What’s Driving Global E‑Commerce in 2025? AI, Apps, and Shifting Growth

Global E‑Commerce Overview

The SimilarWeb "Global E‑Commerce Industry Report 2025" analyzes data from July 2024 to June 2025, comparing it with the previous year to provide a comprehensive view of the worldwide e‑commerce landscape.

Monthly global visits remain around 210‑270 billion , a slight 1 % decline year‑over‑year. Web traffic is essentially flat (0 % growth), while app sessions surged 13 % , indicating a clear migration of shoppers to mobile platforms.

Traffic Distribution and Platform Leaders

Large marketplace platforms continue to dominate:

Amazon : web unique visitors ≈ 13 billion ; app monthly active users (MAU) ≈ 651.7 million .

Temu : web unique visitors ≈ 314.9 million ; app MAU ≈ 246.4 million , with an overall traffic growth of 56.9 % .

Shopee (Southeast Asia): app MAU ≈ 392.8 million , ranking second after Amazon.

Independent brand stores face increasing pressure as traffic concentrates on these leading platforms.

Regional and Category Performance

Emerging markets and Chinese platforms (e.g., Shein , Temu ) are driving cross‑border growth.

Five core sub‑categories show contrasting trends:

Beauty & Luxury : the only categories with positive growth; brands like Il Makiage doubled global visits through aggressive social‑media marketing.

Fashion Apparel : overall web traffic declined, but select brands such as Quince saw web visits rise 130.9 % and Farm Rio experienced a 311.8 % surge in app MAU, highlighting the impact of precise targeting and mobile‑first experiences.

Consumer Electronics : traffic fell year‑over‑year as consumers became more cautious about high‑ticket items.

Home & Garden : also faced traffic drops due to macro‑economic uncertainty and conservative consumer spending.

Overall Insight : beauty and luxury maintain modest growth, while fashion, electronics, and home‑garden categories feel significant pressure.

Future Outlook: AI and Apps as Key Drivers

Technology innovation is reshaping the e‑commerce ecosystem. Generative AI (Gen AI) is emerging as a new traffic source, with AI‑driven chat tools like ChatGPT delivering traffic spikes up to 6000 % in certain categories. Conversion rates from AI referrals reach 11.4 % , far surpassing organic search’s 5.3 % .

"Many worry that AI will disrupt search, but the real opportunity lies in optimizing AI visibility and cultivating app habits to build long‑term loyalty," said Laurie Naspe, Market Insights Director at SimilarWeb.

Apps have become the primary battlefield for user retention. App session growth outpaces web, and higher app engagement correlates with increased repurchase rates, urging brands to invest heavily in app experience design.

Macro‑level factors—economic uncertainty, the rise of emerging markets, and shifting geopolitical trade dynamics—will continue to influence the sector. The report advises operators to strengthen platform strategies, seek differentiation in low‑growth categories, and proactively adopt AI and mobile‑first approaches.

Conclusion

The 2025 report concludes that e‑commerce is entering a high‑quality growth era where App and AI are redefining competitive rules, demanding brands focus on product excellence, superior user experience, and innovative technology adoption.