Looking into the Crystal Ball: Studying the role of AI with a focus on future retailing.
This cookie is crumbling
The Future of AI in Retail Shopping: What’s Now and What’s Next
We were talking about cookies the other day…sounds like a poor start to a PG joke right? More specifically, we were talking if cookies would continue to play as much of an front and center experience to UX, at least initially. You’re caught up to speed now on the rabbit hole this sent me down and yes, the answer to the cookie question is part of this.
AI is no longer just a trend in retail, it’s becoming the foundation for a new era of shopping. Whether its product discovery to customer support, brands are leveraging AI to deliver faster, more personalized, and more profitable experiences. Whether it’s wildly apparent in the shopping experience you have, you can be assured AI is driving many shopping experiences and this will only increase.
So what does this look like today, and what’s coming next? And most importantly, how can forward-thinking retail brands prepare for the future? We’ve (elev8DTC) thrown in a couple examples as well so there’s some kind of perspective to a real application in as well.
Where We Are Now: The AI-Powered Shopping Experience
Modern AI is already influencing every phase of the buyer journey: Here’s where it’s showing up.
1. Search is Smarter (and Shorter)
Today:
Predictive search tools like Klevu and Shopify’s Semantic Search offer intent-aware results.
AI-generated search summaries on platforms like Google SGE are influencing how customers find products.
Example in Practice:
Instead of passively waiting for users to click category filters, implementing a search bar powered by AI that understands conversational queries. If a customer types "patchy skin after snowboarding," your system should surface moisturizing balms and after-sun care.
2. Product Discovery is Personalized
Today:
Product recommendations are driven by AI based on real-time behavior and purchase history.
Tools like Rebuy and LimeSpot use AI to build smart upsell and cross-sell bundles.
Example in Practice:
Using dynamic content blocks in your Shopify theme to automatically show different product bundles depending on a visitor's browsing flow. For example, if someone browses hiking boots and a hydration pack, AI can offer a “Weekend Trail Bundle” with socks and a compact first aid kit.
3. Customer Support is Instant (and On-Brand)
Today:
Chatbots like Tidio or Gorgias AI handle common support questions using brand voice and Shopify-integrated data.
AI assistants now process returns, track orders, and make product suggestions 24/7.
Example in Practice:
Create flows where your chatbot identifies support patterns, like repeated order tracking requests, and turns those into proactive updates via SMS or email.
The Big Reveal: What’s Happening with Cookies
Third-party cookies are on the way out. This should be a good thing. Not only are they annoying, but ultimately they are pretty intrusive.
Privacy Regulations: Global policies like GDPR and CCPA have made it harder, and riskier to track users across the web.
Browser Restrictions: Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox already block third-party cookies by default. Google Chrome, the last holdout, is phasing them out in 2025.
Consumer Sentiment: Shoppers want transparency. Increasingly, they’re rejecting tracking they didn’t explicitly opt into.
What This Means:
First-party data becomes gold. Brands must collect insights directly from customer interactions; website behavior, email engagement, purchase history, and use them to personalize experiences.
Owned platforms matter more. Your Shopify store, email list, and first-party analytics become your primary customer insight tools.
Takeaway: The fall of cookies makes your website, and how well it captures data central to future growth. AI tools running on your store, not third-party ad platforms, will drive retention and personalization. If you’ve read any of elev8DTC’s other blog entries, you’re sort of seeing a running theme here. Your website is surging to a more relevant position than ever.
What’s Next: Near-Future AI That Will Reshape Retail (Next 6–12 Months)
1. AI Merchandisers and Content Creators
Content generating AI’s like Shopify Magic and Jasper are already helping brands write optimized product descriptions and emails.
Expect AI to take on A/B testing creative, generating product titles, or even managing promotional timing based on behavioral forecasts.
What to Do Now:
Start using AI content tools in low-risk areas like blog posts, descriptions, or email subject lines. Track performance and iterate.
Example in Practice:
Assign your AI tools to write 2–3 variants of a product title or launch email. Test them through Klaviyo or Postscript and analyze engagement.
2. Conversational Commerce Gets Real
AI chat will evolve from “ask me a FAQ” to “help me find a kit for my skin type.”
Tidio, Attentive, and even Meta’s chat products are racing to power this shift.
What to Do Now:
Train your AI assistant using your real catalog, FAQs, and support data. Make it as personalized as possible.
Example in Practice:
Create guided chat flows for your most common buyer types: “new to clean skincare,” “training for a triathlon,” or “buying a gift.”
3. Search Becomes Your Home Page
With generative AI tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT Search browsing the open web, customers will often start shopping in AI, not on Google.
These engines pull answers (and links) from well-structured, highly relevant sites.
What to Do Now:
Ensure your product pages use structured data and are optimized for rich results.
Publish helpful, original content that speaks to customer intent.
Example in Practice:
Build a content series like "How to Choose the Right Base Layer for Winter Hiking" with links to your products. Mark it up with proper schema to ensure AI tools can extract and surface it.
So What Should Brands Be Doing Now?
Here’s how DTC brands can prepare now for the near future:
Invest in First-Party Data: Focus on what you learn from your site, email, and SMS behavior. Owned intelligence has always been key, but it’s even more so now.
Get AI-Ready Tools: Move to platforms like Shopify and Klaviyo that are actively building AI into their ecosystems.
Make Your Site the Center: Your website is your most important asset, design it to capture attention, data, and conversions.
Connect Commerce to Operations: Shopify doesn’t just sell, it powers your backend: fulfillment, finance, customer profiles, subscriptions, inventory, and reporting.
Remember: The brands that thrive won’t be the biggest, they’ll be the smartest.
Want to Talk AI Strategy?
Whether you’re re-platforming, refining your stack, or just trying to understand what’s hype and what’s helpful, we’re here to help you future-proof your commerce.
Let’s build a strategy that’s ready for what’s next. This likely won’t be the last time we delve down this rabbit hole at elev8DTC. Eat your cookies now!