Content trends are shifts in the types of content people consume, the platforms they use, and the ways they encounter and engage with information online.
Consumers discover brands and buy from them differently than they did just a few years ago. They research products on social media, watch short-form video, and move across platforms before they check out. Those changes impact how and where ecommerce brands show up.
Here are the content trends shaping ecommerce, what’s driving each one, and how to incorporate them into your marketing strategy.
What are content trends?
Content trends are the themes that emerge in how people engage with media, brands, and products online. These trends extend beyond viral memes and social media challenges. They can also include new content formats, emerging distribution channels and platforms, and changing customer expectations around brand authenticity and community.
For ecommerce businesses, not all content or social media trends may be worth pursuing. Some are short-lived, attracting temporary attention and engagement before fading. Others may not fit your brand values or content marketing strategy at all. Some trends, however, can support how you build customer relationships and connect with audiences over time.
Content trends for ecommerce brands
- Social platforms as search engines
- Short-form video discovery outside of social
- Human-led content
- Lo-fi product demonstrations and unpolished content
- Micro-creators over mega-influencers
- Connected content ecosystems
- AI-assisted content creation
Some of the following content trends involve new technologies and platforms, while others reflect changing customer expectations around authenticity and community:
Social platforms as search engines
Search is no longer limited to traditional search engines—or even AI search. Increasingly, consumers discover products and answers through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit. According to Sprout Social’s Q2 2025 Pulse Survey, social platforms are the top place Gen Z searches; 41% turn to social media first, ahead of traditional search engines (32%). Across age groups, 37% of consumers prefer social media first for product reviews and recommendations.
“TikTok as a search engine is one of the biggest structural shifts that ecommerce brands are still underestimating,” says Kenzie Epperson, social media strategist and cofounder of the content creation platform Content Bar.
Rather than searching Google, many shoppers search directly within social platforms for phrases such as “best product for acne.” Content optimized for the demographics and intent of your audience can help your brand appear when customers are actively looking for solutions. Kenzie recommends treating social content much like SEO content. For example, be consistent across channels (using the same handle and profile photo, for example) and add relevant keywords to your captions, video titles, and text overlays. She also recommends creating high-quality content that tells a compelling story and answers specific customer needs.
Short-form video discovery outside of social
Seventy-one percent of consumers watch short-form videos daily, according to a survey by the research and review company Clutch. Nearly a quarter of them say they use them to discover new products and trends.
For ecommerce companies, short-form video is about more than teasing longer content. Brands use platform-native videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to tell complete stories, answer customer questions, demonstrate products, and educate audiences.
Kailey Bradt, CEO of the skin care brand Sonsie, points to the rise of short-film formats that prioritize storytelling.
“People are watching these videos, and they’re sharing them not even knowing what the brand is,” she says in an interview with Shopify Masters.
Short-form video also reaches people outside the social apps themselves. Google, for example, now features short videos from platforms like YouTube and TikTok directly in search results through its Short Videos tab. As search and social continue to converge, short-form videos are reaching consumers in more places where they browse and search.
Human-led content
Founder stories, behind-the-scenes content, and other forms of human-led storytelling are important strategies for ecommerce businesses.
“The person behind the brand oftentimes is going to be the selling point,” Kenzie says. “In 2026, people want to buy from people.”
Instead of leading with product features or promotions, Kenzie recommends leading with the story behind the product. Content that highlights challenges, transformations, lessons learned, or the motivations behind your business can often create stronger connections than traditional product marketing content, she says.
Sock Candy founder Mary Gui has seen the same shift. On an episode of Shopify Masters, she says that founder-facing content translates well to social media.
“I spend so much more time thinking about what kind of relatable videos we can post rather than what pretty pictures we can take,” she says.
Lo-fi product demonstrations and unpolished content
Rather than presenting products in idealized settings, Kenzie recommends showing them in authentic contexts using real people, natural lighting, and genuine reactions.
“If you’re making an eczema cream, I don’t want it up against a shiny desk with all these perfect products,” she says. “I want to see the eczema. I want to see exactly how the product works.”
This type of “lo-fi” content emphasizes simple, authentic demonstrations that show how products perform in everyday use. And it’s engaging. In an analysis of 3,000 brands on TikTok and Instagram, Neil Patel found that lo-fi social media content generated 34% more likes and 18.5% more comments than polished content.
Kenzie notes that the appeal of lo-fi content is about credibility. Authentic product demonstrations help shoppers evaluate whether a product will actually solve their problem, making them less hesitant to make a purchase.
“It’s not an aesthetic preference,” she says. “It’s a trust mechanism. Skepticism in general kills conversion.”
Michelle Razavi, founder of the snack brand Elavi, says on Shopify Masters that her team moved away from curated social posts in favor of “more authentic, raw content” after finding it generated stronger engagement. The shift allowed the brand to build a more authentic, organic content strategy that told its behind-the-scenes story.
