10 Online Shopping Trends Shaping 2026

Online shopping trends continue to play an increasingly important role in retail. 

Statista forecasts that in 2026, ecommerce sales will account for over 21.8% of all global retail sales. By 2030, that figure is projected to reach 23.5%. 

Ecommerce brands need a solid understanding of their target customer’s behavior, including their preferences and habits. With these insights in hand, the next step is tapping into current trends and finding what works for your customer base.

Here, we take a closer look at the online shopping trends, statistics, and predictions shaping 2026 and beyond.

What online shopping looks like in 2026

Online shopping is growing; but while it’s growing, it’s also changing. And with AI and other digital technologies advancing at an unprecedented rate, it’s no surprise that new online shopping trends are having an unprecedented impact.

Before we dig into the specifics, let’s look at the three overarching trends influencing online shopping behavior in 2026:

Ecommerce is still growing, but convenience and trust matter more than ever

Increasingly, convenience underpins customers’ willingness to shop online. Salsify’s 2026 “Consumer Research” report found that 64% of people who choose to purchase online instead of in-store identify convenience as a motivating factor, while 39% specifically cite 24/7 availability, and 30% say they’re motivated by easy product comparison.

Trust is also a major driving force in 2026, as customers with an increasing wealth of options search for more opinions to validate their purchases. The same report found 57% of shoppers consider user-generated content (UGC) like online reviews, ratings, and customer photos the most important product page elements they see when shopping online. Retailers focusing only on their product descriptions and professional images are missing the most important piece.

Mobile, social, and AI are changing how shoppers discover products

Mobile shopping

In the first quarter of 2026, smartphones accounted for 72% of all traffic and 68% of all orders on retail websites in the US. And an estimated $856.38 billion in global sales will be processed through mobile devices by 2027. How your retail store functions on mobile devices is no longer something to sort out after you launch.

Social media

Social media is the third-most popular product discovery channel. And those who find what they’re looking for are open to buying: as of March 2026, almost half of US shoppers had purchased a product directly from social media. 

AI search toolsShopify’s data shows traffic from AI search tools to Shopify stores increased eight times year-over-year, as of Q1 2026. These AI-referred shoppers convert at nearly 50% higher rates and spend 14% more than those arriving from organic search. 

Delivery, returns, and product content now shape conversion

Three issues have the capacity directly block purchase intent when customers shop online:

• Delivery: Delivery issues account for two of the top three reasons for customer cart abandonment, with high shipping costs leading 39% of customers to abandon their carts, and slow delivery times driving away another 21%.
• Returns: DHL’s 2025 report found 79% of global shoppers will abandon their cart if their preferred returns option isn’t available. And free returns can influence conversion: 55% of customers mainly buy from online retailers that offer them. 
• Product content: Access to detailed product specs is a benefit of online shopping, yet it needs to be detailed and accurate. Some 44% of shoppers have abandoned a purchase because product information was insufficient. Three-quarters will form negative opinions about a brand if this happens.

The top 10 online shopping trends shaping 2026

1. Shoppers are more intentional and value-conscious
2. Seamless omnichannel experience is now a baseline expectation
3. Sustainability claims need proof, not just labels
4. Social commerce keeps expanding beyond discovery
5. AI shopping tools become part of the buying journey
6. First-party data still matters—but so does privacy
7. Mobile-first shopping keeps raising the UX bar
8. Immersive product experiences like AR and 3D help shoppers buy with confidence
9. Resale and circular commerce continue to grow
10. Cross-border shopping is mainstream for many consumers

1. Shoppers are more intentional and value-conscious

Price concerns are driving customers to assess products by value. Numerator’s data showed that in late 2025, some 37% US consumers said rising prices were their primary concern. 

Deloitte’s 2026 “Global Consumer Products Industry Outlook” corroborates this: it found almost half of consumers behave like value-seekers, meaning they regularly sacrifice convenience to keep costs down. However, cutting costs over and over isn’t the answer—not for any business that wants to stay profitable. 

In a competitive marketplace, discount wars don’t work for many retailers, since the largest enterprises can always afford to work with thinner margins. Instead of solely competing on price with aggressive markdowns and discounts, retailers are finding other ways to add value:

• Offer buy now, pay later (BNPL) for high-consideration products: Jewelry brandAbbott Lyon adopted Shop Pay Installments to lower the perceived cost barrier at the moment of purchase decision, not through a discount. This checkout feature drove 25% higher average order value (AOV) and 25% lower return rate. 
• Send personalized promotions: Some 57% of shoppers return to a brand if there’s a good deal or promotion on offer. Replace site-wide discounts with tailored promotions for each segment. Loyalty program members might get a double point bonus on their next order, for example, while those within a 10-mile radius of your retail store get free buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) options.
• Highlight product differentiators: What makes your product unique? Have customers share this through reviews and other user-generated content, like travel brand Monos does on their Shopify-powered checkout with Checkout Extensibility.

2. A seamless omnichannel experience is now a baseline expectation

Online shopping offers 24/7 availability, but 55% still say in-store shopping is a key discovery channel.

