How AI Shopping Assistants Are Transforming Online Retail in 2025

AI shopping assistants are changing how people shop online in 2025. Picture shopping in a store where an assistant gives you product ideas. The assistant also answers your questions and helps you pick things.

Now, you expect shopping assistants to give you special suggestions. They also make shopping simpler for you. Think about how these changes might affect how you shop or run a business.

Key Takeaways

• AI shopping assistants make online shopping better. They give you suggestions that fit what you like.
• AI tools help people enjoy shopping more. They also help stores sell more things.
• Stores should use automation and smart sales plans. This helps AI shopping assistants work better. It also makes customers happier.

Major Shifts with AI Shopping Assistants

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Rise of AI in Online Retail

More stores use ai shopping assistants every day. Almost 90% of stores use or try ai projects now. This number keeps going up each year by 25% since 2022. Most stores want to spend more money on ai soon. A 2023 McKinsey report says ai tools are now a big part of online shopping.

When you shop online, ai shopping agents help you. They give you ideas for what to buy and answer your questions. These agents learn and change as you shop. They help you find things faster and save time. Stores with ai shopping assistants see customers stay longer and buy more. For example, shoppers who talk to an ai advisor spend about 12 minutes on the site. They are also 34% more likely to buy something.

Tip: Stores with ai shopping assistants have fewer returns and lower support costs.

Changing Shopper Expectations

Shoppers now want more from stores. You want suggestions that match what you like. The way you shop matters as much as what you buy. In fact, 90% of people say the shopping experience is very important.

AI shopping assistants help stores meet these new needs. They give you help right away and show you things you might like. You get fast answers and ideas that fit your style. This change makes shopping assistants very important for keeping you interested. As more people shop online, you will see even more ways to make shopping easier and more personal.

AI Shopping Trends 2025

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Shopping assistants are making online shopping different. Every year, new trends appear. In 2025, ai shopping trends change how you shop in many ways.

Agentic Commerce

Agentic commerce means ai shopping agents do your shopping work. You do not have to look for products or check prices. AI agents search for products, compare them, and buy them for you. You start by telling the ai what you want. The ai shopping assistant finds deals and buys things for you. This saves you time and work.

• AI agents do product research for you.
• More people use ai shopping assistants instead of looking at websites.
• Large language models like ChatGPT and Perplexity help you find and buy products.
• AI takes care of the whole buying process, so you do less.

VanChat is a top ai shopping assistant for Shopify stores. It answers almost all shopper questions and does things like tracking orders and comparing products. You get good answers and a simple shopping trip. VanChat learns as you shop and gets better each time. You see reminders and discounts that help you finish your purchase.

Hyper-Personalization

Hyper-personalization changes how you find products. AI tools use what you look at and buy to suggest things you might like. You get ideas that match your style and needs. This makes you buy more, shop more, and return less.

VanChat uses ai-powered discovery to check what you like and how you shop. It asks more questions to know what you want. You get ideas made just for you. VanChat helps you find things faster and makes shopping more fun.

Tip: Finding products just for you makes you happier and return less.

Conversational and Visual AI

Conversational and visual AI make shopping more fun and easy. You can talk to the ai shopping assistant by voice or text. The assistant understands you and talks back in a normal way. Visual AI lets you try on things online and see new products in pictures and videos.

• Conversational and visual AI help you enjoy shopping and make it easier.
• You can use things like virtual try-ons and finding products in new ways.
• AI shopping assistants talk to you on WhatsApp and online stores.
• Large language models make talking with AI feel more real and friendly.

VanChat uses these tools to make shopping better for you. You get help any time and updates about your orders. VanChat keeps you interested with messages and deals, so you stay close to your favorite stores.

Note: AI shopping assistants like VanChat make shopping smooth and special for you.

AI Shopping Assistants: Key Features

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Personalized Recommendations

Shopping should feel simple and special for you. An ai shopping assistant looks at what you have bought and viewed. It then gives you ideas for things you might like. This is called hyper-personalization. It helps you find things that fit your style and needs. Many online stores use ai-powered discovery to make shopping better. Studies say stores using these tools can earn up to 40% more money. You get ideas based on your likes. This makes shopping quicker and more fun.

