7 e-commerce trends reshaping online retail in 2026

E-commerce changes fast. What worked in 2024 won’t cut it in 2026. AI assistants now complete purchases inside chat windows. TikTok Shop doubled its sales to $26 billion in six months. One-tap checkout replaced multi-step forms. These aren’t incremental improvements—they’re fundamental shifts in how people discover and buy products online.

This guide examines seven data-backed trends reshaping e-commerce in 2026. Each trend includes current adoption data, business implications, and practical preparation steps. Whether you run a $50K store or manage a $5M operation, these trends will affect your traffic sources, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. Here’s what matters.

AI shopping assistants handle transactions

In September 2025, OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT. Users can now find products, compare options, and complete purchases without leaving the chat interface. The feature uses the Agentic Commerce Protocol—an open standard developed with Stripe—that lets AI assistants securely pass order information between shoppers and merchants.

Early adoption numbers: ChatGPT has 700 million weekly users. Etsy sellers and Shopify merchants can already accept orders through the platform. Payment happens through existing merchant systems—ChatGPT acts as an intelligent intermediary, not a marketplace.

Why this matters: Search behavior is changing. According to recent data, 17% of U.S. adults now start product searches on platforms like ChatGPT or TikTok rather than Google. When someone asks “best wireless headphones under $100,” AI assistants provide curated recommendations with prices and reviews—then complete the sale. Traditional search traffic patterns are shifting.

How to prepare: Ensure product data feeds are clean and structured. AI assistants pull from structured metadata—prices, specifications, availability, reviews. If your schema is messy or incomplete, you won’t appear in results. Tools like Google’s Rich Results Test reveal what data you’re actually providing. Focus on detailed product descriptions that answer common questions naturally. If you use Shopify, you’re already eligible for ChatGPT integration. For other platforms, monitor when Agentic Commerce Protocol support becomes available.

TikTok Shop reaches $26 billion in six months

TikTok Shop generated $26 billion in gross merchandise value during the first half of 2025—a 100% increase year-over-year. The U.S. market alone contributed $5.8 billion, with individual months consistently exceeding $1 billion in sales. Nearly 58% of TikTok’s 1.6 billion users now shop directly within the app.

The sales breakdown: Short videos drive 50% of purchases, the in-app Shop contributes 36%, and live streaming accounts for 14%. Beauty and personal care dominates at 22% of total GMV, followed by womenswear at 13%. The platform hosts over 475,000 U.S. stores and 15 million sellers globally.

Here’s the thing about TikTok Shop: it converts differently than traditional e-commerce. Impulse purchases account for 55% of sales. Products tagged in videos see 3x higher conversion rates than standard social ads. The average user spent $708 through TikTok Shop in 2024, with transactions averaging $59—lower than Instagram but with far higher frequency.

How to prepare: Start with product videos, not ads. TikTok’s algorithm favors authentic content over polished advertising. Brands succeeding on the platform use creators and micro-influencers for “get ready with me” style videos showing products in use. If you sell visual products (apparel, beauty, home goods), TikTok Shop should be a primary sales channel in 2026. The platform’s affiliate program enables creators to promote products for commission—48% of TikTok Shop purchases come from influencer posts. Set up your shop early while competition remains manageable. Beauty brands saw 10x year-over-year growth in the health category during 2025.

First-party data becomes mandatory

Third-party cookie deprecation continues across browsers. Privacy regulations tighten globally. The result: businesses need direct relationships with customers to maintain effective marketing and personalization. First-party data—information customers provide directly to your business—is the only reliable foundation for 2026 marketing strategies.

The shift is already visible. Brands investing in email lists, loyalty programs, and customer accounts outperform those dependent on third-party tracking. According to recent research, first-party data enables 40-60% better targeting accuracy than third-party alternatives while maintaining privacy compliance.

But there’s a catch. Collecting first-party data requires value exchange. Customers won’t provide email addresses or create accounts without clear benefits. The stores succeeding with first-party data collection offer: exclusive discounts for account creation, early access to sales or products, personalized recommendations based on purchase history, or loyalty points redeemable for rewards.

How to prepare: Audit what data you currently collect and how you use it. Most stores capture email addresses but fail to collect preferences, sizes, or interests that enable better personalization. Implement progressive profiling—gradually collecting additional information over time rather than overwhelming new customers with long forms. Build a preference center where customers control what data you store and how you use it. Transparency builds trust. If you’re running paid ads, test conversion campaigns optimized for first-party data collection (newsletter signups, account creation) rather than only immediate purchases. A customer who creates an account and doesn’t buy immediately often converts at higher rates on the second or third visit.

Conversations replace searches

Traditional keyword searches are giving way to conversational queries. Instead of typing “women’s running shoes size 8,” shoppers ask “recommend comfortable running shoes for someone with flat feet who runs 20 miles weekly.” AI assistants handle these natural language queries better than keyword-based search engines.

The numbers back this up. Social commerce sales globally reached nearly $700 billion in 2024, growing 23% year-over-year. In the U.S., social commerce is expected to hit $141 billion by 2028. These platforms succeed because they enable conversational product discovery—scrolling feeds, watching videos, and asking questions rather than executing searches.

Conversational commerce works because it matches how people actually think about purchases. When someone needs a product, they don’t always know the exact specifications or terminology. They describe their problem or situation. “I need a gift for my mom who loves gardening” or “looking for a desk chair for long coding sessions under $300.” AI assistants and social platforms excel at interpreting these contextual requests.