In-store retail is especially popular during peak seasons. PwC’s 2025 research found 53% of holiday shoppers planned to shop in-person. Influences include the ability to interact with products directly (43% of shoppers) and in-store promotions (38%).

Whether customers buy online or offline doesn’t matter as much as the experience they have switching between the two. A 2026 UPS report found customers expect online and in-person experiences, known as “phygital” experiences, to blend seamlessly.

Omnichannel commerce meets those customers where they are, allowing them to pick up where they left off as they switch between channels. Shopify lets you offer this with no need for patchy integrations or middleware. Your ecommerce store, brick-and-mortar locations, and B2B operations work from the same source of truth. 

Apparel brand Mizzen+Main uses Shopify’s unified commerce platform to manage omnichannel experiences across their direct-to-consumer (DTC) website and network of 11 retail stores:

• Promotions are applicable across both sales channels.
• Teams can personalize based on customer data inside each shopper’s unified profile. 
• Real-time data lets them optimize product mix for each store.

“Our highest lifetime value customers are the ones shopping with us from an omnichannel perspective,” says VP of ecommerce Natalie Shaddick.

3. Sustainability claims need proof, not just labels

Shoppers now show clear preferences for environmentally conscious and ethically driven brands. Statista reported that 60% of millennials and 58% of Gen Z prioritize buying from brands that demonstrate sustainable and ethical practices. 

The emphasis here is on demonstration. Kantar’s 2026 report found 57% of consumers have seen or heard false or misleading information about a brand's sustainability claims. 

Womenswear brand Reformation has their sustainability mission is embedded in their tagline: “Being naked is the #1 most sustainable option. We’re #2.” 

The approach works because the brand backs up their claims: Reformation publishes sustainability reports each year. Their 2025 edition celebrated their goal of becoming climate positive alongside a sustainability scorecard that details what they’re proud of, the things they’re on track to achieve, and where work is still left to do.

If you’re adopting sustainable practices for the first time, start small with one swap, such as packaging. Emarketer reports that 77% of shoppers trust a brand more when packaging appears eco-friendly. Roughly one-third are willing to pay a 6% to 10% premium for sustainability packaged orders.

For instance, sustainable outerwear brand Patagonia shares details about material sourcing, social responsibility, and suppliers on their Footprint page.

4. Social commerce keeps expanding beyond discovery

Internet users are open to buying the products they discover on social media. Grin’s report found 62% of shoppers have bought products directly through social media platforms. Emplifi’s 2026 study also found 62% of holiday purchases now happen directly through social media. 

TikTok is a shining example. Emarketer estimates it to be the fastest-growing US retailer they track, projected to reach $23.41 billion in online sales in 2026.

Audiences can discover products, view more details, and checkout through TikTok Shop, an end-to-end customer journey that doesn’t require the user to leave the app. The channel even offers a fulfillment service to help brands fulfill TikTok Shop orders. 

Shopify merchant Loop Earplugs leaned into TikTok Shop, combining affiliate marketing with paid ads and a variety of content formats. As a result, Loop Earplugs' revenue from TikTok shop grew from $60,000 to $450,000 per month within just five months.

5. AI shopping tools become part of the buying journey

Artificial intelligence can take the manual work out of product research and evaluation. Salsify’s 2026 consumer research report found 22% of customers use AI search tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini as their primary research channel. And AI-ready retailers are turning to powerful tools like agentic shopping.

“At Monos, we’re excited about agentic shopping because it enables us to meet customers where they already are,” said Victor Tam, CEO and cofounder of Monos. 

“It’s a new way for our story and product details to show up at the exact moment someone is asking real questions with real intent, in a format that feels helpful, not intrusive,” Victor says. “For a brand built on thoughtful design, it’s a natural next channel for discovery and trust.” 

Monos uses Shopify’s Agentic Storefronts to do this. They’re built using the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), codeveloped with Google, to give AI agents one shared commerce language. All Shopify stores are UCP-enabled by default. 

The Agentic Storefronts page in your Shopify admin lets you:

• See which AI channels your product catalog is enabled for 
• Monitor order, sales, and conversions from AI tools including ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, AI Mode in Google Search, Gemini, and Shop
• Display the most popular AI search queries in your category, including those you do (or don’t yet) rank for 

Agentic Storefronts can also work in tandem with Shopify Sidekick, the AI assistant that lives in your Shopify admin and is always up to speed with your store’s data. Ask it to build custom data explorations, offer personalized suggestions on how to improve your store, or generate code.

“Everyone has worked with AI by now,” says Kevin Foitzik, group head of online shop and IT at Snocks Group. “But having it sit right inside Shopify, connected to your own data, makes it so much more usable.”

6. First-party data still matters—but so does privacy

Tech giants are embracing the reality of a cookieless world. While Google reversed their decision to block third-party cookies, customers are increasingly protective of their personal data.

Attentive’s 2026 study found 71% of shoppers protect their privacy by doing things like opting out of cookies, shopping in incognito mode, and using separate email addresses for marketing. That said, 69% of privacy conscious shoppers still want personalized customer experiences. 

