At NRF Europe 2025, retail leaders and technology experts explored the future of product discovery. Sébastien Icadi, VP Customer Success Europe & UK at Insider, and Stéphane Mermet from AWS, shared insights into how AI and data-driven technologies are transforming the way consumers find and interact with products online.

The discussion made one thing clear: traditional product discovery is no longer enough. Shoppers expect personalized, seamless, and proactive experiences, and AI is the key enabler.

Why Traditional Product Discovery Falls Short

The reality for many retailers is stark. Research indicates that nearly 80% of consumers struggle to find products on e-commerce sites (source:Kimonix). Traditional tools, such as keyword search, static filters, and rigid categories, fail to meet modern expectations. Mobile and web experiences are often fragmented, creating a disconnect across channels. Retailers often focus on best-sellers, leaving long-tail products hidden from view.

Younger consumers, accustomed to social platforms like Instagram and TikTok, expect immersive, story-driven product discovery. They prefer browsing content-rich formats rather than manually filtering products. This shift challenges retailers to rethink discovery entirely.

Data is the Foundation of Intelligent Discovery

Data is the backbone of effective AI-driven discovery. Without a unified view of customer behavior, purchase history, and product attributes, AI cannot deliver relevant recommendations.

Insider’s CDP (Customer Data Platform) integrates online interactions, app usage, and offline purchase history, creating 360° customer profiles. This enables personalized product suggestions from the very first session, improving engagement and reducing friction. Predictive modeling further anticipates customer needs, allowing a proactive approach to discovery rather than reactive search.

AWS complements this with tools like Amazon Personalize enabling real-time recommendations and predictive insights across product catalogs.

From Static Recommendations to Immersive Experiences

Product discovery is moving beyond static category pages. Retailers now need dynamic, personalized, and engaging experiences.

Insider has developed solutions like:

• InStory – bringing social-media inspired story formats to product discovery.
  Smart Recommender – delivering predictive recommendations tailored to each user’s behavior.
• Eureka – interpreting natural language search queries for more intuitive discovery.

These tools allow retailers to showcase the full product catalog, including items that would normally remain undiscovered, while creating richer, more interactive user experiences.

AI Agents: Proactive Guidance for Consumers

The next frontier is AI agent technology, which acts like a personal shopping advisor online. Unlike traditional chatbots, AI agents:

• Understand natural language queries.
• Anticipate intent and surface relevant products proactively.
  Adapt recommendations to user segmentation, behavioral signals, or loyalty status.

Insider’s shopping agents replicate the experience of an in-store advisor, offering personalized guidance and, if desired, assisting through the entire purchase journey, including product suggestions and checkout support.

Challenges and Considerations for Marketers in 2026

Despite the potential, adoption comes with challenges:

• Users need to trust AI recommendations, requiring careful balance between automation and user control.
• Data must be accurate, complete, and unified for agents to perform effectively.
• Teams require training and change management to integrate AI into workflows.
  

The session highlighted that effective AI-driven discovery relies on automation guided by human-centric design, iterated continuously based on customer behavior.

Conclusion: A New Era for Product Discovery

The key takeaway from NRF Europe is clear: traditional product discovery is dead. Retailers must embrace AI, unified data, and proactive agents to meet evolving consumer expectations.

A central question remains: how much control should AI have in guiding purchases, and where should human curation step in? The session provided insights, but real transformation will happen through experimentation and live implementation.

Retailers integrating data-driven insights, intelligent recommendations, and AI agents will be positioned to not only meet but exceed consumer expectations, creating engaging, proactive, and personalized shopping experiences.