Reimagining e-commerce with AI: the dawn of interactive commerce

The e-commerce channel has been the cornerstone of retail growth in the United States for the past 15 years, almost doubling every five years. However, the touchpoints and structure of the shopping journey, essentially the path to purchase, remain fundamentally unchanged since the inception of online retailing.

These frameworks, built on limited technological resources such as 2G bandwidth and nascent cloud capabilities, constrain the potential for innovation. However, in the next 18 to 24 months, AI is set to revolutionize the online shopping experience, breaking free from decades-old paradigms. The impending AI-powered paradigm will redefine how shoppers interact with e-commerce platforms, offering intuitive and personalized experiences that mirror real-world shopping.

The limited path-to-purchase design is plateauing innovation

The traditional e-commerce workflows (see Exhibit 1)—from category navigation to product listing and checkout—remain deeply ingrained but fail to replicate the nuanced, consultative, and intuitive nature of physical shopping experiences.

Exhibit 1: The e-commerce customer journey in 2010—path to purchase

Source: HFS Research, 2025

In the past 15 or so years, retailers have made multiple improvements by integrating new user experience patterns into the existing (and ancient) e-commerce workflow (see Exhibit 2). At each stage, new levers help the customer reach the final stage faster. For instance, retailers now have a personalized homepage that carries suggestions based on a shopper’s past browsing and purchase history. Similarly, on the product description page, the shopper can read actual customer purchase and usage reviews, understand the pros and cons, and make an informed decision.

Exhibit 2: Integrated new user experience patterns into the outdated e-commerce workflow

Source: HFS Research, 2025

While impressive, this e-commerce ‘shopping experience’ growth trajectory has plateaued in its ability to deliver transformative shopper experiences. The reliance on static, catalog-based approaches has entrenched inefficiencies, placing the burden of product discovery, comparisons, and decision-making squarely on the shopper.

15 years of incrementalism: the constraints of legacy design

The current e-commerce journey was conceived during an era of technological infancy. In 2010, shoppers navigated slow-loading pages over 2G or 3G connections, accessed limited product information, and relied on rudimentary search algorithms. Despite the evolution of supporting technologies, such as the proliferation of smartphones and the advent of social commerce, the core experience remains static. The focus has primarily been about optimizing existing models rather than reimagining them.

Among its most significant shortcomings, the current model doesn’t replicate real-world buying patterns. The burden of product and pricing research is on the shopper. Most importantly, the shopper search often begins with a goal, but then the shopper works backward to find products. Let’s explain this with an example.

The requirement: Remodel your home office.

The process: The shopper determines what items to purchase based on budget and requirements, searches for those items across leading marketplaces and retailer sites, performs price and product comparisons, makes individual cart selections, and places an order.

The challenge: Ideally, the shopper would want to express wishes, goals, and objectives and, in return, receive meaningful product or service recommendations.

With AI, the industry is ripe for disruption—from transactional to interactive to intimate commerce

AI introduces a dynamic shift by transforming the linear, shopper-led e-commerce journey into an intuitive, goal-driven experience. Imagine a shopper expressing a simple goal: “I am an amateur who wants to go skiing, and my budget is less than $1,000.” AI-powered platforms will interpret this intent, leveraging contextual data, historical preferences, and advanced recommendation systems to curate a tailored shopping experience.

HFS has created a futuristic model (see Exhibit 3) illustrating how this could unfold.

Exhibit 3: An intuitive wish-based retail paradigm

Source: HFS Research, 2025

The Key tenets of the AI-powered shopping paradigm

1. Progressive AI engine: An AI-powered wish-sensing engine utilizes domain knowledge, clickstream behavior, a brand’s social and shopper reviews, previous channel interactions—such as shopping done in a brick-and-mortar store—and an optional implanted real-time conversion interceptor.
2. Retail sentient cloud: This more evolved form of the shopper data platform (CDP) aims to derive real-time shopper insights and act on them immediately. For example, a sudden heatwave triggers the retail sentient cloud to predict high demand for cold beverages, prompting immediate restocking and targeted online ads for nearby stores.
3. Community-driven purchases: Purchasers can become micro-influencers, helping other potential buyers make the right selections while also receiving rewards for participating in this process.
4. Distributed loyalty ecosystem: Built on blockchain technology, non-competing retailers form a consortium, enabling the shopper to reap shared benefits. For example, the loyalty points earned by a shopper with ‘Retailer A’ on grocery shopping can be utilized at a quick service restaurant (QSR) outlet of ‘Retailer B.’

The Bottom Line: The convergence of advanced AI, 5G connectivity, and cloud computing has set the stage for redefining the e-commerce shopper experience. Retailers must act decisively and invest in platforms prioritizing relationship-centric, value-driven interactions.

Early adopters can gain a significant competitive advantage by offering experiences that transcend traditional e-commerce limitations. Platforms that understand and anticipate shopper needs at a granular level will shape the future of online shopping.

AI isn’t just enhancing the e-commerce experience; it is rewriting the rulebook. The transition from transactional to intuitive commerce promises unprecedented convenience and personalization. The current e-commerce journey, though historically effective, is no longer adequate in a world driven by immediacy and personalization. With AI at the helm, the next phase of e-commerce will be less about navigating products and more about fulfilling goals—a shift that will change how we shop and perceive the role of commerce in our lives.