es heavily reliant on a rep-managed salesforce, with online sales contributing less than 10 per cent of total revenue for most companies. Hearing this made me question just how close, or far, we really are from Gartner’s predictions. Australia has some catching up to do in the e-commerce world; we’re not even in the top 10. So when you’re sitting at a table with a Chinese person, an American, and a Brit talking about the future of e-commerce, you listen and you listen well. It’s like having a front-row seat to the future, learning from those who are already living it. The American believes that B2B commerce is headed toward a new level of personalisation, where functionality takes precedence over aesthetics. Given that the US ranks No 2 in the world in e-commerce, I postponed my toilet break and leaned in to listen.  When a customer logs in, the American says, the entire site feels tailored to them, even the logo in the top left corner might show their company’s icon instead of yours. Logged in navigation becomes a toolkit for essentials like quick ordering, recently purchased items, and invoices. The message is clear: it’s all about them.  Guiding customers quickly to what they need should be your primary goal. The American says AI will play a key role in guiding users directly to their end goal, eliminating the need for traditional site navigation. That’s right. Imagine a user simply interacting with the search function to chat with an AI bot that builds and completes their order. The bot could suggest alternatives to their usual products or highlight top choices based on specific needs. And if the AI hits a roadblock, it seamlessly hands the conversation off to a human for support. And if your customer is older than the Millennials, they might even opt for a phone call. Mind. Blown. The Brit highlights a priority shift: ambition, not technology, should drive your roadmap. Many Australian companies are playing defence, patching up outdated tech rather than focusing on the best user experience for their customers and using technology to enhance it. So, where do you start?  Define a long-term vision for the user experience. Consider what your ideal experience should look like for your customers over the next 5-10 years, and establish clear, measurable goals to work towards. These will serve as a guiding light when making strategic decisions. The Brit also suggests investing in platforms that are adaptable and scalable, allowing for integrations with new technologies as they emerge. A modular architecture, using APIs, for instance, enables you to upgrade components without overhauling the entire system. This flexibility helps you stay current with minimal disruption. And of course, keep the customer journey at the forefront. Conduct regular user research and gather feedback to understand evolving customer needs and pain points. By aligning platform upgrades and design tweaks with real user insights, you’ll continuously improve the experience without waiting for a complete overhaul. Staying updated on industry trends and emerging technologies, even if you’re not planning an immediate upgrade, is important. Keeping an eye on advancements like AI, voice commerce, and new UX practices can inspire smaller updates within your current system and prepare you to pivot when the time is right. Over the course of a few days, I learned about advancements in AI that are set to revolutionise digital marketing and merchandising. Platforms are now handling metadata, SEO-optimised product information, and even AI-generated product imagery. It’s a world where the heavy lifting of these routine tasks rests with the AI gods. Of course, humans still need to supervise, but we’re inching ever closer to a fully automated future. As the energy in the room builds and everyone leans in, eager to explore the endless possibilities, my eyes circle the table, keen to hear the Chinese perspective. But their seat? Empty. The world’s No 1 e-commerce market didn’t make it. In their place, a lone microchip glints on the table. I pick it up, inspecting it like a relic from the future. Turns out, they’re already living in 2050, too busy advancing to drop by and fill us in.