desktop still wins, like b2b segments or something that people don’t buy every day, but it’s different, and they usually don’t even have mobile apps.
Once a customer downloads your app, it means that the customer is loyal. You've got to do something different for that customer to show that you appreciate that loyalty. What to do? Use reward points and loyalty programs. Make in-app order management convenient. Update the customers on the journey of the order with notifications. Inform customers about special offers.
This is quite important for the customers using mobile apps because they can receive notifications and get easy access to updates. That's the purpose of having a mobile app. A customer should benefit from using it.
For Magento 2 websites, we recommend Amasty’s Special Promotions extension to set up offers and show them to relevant customer groups, mobile shoppers and mobile app shoppers in this case.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
The most common mistakes businesses make when taking on m-commerce are related to slow pages, desktop UX forced onto mobile and outdated checkout flows. We solve this through Hyvä, API-driven design and thoughtful personalization.
Mobile commerce will, for sure, keep growing and dominating the market, but some areas will remain desktop, such as complex journeys like B2B, configuration and large purchases. The advice? Design for the context, not the device.
Amasty products for promotions and customer segmentation
6. Same-Day Delivery
On-the-go style of life makes same-day delivery a hot trend for 2026. Consumers now expect frictionless convenience, and delivery even within several days may not be what they want. These expectations are shaping project strategies: logistics integration, real‑time inventory, and flexible delivery options.
Same-day delivery examples that stores can learn from
Some types of e-commerce businesses have definitely mastered the art of same-day delivery. These are:
Flower shops
Cafés and restaurants
Grocery stores
Gift stores
These players have been practicing same-day (and even same-hour) delivery for a couple of years and haven’t gone bust. Instead, same-day delivery is a competitive advantage and a source of revenue, often neglected by many other e-commerce businesses.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
If we speak about user convenience, in 2026, same-day delivery will be on the same level as mobile-first design. Especially for businesses that operate in tourist areas and countries. Many people stay in these locations for a couple of days or even hours, and then go somewhere else. If a business doesn’t have a same-day delivery option, they lose a client, as nobody will cancel flights or change itineraries only to wait for a delivery.
A good example of same-day delivery in the e-commerce ecosystem of Dubai, UAE. Almost every shopping app there has an option for 15-40 minutes delivery, bringing a purchase to wherever the buyer is in the city within this time. For those who cannot wait for even 15 minutes in one place, there’s an option to deliver orders to the hotel reception, so people will pick them up when they return.
Clearly stated delivery terms are probably the most important thing we focus on while working with customers in tourist areas. As for now, we are working on a solution that helps determine the delivery terms on the product page – if an item can be delivered today, tomorrow, or if the delivery will take longer. This way, people can buy what they can definitely manage to receive, planning their time the way they want. Sellers, on their side, don’t lose money for cancelled orders and earn a better reputation.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
Prompt delivery greatly depends on logistics, warehouse, ERP, CRM and customer service systems that all have to work together, creating a single source of truth. That’s why we design Magento as part of a broader ecosystem. With AI automating delivery support or predicting delivery expectations, there are people who professionally orchestrate the ecosystem, monitor quality and solve the exceptions. The more advanced the ecosystem becomes, the more important experienced people are. And the success and teamwork make a lion’s share of the successful purchase delivery.
7. Personalization & Conversational AI
In 2026, conversational AI will be much more than just a support tool. It has already gone beyond this stage. Conversational AI is now an assistant that drives sales and loyalty due to personalization and unique experiences. Personalization becomes super important in mobile commerce, where it serves as a market differentiator. Tailored recommendations based on browsing history, chatbot assistants, and AI-powered selections of goods – all of these speed up the customer journey, becoming important for a successful e-commerce strategy.
Conversational AI during the holiday seasons
Brands and agencies start using AI to make the choice of a gift for whatever occasion much easier than before: buyers can now avoid the friction from scrolling through tons of pages in order to find something special. Instead, people can just tell an AI assistant:
“Find me a Christmas gift for my teenage niece, she likes cats and drawing gloomy pictures. The budget is $50-$100”.
One click – and AI welcomes you with a set of options to choose from. The challenge for e-commerce businesses here is to choose a strong AI engine; otherwise, it will cause even more frustration and lead to bounce rates instead of conversions.
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
In 2026, conversational AI is a valuable aid in driving conversions for large e-commerce businesses with thousands of goods and vast databases. In this case, conversational AI bots can act as a shopping assistant and support specialist. AI bots can provide a buyer with the necessary information or offer a product selection much faster, which improves conversion rates.
The key thing in dealing with conversational AI is to think that it can totally replace a human support specialist, which is a misconception. AI is an assistant, and it is often very important for a human specialist to take the stage on time before a customer is stuck with the AI bot.
Besides, we should not forget that even in 2026, some people are still quite conservative when it comes to AI, and not being able to reach a real person may break their buyer journey.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
Agentic Commerce will be the biggest shift since mobile. AI agents will assist customers directly: comparing products, checking stock in real time, optimizing bundles and even negotiating based on rules. The future is not just human-to-shop, but agent-to-engine, with humans designing the engine.
Summing It Up: Advice to E-commerce Merchants for 2026 and Beyond
In 2026, the best e-commerce strategy would probably be like this:
Treat your e-commerce system as a living ecosystem, not just a storefront.
As users are not ok with just a “storefront”. People want convenience, integrations, offline and online experiences, AR and personalization, quick product discovery, handy payments, and prompt delivery.
Who knows, maybe in a year, we’ll be discussing some other trends that we cannot even imagine now (as happened with AI once).
Experts’ comments
Amr Shalaby, COO, Sabat:
No matter what e-commerce trend you’re going to master first in 2026, go one step at a time and invest in the education of your employees. Don’t start the mobile app development and, say, AI integration at the same time; you will only make more mistakes and put your business at costly risks. Besides, going step by step eases the learning curve for your employees, reducing the technology resistance and eventually helping you grow a professional team. This, consequently, will help make your e-commerce business a market leader.
Jesper van den Bogaard, CEO, Factor Blue:
Don’t chase every hype. Build a flexible data-driven architecture and invest in your people just as much as in your technology. AI will accelerate everything, but it will not replace the need for smart strategists, experienced developers, strong designers, data architects and content teams. In fact, the more AI advances, the more important these roles become.
