The ground is shifting under every store
Online shopping no longer begins with a product page. It often starts inside an AI powered experience that compares options, summarizes pros and cons, and nudges the shopper toward one or two clear choices. Google’s AI Mode is already blending its Shopping Graph with generative reasoning, including virtual try on for apparel and richer buying guides.
At the same time, retail media is surging. Marketers are pushing more budget into networks that combine closed loop measurement with shopper intent. Forecasts show US retail media investment growing again into 2026, with a widening share flowing to a few large networks.
What the numbers say about demand and channels
Holiday spend remains a leading indicator for the year ahead. Adobe projects US online holiday sales of about 253.4 billion dollars for the 2025 season, with Cyber Monday peaking as the biggest single day. That would build on the record set in 2024 and signals durable consumer appetite for online deals.
Retail media keeps consolidating attention and dollars as brands chase measurable outcomes and first party audiences. Analysts expect the largest networks to capture the majority of incremental spend while international markets gradually expand their share.
Mobile remains the default device for discovery and checkout. Smartphone share of online purchases climbed again during the 2024 holiday window, and flexible payment options continued to grow. Reuters
Welcome to the era of AI shopping agents
Shoppers are beginning to rely on conversational agents that research, shortlist, and sometimes complete purchases without ever visiting a traditional product page. This changes how brands design content, how they structure catalogs, and how they measure influence across the journey. Leaders are already adapting product data and copy for semantic queries, not just exact keyword matches.
Generative search is most attractive in retail settings where people want help comparing similar products or planning a bundle. That means your content must answer nuanced, multi step questions with clarity and credibility.
What this means for your growth model
You need a system that learns continuously, not a set and forget plan. Start by aligning your measurement and creative around the moments that AI systems amplify.
Focus your product data on structured clarity. Descriptions and attributes should resolve common buyer objections, highlight comparative advantages, and surface compatibility or sizing. If you have not refreshed listing copy for AI readability, you are already behind. For a deeper dive into AI led content strategy, see XENA’s guide on the evolution of AI in e-commerce, and our overview of practical applications.
Treat retail media as performance infrastructure, not just a channel. Build coverage that matches real shopper intent, layer discovery around proven winners, and keep measurement anchored to contribution to total sales, not only last click. XENA’s PPC playbooks break down how to mirror intent and protect profit while scaling.
The profitable roadmap for the next four quarters
Anchor planning to the new search realities. Google’s AI Mode will increasingly summarize your category, so invest in media and content that feed those summaries with accurate, up to date signals. Pair this with a retail media spine that captures bottom funnel intent while teaching you which messages and bundles move the needle.
Use first party data and predictive models to segment for value, not vanity metrics. Hourly optimization matters when prices, discounts, and competitive visibility change multiple times a day. This is where XENA’s platform gives you leverage. Our hourly campaign optimization and predictive analytics help you adapt bids, budgets, and creatives in near real time while protecting margin. Explore how XENA is revolutionizing e-commerce with AI, and walk through our end to end 2025 playbook for growth teams.
Prepare for seasonal spikes with concrete inputs. Adobe’s forecasts and last season’s benchmarks suggest high demand concentration around Cyber Week and strong usage of flexible payments on mobile. Translate that into earlier inventory staging, mobile first creative, and tailored BNPL messaging that reduces friction at checkout.
A note for India focused brands
India’s long term fundamentals continue to look strong, with e-retail expected to accelerate from the 2025 festive period and expand meaningfully through 2030. Plan assortments and fulfillment to capture demand outside tier one cities, and localize content for regional preferences.
Where XENA fits in your stack
Use XENA Foresight AI to generate and continuously refine product titles, bullet copy, and A plus content that answer the questions AI agents ask. Pair it with XENA 360 for hourly campaign optimization across retail media and search, including predictive budget pacing and creative rotation. If you want hands on tactics for Amazon advertising, read our strategies that deliver ROI and our step by step PPC frameworks.
