E-commerce Marketing in 2025: Mastering Complexity
The golden age is over
During the pandemic, many online businesses experienced what seemed like a golden era: growing traffic, reasonable acquisition costs, and a digitized demand that just kept increasing. It was a time of fast — and often chaotic — growth. But those days are gone.
In 2025, succeeding in e-commerce is much harder. A good product, a beautiful store, and some ad spend are no longer enough. Today, competing in e-commerce demands excellence at every stage of the funnel and a complete view of the digital ecosystem surrounding your brand.
The new playing field
Margins are tighter than ever. Ad costs have risen, user attention is more fragmented, and competition has matured. For many businesses, this means one thing: there’s no more room for improvisation.
To survive — and grow — you need an integrated strategy, technical mastery, a strong grasp of data, and the ability to orchestrate every element of the e-commerce ecosystem: from the platform to the CRM, from acquisition channels to retention. Every piece matters.
E-commerce is no longer “just your store”
One of the most common mistakes we still see is believing that e-commerce simply means setting up a store and selling products. In 2025, e-commerce is a complex network of interconnected parts, each influencing the other.
Today, talking about e-commerce means talking about:
Acquisition strategies (Google, Meta, TikTok, affiliates…)
User-generated content (UGC) and influencers
Marketing automation and CRM
Product feeds for marketplaces and campaigns
Personalization and A/B testing platforms
Real-time analytics for behavior and conversion
Advanced logistics, 3PLs, customer service, and post-sales
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and user experience
Your store is just one part. The real challenge lies in the effective coordination of the entire ecosystem.
Shopify and the modern ecosystem
One of the reasons Shopify has become the dominant e-commerce platform is its ability to connect with this ecosystem. Its clean data structure, robust App Store, compatibility with CRMs, payment gateways, upsell tools, logistics, and analytics make it a flexible and scalable hub.
Setting up a basic Shopify store is easy. But building a profitable and competitive business on Shopify requires knowledge, strategy, and technical precision. This is where many companies get stuck: they have the tools, but don’t know how to use them properly.
E-commerce marketing: precision, not volume
The key to e-commerce marketing isn’t about “running lots of campaigns” — it’s about having a clear channel strategy and measuring profitability with precision.
Which channel brings the highest-margin customers?
Which converts best on the first visit?
Which is best for repeat purchases?
Where are we spending without getting returns?
What’s the real GM1, GM2, GM3 by channel?
In times of tight margins, ROAS without margin is an illusion. Profitability must be at the core of every decision.
Every business needs its own channel mix
There’s no universal recipe. Every brand must find its own winning channel mix. For some, it’s Google + Klaviyo + reviews. For others, TikTok + influencers + WhatsApp. What matters is:
Exploring methodically, not blindly
Measuring everything from day one
Doubling down where positive signals appear
Cutting unprofitable channels quickly
Trends for 2025: UGC, Influencers, and CRM
This year we’re seeing a “golden triangle” emerging for many brands:
User-Generated Content (UGC) as a driver of trust, community, and SEO
Well-targeted influencers, focused on performance (not just branding)
CRM done right, focusing on onboarding, activation, repeat purchases, and retention
This approach helps reduce dependency on paid media, increases LTV, and builds a solid, active customer base.
Google is still the closing weapon
Despite all the changes, Google remains key for closing sales. Performance Max, in particular, is delivering strong results. Sure, it sometimes feels like a black box — limited control over targeting or insight into which assets work.
But with a solid feed structure, strong creatives, and a steady stream of data, PMax can be brutally effective for high-intent conversions. It’s still one of the most important channels for achieving positive ROAS in e-commerce.
CRM: Klaviyo is the Shopify of CRMs
When it comes to CRM, our favorite tool for e-commerce is Klaviyo. Why? Because it speaks the language of Shopify and modern e-commerce. It’s user-friendly for marketing teams yet technically deep enough to scale with advanced personalization, automation, and dynamic segmentation.
We love it because it enables:
Well-configured flows for welcome, abandoned cart, winback
Campaign personalization based on real user behavior
A/B testing for creative and send times
Revenue attribution to specific actions
Most importantly, it powers retention without relying solely on paid.
Real-time analytics and focus on growth drivers
Another key difference between an e-commerce business that survives and one that grows is the ability to read real-time data — and act on it.
Having dashboards isn’t enough. What matters is having a clear strategy to identify key products, high-converting user segments, the most profitable sources, and funnel bottlenecks.
This allows you to:
Launch more effective campaigns
Increase average order value
Improve user experience
Eliminate unnecessary costs
Experiment with real, measurable hypotheses
Conclusion
Running e-commerce in 2025 is like playing in the big leagues. It requires preparation, strategy, technology, and a well-coordinated team. It’s not magic — but it’s not simple either.
The good news is that, with today’s tools, it’s entirely possible to build sustainable, scalable, and profitable businesses. But we have to accept that it’s no longer just about having a pretty website — you’re competing in a complex ecosystem, where every detail counts.
Want help organizing your e-commerce ecosystem and building a real growth strategy?
Let’s talk.