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For brands and retailers, the real risk isn’t falling behind on what’s new in e-commerce. It’s confusing activity with progress. Money and attention are pouring into AI and constant reinvention, while the basics that turn a browser into a buyer remain unresolved.
It is easy to see why. AI is rapidly rewriting how shoppers find, compare and buy fashion and sports products online, discovery is shifting from search bars to algorithms and culture, while Gen Z moves fluidly across resale, social commerce and emerging channels. Chasing all of it feels urgent. But a single playbook does not work for every marketing, operations and digital, and conducted extensive interviews with industry experts, from retail analysts to brand strategists, and experts at Amazon.
Over 80 pages, four brand deep dives and nine chapters, the report draws on this proprietary research to map the e-commerce customer journey end to end, pinpointing the greatest opportunities for growth and where industry priorities diverge from real consumer behaviour.
A few highlights from our research show how fast the market is moving, and what’s at stake for brands and retailers who don’t move with it:
1. Athletes and micro-influencers are the new purveyors of influence
Consumers trust first-hand shopping recommendations from people they know the most, with 73 percent of consumers surveyed saying they are likely to buy a fashion or sports product based on a recommendation from friends and family. However, among individuals in the spotlight, the hierarchy has flipped. Athletes rank top, earning the trust of almost a third of consumers with their product and brand recommendations. Celebrities and macro-influencers rank below, both capturing just 17 percent of consumer trust. Meanwhile, micro-influencers outperform their macro counterparts at 19 percent.
2. Retailers are investing more in AI discovery than brands
Consumers are already using AI to discover fashion and sports products across categories, while Gen Z is adopting AI for shopping the fastest. When it comes to using AI agents to shop, consumers already trust agentic AI from online retailers more than double any other source, including pure-play AI-focused companies and fashion brands. To adapt to this shift, retailers are the first movers in adopting generative engine optimisation, or GEO, which involves making content visible to AI search: 56 percent have built it into their strategy, compared with 20 percent of brands. Brands that don’t optimise for AI discovery risk becoming invisible in the exact channel where search is moving next.
3. Brands are innovating on shaky foundations
Poor product information and fit uncertainty are the two biggest pain points for consumers when shopping for fashion and sports online — and as many as one in five say they last abandoned a fashion or sports purchase because of poor information. Yet UX and brand expression is where brand and retailer leaders are concentrating their efforts to improve e-commerce, with 54 percent ranking it their top priority. Only 19 percent of industry leaders rank fixing foundational product data as a top priority.
4. The real drivers of a full-price sale are practical
Free shipping, easy returns and fast delivery all rank far ahead of belief a product will sell out or exclusive access as reasons people pay full price: 42 percent cite free shipping, against just 15 percent who point to scarcity and 7 percent to exclusive access. Brands leaning on scarcity to protect margin are backing the weaker lever — consumers will pay full price when the basics feel effortless.
The window for treating any of this as optional is closing. The research points to a landscape where getting the fundamentals right, or getting them wrong, shows up directly in whether a browser converts into a sale, and in whether the innovation brands are racing towards is built on solid ground or weak foundations. The brands pulling ahead aren’t choosing between speed and discipline. They’re doing both, moving fast on what’s next while making sure the basics can carry the weight.
Download the report to understand the major shifts reshaping e-commerce and what they mean for your channel strategy.
This report draws on proprietary consumer and industry surveys and expert insights to map the future of fashion and sports e-commerce across the full online customer journey, from discovery to post-purchase:
BoF Insights is The Business of Fashion’s in-house consultancy. We partner with leading fashion and beauty brands and investors to help them sustainably grow for the long term. Get in touch to find out how we can support your business.