For deeper context on AI’s role in commerce, start with our primers on how AI is reshaping e-commerce and the practical use cases teams are deploying today.
Key takeaways to put into action today
Structure your data and content for conversational discovery, not only keyword matching. Build a profit first retail media spine that balances intent capture with controlled testing. Automate the busywork so your team can focus on strategy. With AI driven optimization and crystal clear measurement, you can ride the wave of generative search and retail media without sacrificing margin.
Internal resources from XENA Intelligence
Read The Evolution of AI in E-Commerce and Generative AI in E-commerce for content strategy foundations. Then move into The 2025 PPC Playbook for Profit First Growth and 5 Amazon PPC Strategies to Outrank Competitors for execution details. Finally, explore How XENA is revolutionizing ecommerce with AI to see how our platform ties it all together.
The ground is shifting under every store
Online shopping no longer begins with a product page. It often starts inside an AI powered experience that compares options, summarizes pros and cons, and nudges the shopper toward one or two clear choices. Google’s AI Mode is already blending its Shopping Graph with generative reasoning, including virtual try on for apparel and richer buying guides.
At the same time, retail media is surging. Marketers are pushing more budget into networks that combine closed loop measurement with shopper intent. Forecasts show US retail media investment growing again into 2026, with a widening share flowing to a few large networks.
What the numbers say about demand and channels
Holiday spend remains a leading indicator for the year ahead. Adobe projects US online holiday sales of about 253.4 billion dollars for the 2025 season, with Cyber Monday peaking as the biggest single day. That would build on the record set in 2024 and signals durable consumer appetite for online deals.
Retail media keeps consolidating attention and dollars as brands chase measurable outcomes and first party audiences. Analysts expect the largest networks to capture the majority of incremental spend while international markets gradually expand their share.
Mobile remains the default device for discovery and checkout. Smartphone share of online purchases climbed again during the 2024 holiday window, and flexible payment options continued to grow. Reuters
Welcome to the era of AI shopping agents
Shoppers are beginning to rely on conversational agents that research, shortlist, and sometimes complete purchases without ever visiting a traditional product page. This changes how brands design content, how they structure catalogs, and how they measure influence across the journey. Leaders are already adapting product data and copy for semantic queries, not just exact keyword matches.
Generative search is most attractive in retail settings where people want help comparing similar products or planning a bundle. That means your content must answer nuanced, multi step questions with clarity and credibility.
What this means for your growth model
You need a system that learns continuously, not a set and forget plan. Start by aligning your measurement and creative around the moments that AI systems amplify.
Focus your product data on structured clarity. Descriptions and attributes should resolve common buyer objections, highlight comparative advantages, and surface compatibility or sizing. If you have not refreshed listing copy for AI readability, you are already behind. For a deeper dive into AI led content strategy, see XENA’s guide on the evolution of AI in e-commerce, and our overview of practical applications.
Treat retail media as performance infrastructure, not just a channel. Build coverage that matches real shopper intent, layer discovery around proven winners, and keep measurement anchored to contribution to total sales, not only last click. XENA’s PPC playbooks break down how to mirror intent and protect profit while scaling.
The profitable roadmap for the next four quarters
Anchor planning to the new search realities. Google’s AI Mode will increasingly summarize your category, so invest in media and content that feed those summaries with accurate, up to date signals. Pair this with a retail media spine that captures bottom funnel intent while teaching you which messages and bundles move the needle.
Use first party data and predictive models to segment for value, not vanity metrics. Hourly optimization matters when prices, discounts, and competitive visibility change multiple times a day. This is where XENA’s platform gives you leverage. Our hourly campaign optimization and predictive analytics help you adapt bids, budgets, and creatives in near real time while protecting margin. Explore how XENA is revolutionizing e-commerce with AI, and walk through our end to end 2025 playbook for growth teams.
Prepare for seasonal spikes with concrete inputs. Adobe’s forecasts and last season’s benchmarks suggest high demand concentration around Cyber Week and strong usage of flexible payments on mobile. Translate that into earlier inventory staging, mobile first creative, and tailored BNPL messaging that reduces friction at checkout.
