The challenge

Shoppers don’t struggle to find products, but they are struggling to decide between them. As ecommerce journeys become more fragmented across search engines, marketplaces, social platforms, and AI tools, expectations around online shopping are changing fast. Coveo wanted to understand how shoppers now evaluate products, where discovery breaks down, and how conversational AI is influencing purchase behaviour.

The approach

Arlington Research worked closely with Coveo to deliver the 2026 Commerce Relevance Report, through a survey of 4,000 consumers across the US and UK.

The study explored how shoppers search, discover, compare, and decide what to buy in an increasingly AI-influenced commerce environment, and focused on three core themes:

• How conversational commerce is changing expectations
• Where search and discovery experiences fail
• The role trust plays in AI-powered shopping experiences

The insight

The results revealed a clear shift in what shoppers now expect from ecommerce experiences.

Consumers increasingly want help narrowing choices, understanding differences, and moving towards a decision with confidence, and not just more products or recommendations.

Conversational and AI-powered experiences are raising expectations around guidance and support, particularly among younger shoppers. But trust remains a clear boundary; shoppers are open to assistance that explains and simplifies decisions but are cautious about automation and data sharing.

The findings also highlighted how quickly confidence is lost. Search and discovery failures continue to drive high levels of abandonment, generally before shoppers engage more deeply with a brand.

The impact

The report gives commerce teams a clearer view of how relevance is evolving, and where existing ecommerce experiences are falling short.

It highlights the growing importance of decision guidance, effective search, and low-friction discovery experiences in driving conversion.

For Coveo, the research strengthens its position at the centre of AI-powered commerce, providing a clear, evidence-based perspective on how retailers can better support modern buying journeys.

Download the report