But these two impulses don’t need to be in conflict. Ecommerce brands can satisfy both priorities by gathering first-party data, such as:

• Products they’ve viewed 
• Search queries they’ve used 
• Items they’ve bought
• Products they’ve returned
• Physical stores they’ve visited
• Social media platforms they've bought through
• Loyalty points they’ve earned

Shopify helps you manage this first-party data by building a unified customer profile each time an online shopper shares their phone number or email address. Automated privacy settings can make it clear how you use this data and give customers a way to adjust how it’s used.

Luxury floral brand Venus et Fleur relies on Shopify’s unified customer profiles to offer a seamless shopping experience. They’ve recorded a 10% to 15% increase in ecommerce AOV over the past three years, with higher customer loyalty rates in-store as staff can access key data that helps them personalize their approach.

“Integrating all of our sales channels within a single platform allows us to deliver a personalized, cohesive experience at every touchpoint, reflecting the seamless luxury that our customers expect from Venus et Fleur,” says Brendan Gorman, head of ecommerce. 

“With Shopify's unified ecosystem, we can manage ecommerce, retail, and social commerce data in one place, giving us a holistic view of our customer journey.”

7. Mobile-first shopping keeps raising the UX bar

Despite their increasing preference for mobile shopping, customers still face frustration with design and user experience when shopping on their mobile devices. Baymard’s 2025 study found 81% of leading ecommerce sites have “mediocre or worse” mobile UX.

Areas with the biggest room for improvement for mobile shoppers, per Baymard, are:

• Mobile navigation and category taxonomy
• Onsite search for mobile users, including the addition of autocomplete
• Smart product collections and filtering options 
• Optimized product page images 

Serge Blanco’s migration to Shopify let them take advantage of the internet’s highest-converting checkout. This includes Shop Pay, which allows customers to buy online with just two taps. 

“What changed very quickly was how simple checkout became,” says director of ecommerce Julien Fournier. “That drove conversion rates up directly, especially on mobile.”

8. Immersive product experiences like AR and 3D help shoppers buy with confidence

3D imagery shows items in a new light, helping online customers visualize products they don’t have the opportunity to see physically. These models power augmented reality (AR) experiences.

Clutch’s 2026 report found online shopping is the second-most popular reason customers use AR and VR, beaten only by gaming. Some 60% of customers have already made an online purchase with this type of technology, and 64% plan to increase that frequency in the next two years.

Examples of AR and 3D modeling in ecommerce include:

• Virtual try-on tools for fashion brands
• “View in my room” functionality for home decor retailers
• Shade-matching mobile apps for beauty brands

Accessories brand The Cambridge Satchel Company uses Shopify’s AR tools to let online shoppers virtually place a 3D image of each bag onto the environment they’re currently in.

“The fact that we can offer this kind of AR experience with our budget puts us on a level playing field with people who have much greater resources than we do,” says founder Julie Deane. “I’ve no doubt that if big luxury brands create this kind of AR experience [in-house], they would be paying 10 times what we are.”

Gunner Kennels took a similar approach. They built 3D models of each dog crate so online shoppers could visualize a life-sized version next to their pet. The result: a 3% increase in cart conversion rate and 5% fewer returns.

9. Resale and circular commerce continue to grow

Sustainability concerns and price sensitivity are driving online shoppers towards secondhand alternatives. In 2025, eBay reported that nearly 9 in 10 consumers plan to maintain or increase their spending on preloved goods.

The clothing industry is speeding ahead. ThredUp’s 2026 Resale Report found the US secondhand market grew almost four times faster than the overall retail clothing market in 2025. Younger demographics are driving this demand. An estimated 71% of all secondhand market growth will come from Gen Z and millennials.

Tentree, for example, runs a resale program for customers to submit their unwanted old clothing. They get a digital gift card for the full value of their items or an 80% cash equivalent. Approved products are listed on ReShop, which offers preloved tentree products at a fraction of the full price.

10. Cross-border shopping is mainstream for many online consumers

Online shoppers are no longer restricted to shop from brands in their home country.

Today, 57% of businesses sell to international markets, reaching an average of 3.9 countries each.* These cross-border orders represented 16% of all global orders from Shopify brands during the 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

Yet international online shoppers have a unique set of demands. Pymnts’ 2025 study shows 99% expect to use their preferred payment methods. Another 94% expect to pay in their local currency.

World of Books leans into this with Shopify Markets. They sell across 190 countries and ship to seven different markets, all from one ecommerce platform: their Shopify admin. “If our vision is to be the world's largest and most sustainable dedicated online bookstore, we can't do that just in the UK,” says David Magee, director of product.

Jaded London also credits Sidekick as the AI assistant that lets them manage seven international markets with a small team. They’ve saved 10 to 15 hours per week on analytics requests as Sidekick helped them remove data bottlenecks.

“Instead of asking me how many men's items we sold in Germany last week, they just ask Sidekick and get an immediate answer,” says head of ecommerce Jamie Evans.

*Survey conducted by The Harris Poll from August 22nd to 31st, 2025 on behalf of Shopify.