2025 was a year of strong contrasts. On one side, digital commerce has reinvented itself technologically: agentic commerce, AI-driven automations, dynamic personalization, and self-optimizing shops are set to change the market. On the other side, countless companies - especially SMEs - still work with data statuses, processes, and systems stuck in the quality of the digital Middle Ages.

Between these two poles, an exciting and central realization has emerged: Technology can only work effectively where organizations are ready for it.

Agentic commerce demonstrated in 2025 how profoundly online shopping can change.

More and more shops are not only controlled by the operator but begin to increasingly self-regulate: they observe markets, test variants, optimize content, and adjust product recommendations. E-commerce teams can thus increasingly be relieved, spending less time on routine tasks and more on activities that AI (as yet) cannot perform: brand leadership, quality assurance, conceptual work.

The real transformation, however, takes place on the user side. Customers no longer have to fight through filters, categories, or long product lists – they interact with intelligent assistants that recognize needs, pre-sort options, and simplify decisions. This creates a shopping experience that feels less like searching and more like being advised.

As AI-driven technology advances rapidly, one familiar problem remains: data quality. An intelligent shop is worthless if it's fed with bad data.
Especially in the mid-market, a sobering picture emerges: product data is often still manually and inconsistently managed across various systems, PIM systems exist but are not used strategically, availability is often unclear and inconsistent, pricing logic is rarely documented and sustainably managed, and general media quality falls short of customer expectations.

2025 saw some positive developments regarding data quality and management. Many companies are increasingly utilizing technological opportunities like AI to address these. Unfortunately, in the SME sector, many are practically still at the beginning: there's a significant need for greater awareness of data quality within companies.

In the B2B sector, 2025 was possibly the most innovative year to date: self-service processes can significantly relieve field and office staff, shopping lists, variant logic, and price differentiations became more intelligent, offer and order processes are increasingly automated, AI assistants answer product or ERP-related questions, personalized dashboards help customers better manage and oversee their own purchases.

This also holds the greatest growth potential for all economic sectors: B2B shops are less becoming "digital brochures" and more real, digital work tools. Old-fashioned order forms are replaced by intelligent and device-independent digital ordering platforms. Customers cater to themselves autonomously online, optimized processes help both customers and companies save costs and time, and reduce human error sources, with the representative shifting to being a competent consultant.

Omnichannel also gained new meaning this year. It's no longer about presence on many touchpoints, but active interaction on many/different platforms is the new motto. This includes marketplaces and social commerce at the forefront, as well as what we might call "Private Device Commerce": the shopping option that constantly accompanies me on my personal, most-used device, just a click away.

The shop is no longer the center but an important part of the ecosystem in which customers move. For many in the industry, this means: the era of the isolated "we only sell in the shop" strategy is over. "Natural" omnichanneling replaces technically over-engineered solutions.

2025 sustainably changed the role models in e-commerce teams. AI increasingly takes over tasks that humans previously performed manually or with software support. These include content and data management, recurring analyses, automated error detection, and recommendation of measures.

Humans still excel when it comes to identity, strategy and storytelling, quality control, prioritization, emotional customer experiences, and decisions with contextual knowledge.

A key question will occupy us in the coming months and years: "How do we orchestrate human + AI meaningfully and sustainably?" In this context, special attention should be given to individual brand identity, since when everything becomes technically interchangeable, what cannot be automated dictates decisions: an authentic brand.

While 2025 saw major technological changes, 2026 will be the year of organizational homework. What do we consider to be the main topics?

• Data management & PIM will become a strategic discipline, not just a software obligation.
• Where can AI act autonomously? Where are human approvals needed?
• Developing a sustainable cross-channel commerce strategy.
• Cultivating content and brand leadership that is unique and non-interchangeable.
• Roles must be clearly defined: Who is the AI operator? Who is the data owner?
• And: Upgrading. Legacy systems are hindering innovation today more than ever before.

2026 will not be a year of grand visions, but of consistent implementation. Those who experimented curiously in 2025 must establish clearly defined structures in the coming year to be able to benefit in the long term.

The winners of the next years will be those who not only introduce tools but also evolve themselves. This will show who is truly ready to not just reprogram e-commerce, but to rethink it.