Over the last 18 months, a combination of tariff changes, de minimis reforms, and increased import friction has made cross-border trade more complex and less predictable. What used to be a straightforward growth lever now requires closer attention to cost structures, customer experience, and operational resilience. The impact has extended beyond marketing performance into margins, fulfilment operations, and the confidence leadership teams have in international forecasts.

Our latest blog explores how Shopify’s Markets product / capability has evolved and is now allowing high-volume brands to localise via a single Shopify instance. We look at the shift from expansion stores to a single-storefront model, the remaining trade-offs around payments, legal entities, and catalogues, and when consolidation makes sense versus when regional stores still add value. It also covers the cost implications, migration planning, and the impact of new 2025 features like multi-entity and catalogue-level control - helping brands navigate the next phase of Shopify’s global capabilities.

As the sportswear market continues to grow (with 2025 projections showing it outpacing the wider fashion industry) brands are under pressure to elevate their digital presence. To stay competitive and meet rising customer expectations, brands are enhancing their digital storefronts with features such as engaging content-led landing pages, streamlined account sign-up flows, and immersive membership programmes. So, which brands are setting the bar? We’ve rounded up 10 standout sportswear brands delivering best-in-class eCommerce - and the features helping them create more meaningful, high-performing online experiences.

At Pulse eCommerce Summit ‘25, we hosted a session titled The Future of Commerce - Emerging Trends, Technologies & the State of AI, exploring where commerce is heading and what this evolution means for brands, platforms, and consumers alike. Below, we’ll outline the key takeaways from the session, including the rise of generative content, the shift toward agentic AI, the growing importance of LLM visibility, and the early impact of tools like Model Context Protocol - along with some predictions for the year ahead and why brands should adapt.

As fashion brands navigate an increasingly crowded and fast-paced market, building stronger connections with their most loyal customers - who often account for up to 60% of revenue - has become essential for sustained growth. To stand out in this landscape, many brands are turning to VIP customer accounts as a way to build deeper engagement and long-term loyalty. We explore 10 standout examples of brands delivering VIP experiences, retaining their most valuable customers, and unlocking new growth opportunities.

As per the last few years, I wanted to put together a bit of a summary of the trends and focal areas we're seeing amongst clients going into 2025, along with some of the key highlights from 2024. The core areas I’ve focused on are growth markets (and predicted growth markets for this year), roadmap and new feature focuses, general areas we’ve seen higher investment, what’s worked for our clients and areas we think will become more important over the course of 2025.