The Future of Ecommerce Experiences: Reimagining Digital Shopping for a New Era

Ecommerce is undergoing a technological revolution, with new tools and innovations emerging at a rapid pace. Brands have unprecedented power to craft immersive, engaging shopping experiences that not only captivate customers but set them apart from competitors. 

Yet, instead of pushing boundaries, many online experiences feel stagnant — trapped in the same predictable mold.

“The web has become homogeneous,” said Phillip Jackson, Co-founder of Future Commerce, during the Creating Transformative Customer Experiences session at NRF. “We did research at Future Commerce to figure this out. When you take the header and the logo away from a website, consumers can't tell the distinctiveness from one brand to the next. It doesn't matter what it is; there is a way to build a website, and we don't change it. That's it, and we wonder why we can't break through the 3% conversion rate barrier.”

This lack of differentiation is a major obstacle to driving engagement and, ultimately, sales. According to the New Modes: Redefining Personalization in the Age of AI report, four out of five consumers shop online weekly, yet many feel frustrated when a brand they love delivers a poor user experience. And it’s not just consumers who are taking notice — 35% of brands in a BigCommerce and Retail Dive survey cited enhancing customer experience and satisfaction as their top business challenge for the next 12 months.

With ecommerce now an essential part of daily shopping habits, consumer expectations will only continue to rise — especially as AI and emerging technologies become deeply integrated into everyday life.

Brands that stick to outdated ecommerce models risk getting left behind. To truly stand out, brands must ditch the cookie-cutter ecommerce mold and embrace creative shopping experiences that provide real, tangible value. Whether through composable commerce, offering a unified omnichannel experience, or AI-driven tools, the brands that push boundaries and redefine the online experience will shape the future of ecommerce.

Build one-of-a-kind storefronts with composable commerce

Composable commerce is the key to building modern, innovative customer experiences that reflect a brand’s unique identity. Unlike the traditional monolithic framework, composable commerce gives brands total control over their tech stack, allowing them to integrate best-in-class tools and break free from the limitations of a one-size-fits-all approach.

With the ability to seamlessly incorporate third-party apps, custom integrations, and emerging technologies — without disrupting the entire site — brands can continuously refine and enhance the shopping experience to exceed consumer expectations.

Empower creativity with Catalyst and Makeswift.

BigCommerce’s new composable storefront, Catalyst, is redefining modern commerce, giving brands the freedom to build custom, high-performing storefronts that captivate and convert.

With Catalyst, both developers and marketers can craft engaging, tailor-made experiences — accelerating time to market and eliminating developer bottlenecks.

One of Catalyst’s most powerful features is Makeswift, its pre-integrated visual builder, which gives marketers full creative control. With Makeswift, marketing teams can design, preview, and publish pages effortlessly — enabling them to quickly launch dynamic, customer-focused site components that drive engagement like never before.

“We're taking the power that has been hidden behind the veil of code for developers who own that process and handing it to the marketing teams," explained Lindsay Trinkle, Co-founder of Makeswift. "Marketers are really untapped in their ability to connect with audiences and make emotionally resonant experiences that actually convert in ways that we wouldn't have been able to do before without this visual-first experience.”

By removing barriers between design and development, Catalyst enables brands to innovate faster, create immersive shopping experiences, and set themselves apart from competitors.

“If you have tools like Makeswift and BigCommerce — composable tools that simplify significantly — you’ve saved time on your developer and marketing teams that they can use to innovate and AB test with your customers,” remarked Wayne Stratbucker, Senior Product Manager at Codal. “Your innovation hub is going to be your website. And tools like BigCommerce and Makeswift allow you to do that.”

Deliver dynamic experiences across channels

Shoppers are no longer confined to a single platform — instead, they interact with brands across websites, marketplaces, social media, and even AI-driven search to discover, research, and purchase products. 

Especially with the resurgence of in-person shopping, consumers expect fluid, engaging experiences that seamlessly connect the online and offline worlds. Every channel — physical or digital — is an opportunity for brands to stand out with creative, dynamic interactions that make shopping effortless and memorable.

With so many platforms in play, it’s easy for brands to feel overwhelmed. But the key is not just being everywhere — it’s about creating experiences that resonate. For example, home goods brands can transform their omnichannel strategy by blending in-store and online shopping. According to the Omnichannel Customer Journey Report: The New Buyer Experience for Home Furnishings Shoppers, 69% of shoppers used Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) last year, and 80% of them made additional purchases in-store. This is likely due to brands strategically positioning grab-and-go items near the pick-up area, turning BOPIS into a seamless blend of convenience and discovery that enhances the shopping experience and drives additional sales.