Micro-creators over mega-influencers
As influencer marketing matures, many brands are shifting their budgets toward smaller creators with highly engaged niche audiences. According to a 2025 report by the influencer marketing agency Famesters, 70% of brands were planning to work with nano- and micro-influencers, compared to 30% with macro- and mega-influencers. This approach represents a shift from maximizing reach to building trust.
“Micro-creators are definitely underestimated in terms of their impact,” Kenzie says. “Creators with 5,000 to 50,000 followers in a specific niche are absolutely driving higher conversions for ecommerce brands than macro-influencers because their audience trusts them like a friend.”
Kenzie encourages brands to look for creators who have already established credibility within a specific product category. For example, a creator who consistently shares acne skin care advice with their 5,000 engaged followers may have greater influence over purchasing decisions than a general lifestyle influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers.
“That’s who you want to be sending your product to and having them create content,” she says.
Connected content ecosystems
According to the 2025 Consumer Behavior Index by software company SOCi, Gen Z and millennial consumers typically move between three and four platforms before making a purchase decision. This reflects a broader shift toward increasingly fragmented customer journeys. As a result, brands can benefit from thinking of their content as an interconnected ecosystem instead of individual videos, blog posts, or social media updates.
Each piece of content—whether that’s a short-form video for discovery, a blog post for education, or an email campaign for conversion—supports a different stage of the customer journey. At the same time, it reinforces a consistent brand strategy across channels. Designing content to work together across channels can create a more cohesive customer experience while meeting shoppers wherever they choose to engage.
AI-assisted content creation
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a standard part of modern content marketing, whether that’s to support brainstorming, help identify trends, or generate outlines and drafts. Estimates vary widely, but research suggests AI now plays a role in a large and growing share of online content; by some measures, it represents roughly half of new articles or more.
Used strategically, AI can improve your content creation efficiency and help marketers respond more quickly to emerging trends. However, Kenzie urges brands to avoid using AI-generated content simply for volume.
“That’s not worth the hype at all,” she says. “Audiences still respond to human insight, strong storytelling, and original perspectives, so if those things aren’t tied to that AI-generated piece of media, then it won’t perform.”
How to capitalize on content trends
Understanding content trends is only the first step. The following best practices can help you incorporate trends into your broader content or social media strategy to support your business goals:
Build a repeatable content engine
According to Kenzie, your business can more successfully leverage content trends if you already have a repeatable system for creating content in place. Don’t rely on just a one-off post or specific campaign created for a trend. Recurring series, standardized workflows, and a consistent publishing schedule all make it easier to respond to new trends without starting from scratch.
“Keeping up with all the content demands can feel impossible, but having a content engine or a production line for content—whether that’s a pool of user-generated content (UGC) creators or a recurring series—is so important,” she says.
Content calendars, editorial content tools, and marketing platforms can help you organize recurring content and maintain a consistent publishing schedule. Shopify offers content marketing features and a blogging platform to help store owners manage their long-term content strategy.
Repurpose ideas, not posts
As consumers increasingly discover, research, and purchase products across platforms, your content should work across channels to create a more connected experience for your audience. However, each version should be tailored to the audience and behavior of the platform.
“The messaging should remain consistent,” Kenzie says, “but the packaging should definitely match the platform.”
For example, people often turn to TikTok for entertainment, Instagram to connect with communities, and LinkedIn for thought leadership.
A skin care brand might share a fun TikTok tutorial demonstrating the product, while a customer testimonial on Instagram highlights real results and a blog post answers common questions about underlying skin conditions. Each piece of content is tailored to its platform, but together they tell a story that reinforces the same core message.
Social media management tools can help you share consistent yet tailored messaging across platforms. Shopify store owners can directly share content from product pages and blogs to social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Align trends with your brand
Before participating in a content trend, consider whether it fits your products, brand voice, and target audience. Trends that feel forced or disconnected from your business may generate attention initially, but they are less likely to attract the right customers or help you build lasting relationships.
“Ask yourselves if your audience members are actively participating in this trend,” Kenzie says. If the answer is yes, the trend is more likely to resonate with your customers. When participating, focus on creating engaging content first and weaving your brand into the conversation naturally. As Kenzie puts it: “Lead with the trend and earn the brand mention.”
Content trends FAQ
What types of content are most effective right now?
The content that resonates today is authentic, helpful, and tailored to how people consume information online. Popular formats include short-form videos, behind-the-scenes content, founder stories, and product demonstrations.
How do businesses identify content trends?
Businesses can identify content trends by monitoring social media platforms, following industry publications, and reviewing search data. Listening to your audience and watching how they engage with content can help you identify emerging trends relevant to your brand.
Should brands follow every content trend?
Brands should evaluate whether a trend aligns with their audience, products, and overall content strategy before participating. Trends that feel authentic and relevant are more likely to build engagement and trust, while unrelated trends can dilute your brand message.
