Ecommerce in 2025: Apps and AI Overtake Websites as Growth Drivers

Consumer shopping behavior is undergoing a major shift, with mobile apps and artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as the primary growth channels for ecommerce. According to Similarweb’s Global State of Ecommerce 2025 report, released this month, traffic patterns show declining engagement on traditional websites, rising dominance of apps, and marketplaces consolidating share as digital commerce enters a new phase.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, overall visits to ecommerce and shopping websites fell by 1% compared to the prior year. In contrast, app sessions rose by 13%, highlighting the growing role of mobile platforms in consumer shopping. Apps are proving to be not only a driver of engagement but also a critical channel for building loyalty. Shoppers who download and use apps tend to visit more often, spend longer per session, and generate higher lifetime value than web visitors.

Retailers like Walmart illustrate this shift. The company’s website still attracts over 150 million monthly visitors, but growth has plateaued. Its app, while smaller in scale, shows steady expansion with higher engagement—users return more than 22 times per month and spend nearly three times longer per session compared to web users.

The report finds marketplaces such as Amazon and Temu continuing to consolidate their positions. On the web, unique visitors to marketplace sites grew by 4.7% year-over-year, though overall visits rose just 1%, signaling that while more people are reaching these platforms, they are browsing less frequently.

Amazon remains the largest ecommerce site globally, with nearly 1.3 billion monthly unique visitors and over 650 million monthly active app users. Temu, however, is gaining ground quickly, recording 56.9% growth in web traffic and strong app adoption, driven by aggressive pricing, vast product assortment, and a mobile-first strategy. Shopee ranks second in app usage with 392.8 million monthly active users.

Meanwhile, smaller verticals like apparel merchants Quince and Farm Rio are experiencing notable gains. Quince saw a 130.9% increase in web visitors, while Farm Rio’s app usage surged 311.8% year-over-year.

Generative AI platforms are becoming a new source of high-intent ecommerce traffic. Similarweb’s analysis shows that referrals from AI chatbots such as ChatGPT convert at 11.4%, more than double the 5.3% rate for organic search. These visitors are often primed to buy, having already conducted research within AI tools before visiting a retail site.

As AI continues to reshape search and discovery, retailers face both risks and opportunities. While overall web browsing may decline, businesses that optimize their presence in AI-driven results stand to capture a new, valuable customer channel.

Category performance varied. Beauty and luxury retailers outperformed, seeing modest traffic gains, while home and garden, fashion, apparel, and consumer electronics faced declines. Analysts suggest that social media visibility and brand engagement remain critical for these sectors, as illustrated by beauty brand Il Makiage, which more than doubled its global visits in the past year through targeted social media marketing.

The report emphasizes that the next wave of ecommerce growth will be defined by apps, marketplaces, and AI. Apps have become the hub for loyalty and repeat purchases, marketplaces continue to dominate reach, and AI is reshaping discovery and conversion.