Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
- Stop chasing the one channel that “worked” last quarter. Customers are stitching together nearly 20 touchpoints before they buy, so your job is showing up consistently everywhere, not guessing right once.
- AI will get your product in front of the right person, but it won’t close the sale for you — the reviews, the pricing, the checkout still have to hold up once a human actually looks.
- Loyalty isn’t a big campaign twice a year, it’s showing up the same way, on the same terms, over and over.
Remember those times when the entry point to the sales funnel was kind of straying in the dark? Well, things changed. The average user scrolls around seven different platforms every month, and 82% of buyers check social media first and only then (not a given) go to a brand’s website. Shop is no longer a place; it is a moment that can happen anywhere — in a feed, inside a chat window, or during a live stream.
As a founder, if you are still building your growth strategy around a single funnel from an ad to a checkout through the landing page, your model is no longer as relevant. Here are the five pillars shifting where buying actually begins, and how you can respond to these changes.
1. Discovery can happen everywhere
The moment a customer first discovers your product is now totally random: an Instagram Reel, an organic search result, a chat with an AI, offline window shopping, whatever. The customer journey now averages nearly 20 touchpoints with the brand before a purchase is made. Attempting to predict which specific channel will spark that initial interest is a game of chance, so you’d better audit your recent sales and map out where those customers actually came from. Prioritize expansion across these channels. Keep information about items, prices, and delivery updated across platforms to maintain trust and transparency.
Zara is actively using Instagram Shop to make it easier for users to finish shopping without needing to switch to the website. Users see an entire look right in their Instagram feed, get inspired, and can purchase every piece via direct tags.
2. AI cuts the friction, but people decide
AI assistants make shopping much easier when it comes to comparing thousands of products in just a few seconds and finding the best option based on different criteria. Still, around 80% of users go to the marketplace’s catalog to double-check the product details before buying. The algorithm can point them in the right direction, but humans still want to make the final choice themselves.
Because of this, you’d better treat AI as a pacesetter. If a chatbot recommends your product as the best option, your offer has to meet those expectations. Pay attention to the quality of your content, pricing, the abundance of fresh reviews from real customers, and the convenience of checkout. Try to look at your product pages through an AI lens: does your product card clearly answer the practical questions a user would ask a chatbot? Optimizing your platform for AI search engines (GEO) is no longer about adding keywords — it’s about providing enough detail.
Take PATTERN Beauty, a brand specializing in curly and coily hair. They added an AI platform, Insider, to analyze customer behavior and suggest products according to hair type. Instead of pushing hard for a sale or making the choice for the user, the AI only recommends and leaves the final decision to them.
3. Search queries are becoming conversations
People no longer search using just a few keywords. Instead, more and more shoppers choose to prompt an AI and give full context detailing their specific occasion, budget, expectations, and even pain points. Shopping-related queries in ChatGPT grew from 7.8% to 9.8% in the first half of 2025 alone.
Look through real questions from support chats and chatbot logs, and answer them directly in your product cards and marketing copy. Next comes the technical side: your internal website search must understand natural, everyday language, not just exact keyword matches. Lastly, keep track of what external AI assistants say about your brand. If what they say doesn’t match your supply, there might be a big misunderstanding between your prospective customers and your brand.
Walmart’s AI shopping assistant, Sparky, does a great job comprehending a real conversation. It doesn’t just parse keywords — it can offer relevant options when handling a prompt like “best laptop for a graphic design student on a budget.” Sparky checks the context and shares a curated match. By the end of fiscal Q4, Walmart reported that orders placed via Sparky were about 35% larger on average.
4. Trust is a chain of moments
Trust rarely comes from just good tech and beautiful visuals. It accumulates slowly over a chain of small and well-timed contacts with your brand. Data shows that buyers are 58% more likely to make a purchase when they see the exact same offer repeated across different channels.
True loyalty is a question of frequency, not just a bonus program. Your goal isn’t to give promo codes or extra offers once in a while, but to keep showing up with the right intentions. Map out every single point of contact after the first order. Work on your messaging tone so it sounds friendly and attentive, so customers feel understood.
Try swapping out major campaigns for always-on tracks. For example, at Udora, we have a year-round campaign focused around birthdays only, completely separate from seasonal events.
Brazilian drink delivery service Zé Delivery built their discount strategy around an “if you don’t use it, your rival will” trigger. It’s an always-on campaign that brings users back into the app before the offer expires. On top of that, they layer in major cultural events seasonally. During FIFA 2026, they added a bunch of features ranging from match-prediction bonuses to free gifts. It worked so well because it was built into always-on tracks that were already running seamlessly in the background.
5. Discovery varies from market to market
Around 72% of global consumers spend their time on native-language sites, and 60% prefer to have English-only websites as a backup option. When striving to engage and retain customers, make sure your product feels native. Conduct research to tap into the main pain points of the local audience to find out what channels bring them in, what media and messaging apps they like, and what specific steps really make a difference. Then, make sure your content, strategies, and even the product are adapted to the realities of this region. Keep locals on your team. These people understand the cultural context, local traditions, heritage, and the whole regional vibe.
Lay’s has different strategies depending on the region. They highlight traditions, local holidays, and even taste preferences in their marketing campaigns. The FIFA 2026 campaign for the US market focuses on the atmosphere of friendly gatherings around watching soccer together, rather than the fierce team rivalries more popular in other countries. They also created limited-edition chip flavors tailored to each host city.
Your real strength now lies in making sure that wherever customers happen to stumble upon your product, they find a clear, trustworthy, and locally relevant experience waiting for them. Use technology to eliminate friction, but keep your main focus on building real human connections at every touchpoint.
Key Takeaways
- Stop chasing the one channel that “worked” last quarter. Customers are stitching together nearly 20 touchpoints before they buy, so your job is showing up consistently everywhere, not guessing right once.
- AI will get your product in front of the right person, but it won’t close the sale for you — the reviews, the pricing, the checkout still have to hold up once a human actually looks.
- Loyalty isn’t a big campaign twice a year, it’s showing up the same way, on the same terms, over and over.
Remember those times when the entry point to the sales funnel was kind of straying in the dark? Well, things changed. The average user scrolls around seven different platforms every month, and 82% of buyers check social media first and only then (not a given) go to a brand’s website. Shop is no longer a place; it is a moment that can happen anywhere — in a feed, inside a chat window, or during a live stream.
As a founder, if you are still building your growth strategy around a single funnel from an ad to a checkout through the landing page, your model is no longer as relevant. Here are the five pillars shifting where buying actually begins, and how you can respond to these changes.
1. Discovery can happen everywhere
The moment a customer first discovers your product is now totally random: an Instagram Reel, an organic search result, a chat with an AI, offline window shopping, whatever. The customer journey now averages nearly 20 touchpoints with the brand before a purchase is made. Attempting to predict which specific channel will spark that initial interest is a game of chance, so you’d better audit your recent sales and map out where those customers actually came from. Prioritize expansion across these channels. Keep information about items, prices, and delivery updated across platforms to maintain trust and transparency.