10 trends that will shape eCommerce over the next five years
A decade ago, Black Friday was synonymous with massive discounts and virtual queues. In 2025, however, the spotlight shifts clearly from price to customer experience. This year’s Black Friday unfolds in a complex economic landscape — marked by rising costs and increasing competition from international platforms.Meanwhile, Romanian shoppers are becoming more discerning, rational, and less easily persuaded by the mere promise of “big deals.” These were among the key conclusions of InnVolve by Innobyte 2025, a conference that brought together leading eCommerce players, business executives, and local experts.
“Customer experience has become the core element, not price. People buy from people, not algorithms. That’s why retailers who invest in technology to deliver a consistent and trustworthy experience will win long-term customer loyalty,” said Cătălin Bordei, Managing Partner at Innobyte, during the debate dedicated to Black Friday 2025 in Romania, joined by representatives of Vexio, F64 — two of the country’s top online retailers — and Magnolia, the largest local flower retail network with a strong online presence.
From flashy discounts to sustainable customer relationships
Romanian online retail is maturing. Black Friday is no longer a one-off event but part of a much broader commercial calendar that now spans the entire year. Campaigns are shifting from flashy discounts to fair offers and efficient delivery.
According to experts, the 2025 customer no longer chases “the lowest price at any cost”, but values reliability: a website that works, a product that arrives on time, and trustworthy after-sales service.
“Fake discounts are the biggest mistake. If you lie to a customer once, you lose their trust forever”, stressed Costinel Ilie, founder of Vexio, during the InnVolve panel.
Participants noted a clear professionalization of Black Friday campaigns — a move from “discount chaos” to optimization and segmentation. F64, a Romanian company specialized in photo, video, and audio equipment, now runs tailored campaigns for both professional and amateur audiences to better match expectations across segments.
Empathy as a competitive edge in the AI era
In online commerce, direct interaction with customers remains a key component of brand experience, even amid digital acceleration. Businesses in emotionally charged industries, such as flower delivery, confirm that perceived value is not driven by price but by service quality and keeping promises.
“Our clients don’t expect discounts — they buy flowers to express emotions. You can’t put emotion on sale. If a bouquet doesn’t arrive on time, you’ve missed the moment, and you can’t fix that”, said Ioana Molnar, CEO of Magnolia.
At the same time, finding the right degree of automation becomes a strategic issue. Full automation of customer interaction processes may look efficient, but it often undermines trust.
“We tested a fully automated chatbot — it was a total failure. Customers want to talk to humans. Without human intelligence, there’s no meaningful artificial intelligence”, emphasized Marian Alecsiu, founder of F64.
The common conclusion among eCommerce experts at InnVolve 2025: long-term commercial success depends on balancing technology with the human touch.
“AI is a useful tool for efficiency, but authentic experience and empathy remain the foundations of customer relationships”, added Cătălin Bordei, CEO of Innobyte.
The Romanian eCommerce decalogue for the next 5 years
Discussions among the four Romanian entrepreneurs with extensive eCommerce experience highlighted 10 trends that will shape online retail in the next five years:
- Market maturity: infrastructure — tech, logistics, and payments — has stabilized; websites are more reliable, deliveries faster, and consumers more educated.
- Local player consolidation: Romanian retailers focus on customer retention through personalization, transparency, and quality.
- The human connection: AI helps automate, but empathy cannot be replaced.
- Campaign fragmentation: Black Friday evolves from a single day into extended or multiple annual events.
- More rational consumers: less impulse buying, more price comparison and discount verification.
- Value over discount: shoppers seek predictability and reliability, not just bargains.
- Reputable brands gain ground: loyalty outweighs price differences.
- Discerning AI use: companies deploy AI for efficiency, not customer interaction.
- Ethics and transparency as differentiators: deceptive pricing is no longer tolerated by consumers or partners.
- Operational sustainability: retailers pursue business models balancing growth, profitability, and trust.
Global competition vs. local edge
Another key topic at InnVolve 2025 was the growing impact of international platforms such as Temu and Trendyol, rapidly gaining market share through aggressive pricing. Local retailers feel the pressure of these global players, who often enjoy more favorable tax conditions and vast marketing budgets.
In this context, differentiation no longer comes from cost but from trust, quality, and personalized service. Romanian retailers hold an advantage in proximity and local insight — allowing them to react faster and maintain a closer relationship with their customers.
“In a market flooded with cheap, standardized products, Romanian companies can win through authenticity. In the end, what remains is the experience — not the discount”, concluded Cătălin Bordei.
Press contact:
Cristian Moldoveanu
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