Shocking E-Commerce Prophecies for 2026

In a World of AI, Robotics, and Supercomputing…

We are living in absolutely historic times.  

We are truly approaching an inflection point.  

Now if you know me, I’m a data guy.

That’s why I don’t think we don’t need predictions per say.

Statistics will often draw a pretty accurate picture for us.

And what real data leads us to in 2026 is pretty wild.

Here’s what real data tells us we will see in 2026:

𝟭. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁.

- 75% of consumers ALREADY expect AI to help build their cart.

𝟮. 𝗔𝗹𝗱𝗶, 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗰𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲.

- Aldi and Walmart on track to be #1, #2 retail share gainers of 2025.

𝟯. 𝗦𝗞𝗨 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬.

- 58% of global retailers plan SKU reduction in 2025–2026.

𝟰. “𝗚𝗟𝗣-𝟭 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁” 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁.

- GLP-1 users reduce caloric intake by 20–30%.

𝟱. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀.

- U.S. online grocery sales grew +4.8% YoY in 2024.

- DoorDash, UberEats only 2 players with double-digit growth.

𝟲. “𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲” 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲.

- Packaging, images, ad copy, etc.

- Both physical and online retailers are shifting to computer vision systems.

𝟳. 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿-𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲-𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗣𝗚 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀.

- Retail AI models produce limited results, based on sales data.

- Slow-moving brands get buried.

𝟴. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 (𝗶𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄/ 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹).

- Ahold’s EDGE digital shelf system merges live pricing, inventory, promotions, and shopper behavior.

𝟵. 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗯𝘀.

- Percentage commerce occurring in-store drops 1% per year.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗧𝗶𝗸𝗧𝗼𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝟮𝗖 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹.

- Social commerce to hit 17% of all online retail by 2026.

𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦: 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹.

- Amazon is rolling out a new class of small warehouses (“same-day sites”) in major U.S. metros.

Now I can’t guarantee these predictions come true.

But I can guarantee the data suggests they will.

Get ready for a very, very digital 2026.

What do you think?

Are you bullish or bearish about the economy for 2026?

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We drive velocity in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other retailers.

We grow brands on Amazon.