E-commerce firms are seeing real returns from AI and social media, according to a new report from DHL, with tech playing a key role in the push for deeper personalisation and the search for new sales channels. 

Releasing the first ‘business edition’ in its series of 2025 E-Commerce Trends Reports, the logistics giant found that more than half (53%) of all e-commerce firms are using AI across their platforms, with retailers selling through their own apps leading on AI adoption at 67%.

While that number might seem low, especially in comparison to other sectors like finance, DHL found that online retailers are slowly onboarding specific features that add value for customers. For example, 44% are already using AI-powered product recommendations to drive sales, while a similar number (43%) are utilising AI-driven real-time inventory updates for online stores.

By incorporating more AI into their business, retailers are simply meeting their customers’ expectations for seamless and easy service. The majority (70%) of online shoppers want e-commerce platforms to offer more AI shopping experiences, with the demand for specific features, like ‘virtual try-on’, rising fast. 

While not quite as prolific as AI, augmented reality product visualisation (32%) is also becoming increasingly popular, as are personalised ordering dashboards (32%), automated re-ordering systems (31%) and voice commerce capabilities (25%).

Polling more than 4,000 e-commerce firms across nineteen global markets, DHL also found that 87% of e-commerce businesses have at least one social media profile, with 76% expecting their presence on social platforms to drive growth over the next five years.

Social media is no longer optional, with 59% of retailers agreeing that platforms like Facebook and Instagram are the best way to find new customers, and 58% saying it is essential for building brand awareness – perhaps why over half (54%) of firms keep close tabs on their competitors’ social media every month.

The survey found that small businesses are more likely to rely on social media, with 87% using Instagram as their main point of sales or customer engagement, and four in five saying they plan to increase their use over the next five years.

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But while smaller retailers hold steady in their commitment to socials, DHL discovered that leading firms are beginning to shift towards app-based commerce, with 54% of large e-commerce firms now selling through their own branded app.

DHL said that introducing apps gives retailers a higher level of control over the entire customer experience, allowing for a greater degree of personalisation and engagement that encourages loyalty.

In what might signal the explosive growth of app-based e-commerce, 73% of firms said they expect app sales to expand significantly up to 2030, though that still lags behind the sales bump expected through their websites (81%) and social media presence (76%).