How to prepare: Optimize product content for conversational queries. Include use cases, problem statements, and natural language descriptions alongside technical specifications. A coffee maker description shouldn’t just list “12-cup capacity, programmable timer”—it should answer “perfect for households that need coffee ready when they wake up, with enough for multiple people throughout the morning.” Create FAQ sections addressing common problems your products solve. These perform well in AI-generated answers and voice search results. Test your products using conversational searches. Ask ChatGPT or Google for recommendations in your category. See which brands appear and why. Study how competitors appear in results and identify gaps you can fill.

Social commerce completes transactions

Social platforms evolved from product discovery tools to full transaction environments. Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook now handle checkout, payments, and order management internally. Users browse, shop, and buy without leaving the app.

Adoption is accelerating. In 2024, over 100 million Americans made purchases on social media—45.8% of social network users. By 2027, this number is projected to reach 55.6 million TikTok Shop users alone. Total U.S. social commerce sales are expected to reach $141 billion by 2028, growing 14% annually.

The conversion advantage is clear. When shoppers stay within the platform where they discovered a product, friction drops dramatically. No opening new tabs, no entering shipping information on unfamiliar sites, no creating accounts. Payment information is already saved. The result: social commerce converts at significantly higher rates than sending traffic to external websites.

How to prepare: Enable native checkout on platforms where your customers are active. For Instagram and Facebook, set up Shops with full product catalogs. For TikTok, activate TikTok Shop even if you’re simultaneously selling on your website. Don’t treat social commerce as a marketing channel that drives traffic elsewhere—treat it as a standalone sales channel. Optimize for in-platform purchases, not external clicks. This means different product photography (more lifestyle, less catalog), different copy (conversational, not formal), and different promotions (impulse-friendly pricing and bundling). Monitor your analytics separately for each platform. Social commerce customers behave differently than website visitors. Track metrics like average order value, repeat purchase rate, and customer acquisition cost by platform to identify which channels deserve more investment.

One-tap checkout becomes standard

Multi-step checkout forms are disappearing. Modern checkout happens in one or two taps using stored payment methods—Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, or platform-native options. Cart abandonment from complicated checkout processes drops as friction disappears.

The speed advantage matters. Research shows that every additional step in checkout reduces conversion by 10-20%. A traditional five-step checkout (cart review, shipping information, billing information, payment selection, confirmation) loses half of potential customers between cart and purchase. One-tap checkout eliminates four of those steps.

Mobile makes this even more critical. Over 70% of e-commerce traffic comes from mobile devices, but mobile checkout traditionally converts worse than desktop due to form-filling difficulty on small screens. Express checkout options designed for mobile—single tap with biometric authentication—close the mobile conversion gap.

How to prepare: Implement express checkout options on your store. Most modern e-commerce platforms support Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay integration. Enable all available options—different customers prefer different methods. Display express checkout prominently on product pages and cart pages, not just at final checkout. Enabling “buy now” buttons that skip the cart entirely can improve conversion by 20-30% for impulse purchases. Test checkout on actual mobile devices, not just browser simulators. Many checkout problems only appear on real phones with real network conditions. If your checkout requires account creation before purchase, reconsider. Guest checkout with optional account creation after purchase converts better while still enabling first-party data collection.

Sustainability data goes public

Consumers increasingly demand transparency about environmental and social impact. According to recent surveys, 73% of shoppers consider sustainability when making purchase decisions. But vague “eco-friendly” claims no longer suffice—customers expect specific data about materials, manufacturing, shipping, and lifecycle impact.

Regulations are catching up to consumer expectations. The European Union implemented digital product passport requirements for certain categories. California passed supply chain transparency laws. More jurisdictions are following. By 2026, many retailers will need to provide verifiable sustainability data to sell in major markets.

The business case is strong even without regulatory pressure. Products with clear sustainability credentials command price premiums of 10-20% in many categories. Transparent brands build trust that translates to customer loyalty and repeat purchases. Generation Z and younger millennials—who will dominate consumer spending by 2030—heavily weight sustainability in purchase decisions.

How to prepare: Document your supply chain—materials sources, manufacturing locations, transportation methods, and packaging choices. This takes time, so start now even if you’re not required to disclose it yet. When regulations arrive or competitors start publishing this data, you’ll be ready. Be honest about limitations. If certain aspects of your business aren’t sustainable, acknowledge it and explain improvement plans. Authenticity matters more than perfection. Consumers trust brands that admit challenges and show progress more than those claiming zero environmental impact. Create product pages that include sustainability information naturally. Don’t hide it in separate CSR reports—integrate it where purchase decisions happen. For apparel, list materials and their sources. For electronics, explain recycling programs and product lifespan. For food, detail sourcing and transportation. Consider third-party certifications that provide credibility. B Corp certification, Fair Trade labels, or specific industry standards signal commitment beyond self-reported claims.

Preparing for 2026

These seven trends aren’t predictions—they’re already happening. ChatGPT Instant Checkout is live. TikTok Shop hit $26 billion. Mobile checkout evolved. The businesses thriving in 2026 will be those adapting now, not reacting later.

Start with your biggest opportunity. If you sell visual products, prioritize TikTok Shop. If you have strong technical infrastructure, focus on AI shopping integration. If you’re building for long-term growth, invest in first-party data collection. You don’t need to tackle everything simultaneously—choose what aligns with your products, customers, and capabilities.

The common thread: friction is disappearing. Customers expect to discover products conversationally, buy with one tap, and receive transparent information about what they’re purchasing. E-commerce that requires unnecessary steps, provides incomplete product data, or makes customers work to complete purchases will lose to competitors who remove those barriers.

Track how these trends affect your business by monitoring traffic sources, conversion rates. Peasy delivers daily sales, conversion rate, and order metrics via email every morning—making it easy to see when traffic patterns shift. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days