3 E-commerce Trends in 2025: AI, Guided Selling and Augmented Reality (AR)
The e-commerce landscape is evolving at lightning speed, and in 2025, we’re seeing some major trends shaping the industry. From AI and guided selling tools to Augmented Reality (AR), the biggest online retailers are embracing these innovations to boost conversions and stay ahead of the competition.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into these trends and explore how your online store can keep up. We’ll break down the pros and cons of each tool and help you determine whether they’re the right fit for your website.
Let’s start with guided selling!
1. Guided Selling tools
A common challenge in online shopping is decision fatigue. With thousands of products available, customers often struggle to find the best fit for their needs. Guided selling tools solve this problem by using interactive quizzes and personalized product recommendations—super convenient, especially for stores with extensive inventories!
Example: A clothing store can offer a quiz where customers can instantly find the perfect outfit based on their style and preferences. This not only increases conversion but also reduces returns.
Here’s an example of a guided selling tool in action at Travelbags. By asking questions like “How long will you be traveling?” or “What’s your budget?”, customers receive instant recommendations tailored to their needs.
Right now, Aiden is performing exceptionally well in the Netherlands. Many major online retailers, including Toppy, XXL Nutrition, Prénatal, and Kees Smit, have already integrated their guided selling tool.
✅ Benefits Guided Selling tools:
- Helps give your customer overview, especially when you have thousands of products online
- Customers feel more confident with their purchase because they are “guided”
- Potentially increases conversion and reduces returns
- Consumers today have a short attention span, so they don’t want to spend hours searching through filters. With a decision aid, you take them directly to the right products for the customer
❌ Disadvantages Guided Selling tools:
- Setting up and decorating can take a lot of time and energy
- Large financial investments that may not be possible for every shop
- Possible issues around data and privacy related to personal data collection
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Chatbots
Everywhere you go, people are talking about AI—especially with the rise of ChatGPT. This surge in AI adoption is driving the rapid growth of AI-powered chatbots. These intelligent assistants are becoming increasingly sophisticated, helping e-commerce businesses deliver personalized shopping experiences while also supporting customer service.
AI chatbots provide instant answers to customer inquiries without the need for human intervention. This is incredibly useful for maintaining high customer satisfaction and reducing the workload of support teams. Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, we expect chatbots to become even more advanced, taking over more tasks traditionally handled by customer service agents and sales representatives.
However, there are some challenges to consider. Let’s take a closer look at the potential downsides.
Here’s an example of a chatbot in action at Kees Smit
✅ Benefits chatbot:
- 24/7 customer service, so customers can be helped at any time of the day
- Quick replies, so short wait times and higher customer satisfaction*
- Can cut costs on customer service staff
- Can handle large spikes in high traffic during Black Friday, Christmas and other holidays, for example
❌ Disadvantages chatbot:
- Chatbots can make (big) mistakes such as incorrect answers or wrongly recommended products. This can damage your trust and reputation
- Some customers prefer human contact to talking to a robot
- Complex questions chatbots still struggle with
- A high-quality chatbot can come with a significant price tag
3. Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D
AR is the game-changing technology that will set top-tier e-commerce experiences apart from standard online stores in 2025. With AR, customers can visualize products in their own space before making a purchase—drastically reducing return rates and boosting conversions.
Imagine placing furniture in your living room, trying on shoes virtually, or testing makeup on your face—all from the comfort of home. AR adds a physical dimension to online shopping, creating a truly immersive experience. It feels like stepping into the future! In just seconds, you can see a product in real size, right in front of you. What once
Many AR tools, like Zieny, also incorporate 3D viewing. This allows customers to explore products from every angle in a website popup before switching to full AR mode. Even standalone 3D visualization has been proven to increase conversions, but the combination of 3D and AR is a true game-changer!
Here’s an example of the AR feature at Travelbags. First, you can view the suitcase in full 3D from every angle—not just in 360 degrees, but completely interactive in 3D. Then, you can place the suitcase in your own space, seeing it in real life with the exact color, size, and texture as it would appear in-store.
This saves you a trip to the physical store and significantly reduces returns. After all, why return a product when you’ve already seen exactly how it will look in your home?
E-commerce brands that prioritize sustainability and climate impact are also embracing AR, as it helps prevent unnecessary returns and reduces waste. 🌍
Here are the pros and cons of AR and 3D:
✅ Benefits AR and 3D:
- Increases conversions and reduces returns by allowing customers to visualize products in their own home before purchasing
- Differentiates you from competitors by offering a cutting-edge shopping experience
- The younger generation is growing up with AR and 3D, and they’ll expect this from your webshop
- Consumers trust your brand more when they see 3D and AR content, as it gives your business a more professional and serious image
- Demonstrates that you value customer service by integrating innovative technologies
- Can start with just a few hundred euros (e.g., using AR tools like Zieny)
- Quick integration—up and running in as little as 10 minutes, compatible with platforms like Magento, Shopify, WordPress, etc
❌ Disadvantages AR and 3D:
- For custom-made products, AR may be less relevant. In these cases, it’s often combined with a 3D configurator
- AR and 3D aren’t useful for every product. Items like stationery, pens, and cables, for example, don’t benefit much from these technologies
Which tool is best for you?
It’s difficult to pick just one “best” tool. Instead, we believe in the power of combining multiple solutions—just like Travelbags does. They use Aiden’s guided selling tool to direct customers to the right product and Zieny’s AR and 3D tool to let shoppers visualize their purchase at home, increasing conversions and reducing returns. This is a great example of how multiple tools can work together to enhance the customer experience.
If you’re running a small or newly launched webshop, these tools might not be essential just yet. However, if your business generates at least €3 million in revenue, we highly recommend exploring these options. Final Tip: Choose a provider that supports all major e-commerce platforms like Magento, WordPress, Lightspeed, and Shopify. Both Zieny and Aiden offer seamless integrations and are trusted by industry leaders in the Netherlands. 🚀
