With the end of January, the prospects for e-commerce in the coming years have become increasingly solid. Online commerce is one of the most prominent segments, with 56% of Brazilian consumers stating they make more purchases online than in physical stores, according to research by Opinion Box.
Pointing in the same direction, the 2022 Global Payments Report by FIS reveals that the online sales market is expected to grow by 55.3% by the end of next year, surpassing the $8 trillion mark in transaction value. In Brazil, the scenario is the same, with a projected growth of 95% in the period, potentially reaching $79 billion.
According to Renato Avelar, Co-CEO of A&EIGHT, a high-performance end-to-end digital solutions ecosystem, the beginning of the year represents a milestone for e-commerce to seize the opportunities of the next cycle. “This transition moment is crucial to plan and implement changes that meet consumer expectations. By evaluating the market beforehand, brands that bet on innovation, personalization, and responsible practices will have a better chance of leading the sector in 2025,” he says.
With this in mind, the executive listed the 5 main trends for the e-commerce market in 2025, which will likely continue in the following years. Check them out:
Return of pragmatism in decisions
The high global cost of capital acquisition impacts retail on a large scale, and decisions will increasingly be guided by ensuring a return on investment. “There are many disruptive technologies and innovative methodologies, but executives should focus on what actually moves the needle for their e-commerce, always keeping an eye on the bottom line—the key factor that truly has a significant impact on revenue or attracting new customers,” explains Avelar.
Retail media as a profitability lever
“Turning traffic into revenue is essential, and for this, retail media is crucial, as it leverages physical and digital infrastructures to sell advertising space to brands, generating high-margin revenue and optimizing the use of primary data,” the executive emphasizes. In other words, retailers expect a 10% increase in revenue from retail media. However, the contribution margin from this source could exceed 6%, potentially doubling the profit of a retail operation with just a 10% increase in revenue, making it highly profitable and beneficial for the brand as a whole.
Omnichannel focused on loyalty
Omnichannel is another strong point for retail in the coming years, especially in 2025. Avelar details that this channel integration contributes to customer loyalty, as they have access to a wider range of options to search for products and complete their purchases. However, a focus on loyalty requires a robust and integrated CRM, with a single data source and a ‘composable marketing’ approach—meaning ‘composable commerce,’ a modular approach to building and enhancing online stores, enabling consistent and personalized experiences across all channels, according to the Co-CEO.
“This way, e-commerce can use specialized systems and pay only for the services they actually use in their operations, optimizing processes and costs,” he concludes.
AI for process automation
Artificial intelligence already plays an important role in e-commerce, but the trend is for the technology to take on an even greater role in personalizing customer service by 2025—an essential element for brands to acquire and retain customers. According to Avelar, the market is waking up and realizing that AI isn’t just for chatbots. “Artificial intelligence will be fundamental for automating complex integrations and standardizing data, improving operational efficiency and optimizing inventory, marketing, and customer service,” he explains.
Retailer alliances, creation of digital catalogs, and investment in owned channels
In the digital space, we can already see the movement of major retailers joining forces, integrating seller catalogs to offer greater variety and compete with global marketplaces, creating a stronger and more efficient network, such as Magalu and AliExpress. Currently, marketplaces account for approximately 75% of the national e-commerce market, demonstrating the sector’s strength and impact in the country.
For Avelar, marketplaces in the country have been built on a foundation resembling an oligopoly, dominating the sector and defining commerce. “Brands selling on marketplaces are realizing that the situation is becoming increasingly unsustainable—being a seller means being ‘at the mercy’ of high fees, unsustainable profitability models, and losing the most valuable asset an e-commerce can have: the customer,” reflects the executive, who adds, “Retailers and brands are starting to see this topic as a risk and a loss of assets. Marketplaces typically represent over 60% of e-commerce online sales, while owned channels account for 40% or less. Therefore, for companies to regain control, they need to reverse this situation by better distributing their catalog across marketplaces in a diluted manner and increasing investment in owned channels,” concludes the expert.
