2025 promises to be an incredibly exciting year for e-commerce. It is full of challenges, but also brings rapid technical advancements and new opportunities for companies ready to invest and take risks. That is exactly where this newsletter comes in! For over 15 years, Comsysto Reply has been implementing complex e-commerce solutions for clients across all industries. At the same time, we track and analyze relevant trends in our e-commerce lab to ensure we are ready for tomorrow's challenges today. We are sharing our insights here—starting now, every week!
Fresh from the news: Zalando back on a growth trajectory
After two years of slight revenue declines, Zalando reports growth of 3.9% for 2024, reaching €10.5 billion (Ecommerce News)—a prime example of an entire industry heading into 2025. It is not just the planned acquisition of ABOUT YOU that has spirits high at Zalando; the company is also right on trend with its clear focus on a marketplace platform.
E-commerce Trend 2025: The path to the future of customer support
Studies (Ecommerce News) from 2024 have shown that the number of returns in the UK has risen by 7% compared to the previous year. This trend is expected to continue and is not limited to the UK. The problem: returns already represent a significant cost factor, often estimated at well over 5 euros per shipment (EHI Retail Institute). This is why 74% of respondents in another study (EHI Retail Institute) consider the prevention of returns to be a top priority—and certainly not just for environmental reasons.
The question remains: how? Beyond logistics, this is primarily achieved through better product and advisory features to improve the digital shopping experience for customers.
Improving the customer experience also contributes to another aspect, and it is more important than ever! In many areas, the market is largely saturated, making it increasingly difficult to acquire new customers. 60% of respondents in a study (EHI Retail Institute) find it easier to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. And anyone who wants to do that successfully can hardly afford to make mistakes! Most customers (90% - logistik-heute) are deterred from ordering from the same online shop again after just one subpar experience. Conversely, a positive effect is naturally to be expected when the shopping experience exceeds expectations thanks to excellent customer service (PWC). This is not only good for loyalty, but also for customer lifetime value.
AI as an enabler for an excellent customer experience
And, of course, one trend cannot be left out here: Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI can be used in a wide variety of ways to improve the shopping experience—here are just two examples.
Personalization through AI: By analyzing existing customer data, AI creates personalized shopping experiences tailored to individual preferences and behavioral patterns. It’s essentially personal advice without the wait times. This leads not only to higher customer satisfaction but also to an increased conversion rate.
AI is also revolutionizing loyalty programs by making them more personalized and effective. By analyzing purchasing behavior and customer preferences, tailored benefits and offers are created that are highly relevant to that specific customer. This allows customers to receive special discounts and recommendations based on their preferences, while the e-commerce company collects valuable data to optimize future strategies.
Conversational interfaces: Chatbots and virtual assistants have become a staple of customer service. They provide 24/7 support, deliver quick answers to frequently asked questions, and only escalate more complex issues to human agents. Naturally, quality must be ensured here as well—otherwise, frustration will set in much faster than enthusiasm.
The use of chatbots will be even more disruptive when it comes to product selection and searching for the right items. In this scenario, the user interacts with a virtual assistant not just when problems arise, but more or less continuously throughout the entire shopping experience. By 2025, conversational commerce will fundamentally change what online shop user interfaces look like and how customers interact with them.
That’s it for today - and here’s what’s coming up next
It’s clear: integrating AI into existing e-commerce landscapes is not just a trend, but will soon be a necessity to remain competitive at all. We are currently working on several showcases that demonstrate how simple and effective this can be. Until then, the next issue will continue with Part 2 of our major e-commerce trends for 2025.
See you next week!
Christian & the Comsysto Reply e-Commerce Lab