Digital Commerce 360 released the report "Ecommerce Trends Shaping the 2026 Holiday Season," which identifies the main strategies of online retailers for the holiday shopping season. The survey shows that companies are advancing marketing and promotions planning, seeking to convert traffic from artificial intelligence platforms, and making physical store inventory visible.
The study accompanies a new survey of online shoppers for 2026 and gathers lessons from the current year and previous seasons.
Planning begins before November
Retailers don't wait until November to start preparations. Garrett McMartin, founder of Canadian jewelry retailer Draco Diamond, said the company plans to launch its holiday promotions pages well before Cyber 5 — the period that includes Thanksgiving and the following four days — to ensure custom orders are delivered on time.
AI traffic conversion
Adobe Digital Insights noted that after traffic from AI sources such as ChatGPT and Perplexity grew in 2025, conversion rates for these types of visitors improved in the 1st quarter of 2026. As a result, retailers are optimizing catalog data and site content to reach shoppers through AI platforms.
Ayden Lin, founder of online furniture retailer Povison, said AI-related traffic accounts for about 5% of the company's inbound referrals and estimates the share could reach 10% in 2027. McMartin, of Draco Diamond, said he takes into account the multiple visits of users who discover the brand through AI while continuing their research.
Displaying in-store inventory
The survey showed that retail chains that displayed physical store inventory availability on their websites had a conversion rate of 3.1% in 2025, compared with the 2.9% average for chains in the Top 1000 Database. When consumers discover they can pick up products at the store or receive them from local units, the purchase decision tends to become easier.