Proactive Sales Strategies

AI shopping assistants help you choose by giving you tips and deals. You see reminders about sales or things left in your cart. These assistants talk to you in real time and show offers you may like. They use smart tools to guess what you want next. This helps you not forget things and find what you need. You get answers fast, which makes shopping better.

• Personalized ideas change as you shop.
• The site shows you offers that fit you.
• Real-time chats help with your needs.

Real-Time Learning

AI shopping assistants learn from every time you shop. They use tools like Fit & Skin Analyzers to pick the best size or style. You can try things on with virtual tools, which helps you feel sure and return less. These assistants guide you as you shop, so you feel helped. You also get voice search and tips for shopping green. This makes shopping easy and helpful for everyone.

Retailer Opportunities and Challenges

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Boosting Engagement with AI

You can use an ai shopping assistant to make your store more fun. Many stores see more people visit when they use ai shopping agents. For example, JLL got five times more online visits after using their virtual assistant. They also had ten times more new users on their website. Other brands like H&M, Sephora, and Amazon use ai to show you products that fit your style. These tools help you feel special and make you want to come back. Here is a table that shows how ai can help stores get more people involved:

Navigating Disintermediation

Using ai shopping assistants can bring new problems. Sometimes, product details are not the same on every site. If you update things by hand, it can take a long time. Wrong product details can make people return things more often. Some shoppers do not trust ai or want to talk to a real person. Others worry about their privacy and safety. You need to keep your product info clear and current. This helps shoppers trust you and keeps their experience good.

• Product details may not match on all sites
• Updates can be slow if done by hand
• Wrong details can cause more returns
• Some shoppers worry about trust and privacy

Adapting to AI Platforms

You can change your business to work better with ai shopping agents. Use new tools and ideas to help your store. Many shoppers now want brands to use ai for special offers. They expect suggestions and deals that match how they shop. Stores use ai to make loyalty programs better and shopping more fun. You can use agentic ai to handle things like stock and prices. This lets you spend more time on new ideas and making your store eco-friendly. AI helps you give shoppers a better experience and reach your goals for online shopping and being green.

Consumer Adoption and Concerns

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Trust and Privacy

Some people like using ai shopping assistants. They want shopping to be easier and better. But some still worry about trust and privacy. In 2025, more shoppers think ai can help them shop.

More people trust ai now, but privacy is still a worry. About 34% of shoppers are scared about their data being safe. People want to know their information is protected when shopping online. Many online stores use strong security tools to keep your data safe.

Note: The global AI shopping assistant market is growing fast, which means people are getting more comfortable with ai tools.

Evolving Preferences

People change how they shop as new technology comes out. In the 2024 holiday season, ai tools helped make $229 billion in online sales. Now, you use ai to find good deals and get product ideas. The chart below shows how shoppers like to use ai assistants and what they care about most:

You might like using ai to compare prices and search for products. In fact, 67% of shoppers want ai to help find the best prices. Many people now use conversational search by asking questions instead of typing words. This means online stores need to understand what you want and answer in a friendly way.

• 61% of people have tried general ai tools for shopping.
• 54% say they search in a more conversational way.
• 35% use questions to search on shopping sites.
• 93% think it is important for sites to understand these questions.

You see more stores using ai to make shopping easier and more personal. As you use these tools more, you will feel more comfortable and trust them more.

Action Steps for Retailers

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Optimizing for AI Shopping Assistants

You can get your store ready for ai shopping assistants by doing a few things. First, use automation to check and update orders. This makes shopping easier for your customers. Next, use personalization to show products shoppers might like. Proactive sales help remind people about deals or things left in their carts.

Tip: These steps help shoppers find what they want fast and make shopping better.

Building Proprietary AI Experiences

You can make your own ai tools to be different from other stores. This gives shoppers a special experience. You might get more cross-selling, better support, and loyal customers. But you could have problems like keeping data safe or needing more ai skills.

Note: Making your own ai system helps you give shoppers a cool experience that makes them want to come back.

Collaborating with AI Ecosystems

You can work with other companies and platforms to make your store even better. Many stores use ai for marketing, talking to customers, and keeping track of products.

Tip: Working with ai partners helps you give shoppers a smooth experience and grow your store.

AI shopping assistants make online shopping different. You get choices that fit you better and get help faster.

You have to learn to use these new tools. Many people trust AI to find good deals, but not many let it buy things for them. Experts think AI will keep getting better. You will notice smarter shopping and better ideas in every store.