A note for India focused brands
India’s long term fundamentals continue to look strong, with e-retail expected to accelerate from the 2025 festive period and expand meaningfully through 2030. Plan assortments and fulfillment to capture demand outside tier one cities, and localize content for regional preferences.
Where XENA fits in your stack
Use XENA Foresight AI to generate and continuously refine product titles, bullet copy, and A plus content that answer the questions AI agents ask. Pair it with XENA 360 for hourly campaign optimization across retail media and search, including predictive budget pacing and creative rotation. If you want hands on tactics for Amazon advertising, read our strategies that deliver ROI and our step by step PPC frameworks.
For deeper context on AI’s role in commerce, start with our primers on how AI is reshaping e-commerce and the practical use cases teams are deploying today.
Key takeaways to put into action today
Structure your data and content for conversational discovery, not only keyword matching. Build a profit first retail media spine that balances intent capture with controlled testing. Automate the busywork so your team can focus on strategy. With AI driven optimization and crystal clear measurement, you can ride the wave of generative search and retail media without sacrificing margin.
Internal resources from XENA Intelligence
Read The Evolution of AI in E-Commerce and Generative AI in E-commerce for content strategy foundations. Then move into The 2025 PPC Playbook for Profit First Growth and 5 Amazon PPC Strategies to Outrank Competitors for execution details. Finally, explore How XENA is revolutionizing ecommerce with AI to see how our platform ties it all together.
The ground is shifting under every store
Online shopping no longer begins with a product page. It often starts inside an AI powered experience that compares options, summarizes pros and cons, and nudges the shopper toward one or two clear choices. Google’s AI Mode is already blending its Shopping Graph with generative reasoning, including virtual try on for apparel and richer buying guides.
At the same time, retail media is surging. Marketers are pushing more budget into networks that combine closed loop measurement with shopper intent. Forecasts show US retail media investment growing again into 2026, with a widening share flowing to a few large networks.
What the numbers say about demand and channels
Holiday spend remains a leading indicator for the year ahead. Adobe projects US online holiday sales of about 253.4 billion dollars for the 2025 season, with Cyber Monday peaking as the biggest single day. That would build on the record set in 2024 and signals durable consumer appetite for online deals.
Retail media keeps consolidating attention and dollars as brands chase measurable outcomes and first party audiences. Analysts expect the largest networks to capture the majority of incremental spend while international markets gradually expand their share.
Mobile remains the default device for discovery and checkout. Smartphone share of online purchases climbed again during the 2024 holiday window, and flexible payment options continued to grow. Reuters
Welcome to the era of AI shopping agents
Shoppers are beginning to rely on conversational agents that research, shortlist, and sometimes complete purchases without ever visiting a traditional product page. This changes how brands design content, how they structure catalogs, and how they measure influence across the journey. Leaders are already adapting product data and copy for semantic queries, not just exact keyword matches.
Generative search is most attractive in retail settings where people want help comparing similar products or planning a bundle. That means your content must answer nuanced, multi step questions with clarity and credibility.
What this means for your growth model
You need a system that learns continuously, not a set and forget plan. Start by aligning your measurement and creative around the moments that AI systems amplify.
Focus your product data on structured clarity. Descriptions and attributes should resolve common buyer objections, highlight comparative advantages, and surface compatibility or sizing. If you have not refreshed listing copy for AI readability, you are already behind. For a deeper dive into AI led content strategy, see XENA’s guide on the evolution of AI in e-commerce, and our overview of practical applications.
Treat retail media as performance infrastructure, not just a channel. Build coverage that matches real shopper intent, layer discovery around proven winners, and keep measurement anchored to contribution to total sales, not only last click. XENA’s PPC playbooks break down how to mirror intent and protect profit while scaling.
The profitable roadmap for the next four quarters
Anchor planning to the new search realities. Google’s AI Mode will increasingly summarize your category, so invest in media and content that feed those summaries with accurate, up to date signals. Pair this with a retail media spine that captures bottom funnel intent while teaching you which messages and bundles move the needle.
