The invisible e-commerce in the transformation economy

I took a photo to capture the overwhelming number of tourists, but no image could do justice to the chaos. Every few steps, someone tried to sell us something. A bottle of limoncello, cheap carnival masks, multilingual menus, and of course, global brands offering the same products you find in every city in the world.

The experience reminded me of something: the internet today.

Let’s rewind to 2009. I was working on my first major global e-commerce project. Back then, e-commerce was a commodity. You found a product, added it to your cart, paid, and waited for delivery. The real work was in refining services—customer support, shipping times, return policies.

Over the years, brands shifted focus from transactions to experiences. They offered more than products: they told stories, created events, and delivered content. The goal was to make the customer feel something memorable.

But today, even that has become a commodity. Every brand promises a journey, an emotion, a story. And consumers are flooded with these promises, all sounding the same.

We’ve reached a point where the digital marketplace is oversaturated. Brands fight for attention in a noisy space. They offer the same products, the same experiences, the same promises. And consumers? They’re tired. The magic is gone.

So what’s next?

I believe the next era of e-commerce will be defined by two fundamental shifts:

Picture this: It’s a spring morning in 2030. You wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, not because you set a timer, but because your sleep patterns were tracked overnight and your assistant knew the exact moment you’d be ready.

You hear a gentle voice: “Good morning. You didn’t sleep much last night—I’ve ordered you a high-energy breakfast. It’ll arrive in ten minutes.”

Your wardrobe, synced to your calendar and mood, suggests not what you want to wear, but what will help you achieve today’s goals—confidence, elegance, comfort.

Your workout is auto-adjusted. Your playlist is curated to give you that extra push. Your skincare routine is optimized in real time, based on a live scan of your face in the bathroom mirror.

Later, you pick up your camera. You’re a photography enthusiast. Your assistant doesn’t just recommend gear—it suggests classes based on your progress, curates photo routes, and enhances your shots in the style of your favorite artists.

You want to go to a concert? Your assistant takes care of tickets, suggests an outfit, books a dinner table nearby, and plans a smooth way home—because it knows your energy drops after midnight.

Everything is tailored to your goals, your values, your context. And you didn’t browse a single catalog.

This is the real question. If AI begins to understand not only what we need, but who we want to become—what happens then?

What if your assistant knows you’re ready for a career change before you do? That your passions are evolving? That your identity is shifting?

This future isn’t far off. According to Gartner, by 2030, 85% of customer-brand interactions will be managed by AI. That doesn’t mean less humanity. It means more time for what really matters: our journey.

Imagine planning a trip. AI won’t suggest the most popular destination. It’ll propose a remote cooking school because it senses your need for simplicity. Or a creative workshop in Berlin to reignite your inspiration.

Not based on who you are today—but on who you could become.

This is the new role of brands: not to help people choose, but to help them grow. To do that, we need to ask ourselves:

Until 2030… if you feel like making an impulsive purchase, go for it. Maybe even mistakes are part of the transformation.