As shoppers continue to explore multiple channels before making a purchase, brands must go beyond simply being present — they need to create compelling experiences that engage customers at every touchpoint.

Power creative, connected shopping journeys through Feedonomics.

Feedonomics is a powerful feed management tool that curates engaging, dynamic shopping experiences that resonate with shoppers. By synchronizing product data, automating updates, and ensuring real-time personalization, brands can customize their presence for each channel while maintaining a unified identity.

With 81% of consumers researching brands, products, or services online weekly, ensuring product visibility, accuracy, and discoverability across multiple channels is critical​. Whether a shopper finds a product on Amazon, Google Shopping, TikTok Shop, or a brand’s website, the experience should feel cohesive, interactive, and designed for engagement.

“Tools like Feedonomics are as critical as SEO is to a website because your data needs to be optimized to that search engine, aka that marketplace or third-party channel. You have to optimize that to make sure your products stand out,” explained Stratbucker.

More than just a feed management platform, Feedonomics serves as a brand’s creative engine — transforming static product listings into dynamic, visually compelling experiences optimized for discovery.

By leveraging Feedonomics, brands can deliver personalized, data-driven shopping journeys that engage customers across every channel while maintaining a cohesive, high-impact brand presence.

Transform the user experience with cutting-edge technology

The rise of AI and related technologies has made immersive, hyper-personalized shopping experiences more accessible than ever. Brands can now connect with shoppers in entirely new ways, from AI-driven product recommendations to personalized search.

“You can use AI to build incredible experiences on your online store. And so that's where having a headless composable solution is key because you don't have to wait for a BigCommerce roadmap to include some kind of AI feature,” explained Malte Ubl, Chief Technology Officer at Vercel.

AI-powered tools reshape how consumers discover and research products, shifting shopping behavior away from traditional search engines. According to the New Modes: Redefining Personalization in the Age of AI report, consumers in their 20s are three times more likely to use ChatGPT over Google for product discovery than older generations. This shift highlights the growing demand for AI-driven, intuitive search experiences, with 47% of surveyed consumers expressing strong interest in AI-powered personalized search tools that help them find the right products​.

Finding ways to integrate AI-powered search tools, like Klevu, and even new technologies, like Perplexity, can be a game changer in the online experience brands provide.

Another powerful way brands can enhance the shopping experience with AI is by streamlining user reviews. User-generated content (UGC) plays a key role in building authenticity and trust, with two out of three shoppers actively searching for reviews that validate their purchase decisions.

Instead of requiring shoppers to sift through dozens of lengthy reviews, AI can summarize key insights, making it easier for consumers to make informed decisions quickly.

“The one use case I think is killer and everyone should ship tomorrow is a summarization of user reviews. Who wants to read 40 reviews? You can just have an AI summarize them. And again, they're good at this. You don't have to hire an expert. Any one of your engineers can basically write that in a day, and it's incredible user value,” shared Ubl.

Bring products to life with augmented reality.

Beyond AI, technologies like augmented reality (AR) are revolutionizing how consumers interact with products online, making shopping more immersive and confidence-boosting. In fact, BigCommerce’s home and garden consumer report found that 47% of shoppers felt more confident in their purchase decision after using AI, AR, and VR.

Brands like UPLIFT Desk use AR to offer an innovative site experience that simplifies the process of purchasing office furniture online. With their 3D preview placements, shoppers can view products in their very homes, assessing the look and size without evaluating them in-store.

With these innovative technologies, brands have the power to stand out, create streamlined shopping experiences, and ultimately boost shopper confidence and satisfaction. As these technologies become more advanced, brands that embrace them will redefine what online shopping looks like — blurring the lines between convenience, personalization, and real-world engagement.

The final word

Generating ecommerce success is all about creating experiences that captivate, convert, and keep customers coming back. 

With more brands entering the ecommerce space and new technologies raising consumer expectations, competition is fiercer than ever. To truly stand out, brands can’t rely on standardized online experiences — they need to embrace innovation and rethink how they engage shoppers.

Thankfully, there are now more tools than ever to build seamless, intuitive, and highly personalized experiences that exceed shopper expectations.

“We have so many tools, why aren't we employing them to try to break through? Where's the innovation? It’s time to use these tools to bring some innovation back to the web and try to break out of this mold,” shared Jackson.

The brands that dare to break free from the mold — those that embrace creativity, harness emerging technologies, and redefine the shopping experience — will shape the future of digital commerce.

Watch the Creating Transformative Customer Experiences panel from NRF to discover how ecommerce brands can revolutionize their customer experience.