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Ollie Aplin
3 x Founder | CMO & Creative Strategist
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My 3 Predictions for Ecommerce in 2026
Everyone keeps talking about AI, rising costs and the death of paid social. But the truth is simple. The brands that win in 2026 will be the ones that focus on the things that actually move the needle: creative, story and relevance.
Here are my three predictions for what is coming next, and how to prepare.
1. Creative will be your only lever
Andromeda has changed the game. Creative is your strongest lever.
Meta is no longer a media buying platform. It is a creative sorting machine powered by Andromeda. Your audience targeting is broad. Your ad delivery is automated. Your ability to hack the system with sneaky interest stacks or micro-segmented cold audiences is gone.
The only variable left is your creative. It is the biggest lever you have and the one thing your competitors cannot copy overnight.
I cannot stress this enough. In 2026, creative strategy will separate the brands that scale from the ones that stall.
What this means for you:
- Stop relying on guesswork. Test angles, hooks, formats and messages systematically.
- Build a creative pipeline, not one-off assets. You need volume and variation.
- Use full-funnel creative. Stop thinking in terms of “prospecting vs retargeting”. Think awareness, consideration, conversion and post-purchase.
- Treat your creative like a product. Improve it every week, not every quarter.
How to prepare:
- Build a creative library of the top performers in your category.
- Document your angles and hooks. Run experiments like a scientist.
- Invest in UG-style formats, narrative-led videos and clear product demos.
- Assume that in 2026, your CPA will mirror your creative quality. That is where your margin is made or lost.
2. Non AI creative wins (controversial, but hear me out)
Authentic, founder-led stories will outperform AI influencers and synthetic content.
AI-generated influencers are already here. Perfect skin. Perfect lighting. Perfect delivery. And perfectly forgettable.
Consumers can smell manufactured content a mile away. In 2026, the pendulum will swing back to real humans, real stories and real connections.
What will cut through is what feels true: founders on camera, team members talking about what they actually do, customers sharing unfiltered experiences. AI will help you scale production, but it will not replace human grounding.
What this means for you:
- People buy from real people. Put your face or voice into your creative.
- Tell stories. Why the product exists. What problem does it solve? What did you learned building it?
- Use AI as a tool for speed, not as a replacement for human narrative.
- Your customers want trust, not perfection.
How to prepare:
- Start filming founder-led clips each week. Raw, unpolished and honest.
- Build a community of real customers who want to share content.
- Move away from overproduced video. Focus on clarity and emotion.
- Create a brand universe that AI cannot fake. Your story, your values, your journey.
3. AI ads and shopping will explode
Shopping will become predictive, personalised and integrated with AI assistants. The brands that prepare now will win big.
AI is about to change how we shop. You will have AI-driven product suggestions, dynamic bundles, in-ad checkouts and hyper-tailored journeys.
Imagine customers asking their AI assistant:
“Find me the best sleep gummies under £30 that ship today.”
Or:
“Show me the top-rated moisturiser for sensitive skin with a subscription option.”
And your brand either appears at the top of that answer or disappears completely.
This is the next frontier of discovery. Not search. Not ads. Not influencers. AI-driven shopping.
What this means for you
- Your product data needs to be perfect. Descriptions, attributes, imagery and reviews must be clean, structured and rich.
- Your customer experience must be frictionless. Fast shipping, clear pricing and strong repeat value will matter even more.
- If your brand is not easily categorised and understood by AI, you lose visibility.
How to prepare:
- Audit your product data. Clean it. Structure it. Make it easy for AI to use.
- Build stronger reviews and UGC libraries. These will feed AI recommendations.
- Optimise your store for speed, clarity and trust.
- Start exploring AI-native discovery tools and integrations now. You do not want to play catch-up when the shift hits.
Final word
E-commerce is not dying. It is evolving. In 2026, the winners will be the brands that commit to creative excellence, human storytelling and AI-ready infrastructure.
If you want help tightening your creative strategy, building better systems or preparing for what is coming, you can book a free call here.