Use first party data and predictive models to segment for value, not vanity metrics. Hourly optimization matters when prices, discounts, and competitive visibility change multiple times a day. This is where XENA’s platform gives you leverage. Our hourly campaign optimization and predictive analytics help you adapt bids, budgets, and creatives in near real time while protecting margin. Explore how XENA is revolutionizing e-commerce with AI, and walk through our end to end 2025 playbook for growth teams.
Prepare for seasonal spikes with concrete inputs. Adobe’s forecasts and last season’s benchmarks suggest high demand concentration around Cyber Week and strong usage of flexible payments on mobile. Translate that into earlier inventory staging, mobile first creative, and tailored BNPL messaging that reduces friction at checkout.
A note for India focused brands
India’s long term fundamentals continue to look strong, with e-retail expected to accelerate from the 2025 festive period and expand meaningfully through 2030. Plan assortments and fulfillment to capture demand outside tier one cities, and localize content for regional preferences.
Where XENA fits in your stack
Use XENA Foresight AI to generate and continuously refine product titles, bullet copy, and A plus content that answer the questions AI agents ask. Pair it with XENA 360 for hourly campaign optimization across retail media and search, including predictive budget pacing and creative rotation. If you want hands on tactics for Amazon advertising, read our strategies that deliver ROI and our step by step PPC frameworks.
For deeper context on AI’s role in commerce, start with our primers on how AI is reshaping e-commerce and the practical use cases teams are deploying today.
Key takeaways to put into action today
Structure your data and content for conversational discovery, not only keyword matching. Build a profit first retail media spine that balances intent capture with controlled testing. Automate the busywork so your team can focus on strategy. With AI driven optimization and crystal clear measurement, you can ride the wave of generative search and retail media without sacrificing margin.
Internal resources from XENA Intelligence
Read The Evolution of AI in E-Commerce and Generative AI in E-commerce for content strategy foundations. Then move into The 2025 PPC Playbook for Profit First Growth and 5 Amazon PPC Strategies to Outrank Competitors for execution details. Finally, explore How XENA is revolutionizing ecommerce with AI to see how our platform ties it all together.
The ground is shifting under every store
Online shopping no longer begins with a product page. It often starts inside an AI powered experience that compares options, summarizes pros and cons, and nudges the shopper toward one or two clear choices. Google’s AI Mode is already blending its Shopping Graph with generative reasoning, including virtual try on for apparel and richer buying guides.
At the same time, retail media is surging. Marketers are pushing more budget into networks that combine closed loop measurement with shopper intent. Forecasts show US retail media investment growing again into 2026, with a widening share flowing to a few large networks.
What the numbers say about demand and channels
Holiday spend remains a leading indicator for the year ahead. Adobe projects US online holiday sales of about 253.4 billion dollars for the 2025 season, with Cyber Monday peaking as the biggest single day. That would build on the record set in 2024 and signals durable consumer appetite for online deals.
Retail media keeps consolidating attention and dollars as brands chase measurable outcomes and first party audiences. Analysts expect the largest networks to capture the majority of incremental spend while international markets gradually expand their share.
Mobile remains the default device for discovery and checkout. Smartphone share of online purchases climbed again during the 2024 holiday window, and flexible payment options continued to grow. Reuters
Welcome to the era of AI shopping agents
Shoppers are beginning to rely on conversational agents that research, shortlist, and sometimes complete purchases without ever visiting a traditional product page. This changes how brands design content, how they structure catalogs, and how they measure influence across the journey. Leaders are already adapting product data and copy for semantic queries, not just exact keyword matches.
Generative search is most attractive in retail settings where people want help comparing similar products or planning a bundle. That means your content must answer nuanced, multi step questions with clarity and credibility.
What this means for your growth model
You need a system that learns continuously, not a set and forget plan. Start by aligning your measurement and creative around the moments that AI systems amplify.
Focus your product data on structured clarity. Descriptions and attributes should resolve common buyer objections, highlight comparative advantages, and surface compatibility or sizing. If you have not refreshed listing copy for AI readability, you are already behind. For a deeper dive into AI led content strategy, see XENA’s guide on the evolution of AI in e-commerce, and our overview of practical applications.
Treat retail media as performance infrastructure, not just a channel. Build coverage that matches real shopper intent, layer discovery around proven winners, and keep measurement anchored to contribution to total sales, not only last click. XENA’s PPC playbooks break down how to mirror intent and protect profit while scaling.
The profitable roadmap for the next four quarters
Anchor planning to the new search realities. Google’s AI Mode will increasingly summarize your category, so invest in media and content that feed those summaries with accurate, up to date signals. Pair this with a retail media spine that captures bottom funnel intent while teaching you which messages and bundles move the needle.
Use first party data and predictive models to segment for value, not vanity metrics. Hourly optimization matters when prices, discounts, and competitive visibility change multiple times a day. This is where XENA’s platform gives you leverage. Our hourly campaign optimization and predictive analytics help you adapt bids, budgets, and creatives in near real time while protecting margin. Explore how XENA is revolutionizing e-commerce with AI, and walk through our end to end 2025 playbook for growth teams.
Prepare for seasonal spikes with concrete inputs. Adobe’s forecasts and last season’s benchmarks suggest high demand concentration around Cyber Week and strong usage of flexible payments on mobile. Translate that into earlier inventory staging, mobile first creative, and tailored BNPL messaging that reduces friction at checkout.
A note for India focused brands
India’s long term fundamentals continue to look strong, with e-retail expected to accelerate from the 2025 festive period and expand meaningfully through 2030. Plan assortments and fulfillment to capture demand outside tier one cities, and localize content for regional preferences.
Where XENA fits in your stack
Use XENA Foresight AI to generate and continuously refine product titles, bullet copy, and A plus content that answer the questions AI agents ask. Pair it with XENA 360 for hourly campaign optimization across retail media and search, including predictive budget pacing and creative rotation. If you want hands on tactics for Amazon advertising, read our strategies that deliver ROI and our step by step PPC frameworks.
For deeper context on AI’s role in commerce, start with our primers on how AI is reshaping e-commerce and the practical use cases teams are deploying today.
Key takeaways to put into action today
Structure your data and content for conversational discovery, not only keyword matching. Build a profit first retail media spine that balances intent capture with controlled testing. Automate the busywork so your team can focus on strategy. With AI driven optimization and crystal clear measurement, you can ride the wave of generative search and retail media without sacrificing margin.
Internal resources from XENA Intelligence
Read The Evolution of AI in E-Commerce and Generative AI in E-commerce for content strategy foundations. Then move into The 2025 PPC Playbook for Profit First Growth and 5 Amazon PPC Strategies to Outrank Competitors for execution details. Finally, explore How XENA is revolutionizing ecommerce with AI to see how our platform ties it all together.
Trending Blogs
The Q4 PPC Playbook for Profitable Growth: From Hourly Optimization to Creative That Converts
The Q4 PPC Playbook for Profitable Growth: From Hourly Optimization to Creative That Converts
The Q4 PPC Playbook for Profitable Growth: From Hourly Optimization to Creative That Converts
The Q4 PPC Playbook for Profitable Growth: From Hourly Optimization to Creative That Converts
The 2025 Product Listing Playbook: Images, Keywords & Psychology That Sell
The 2025 Product Listing Playbook: Images, Keywords & Psychology That Sell
The 2025 Product Listing Playbook: Images, Keywords & Psychology That Sell
The 2025 Product Listing Playbook: Images, Keywords & Psychology That Sell
The 2025 AI Commerce Playbook: From Agentic Shopping to Hourly Optimization
The 2025 AI Commerce Playbook: From Agentic Shopping to Hourly Optimization
The 2025 AI Commerce Playbook: From Agentic Shopping to Hourly Optimization
