Traditional retailers have been struggling to adapt to the rapid evolution of new technologies and the rise of flexible work. Now, online retailer stocks appear to be handed a further boost by the ability of AI to recreate in-store experiences in online environments.
The mall was once a US institution, but today it appears that brick-and-mortar stores are simply too ill-equipped to cope with a rapidly changing society. As a result, investors are beginning to look to more long-term opportunities in digital-first retail stocks.
The pandemic years were a particularly challenging time for more analog shopping experiences. Between 2017 and 2022, an average of 1,170 shopping malls closed each year in the United States. If this trend were to continue, up to 87% of malls nationwide could be shut down by 2035.
But what’s driving this trend? And which retailers could benefit the most from these large-scale changes in consumer preferences? Let’s take a deeper look at the deep societal changes that’s driving a fundamental shift in the way we spend our money:
The Rise and Rise of eCommerce
Prior to the pandemic years, just 7% of remote-capable workers were fully based at home. By 2023, this figure had soared to around 35%. Additionally, almost 60% of hybrid workers began working from home for three or more days per week.
This has created a behavioral shift among consumers that brick-and-mortar retailers have so far struggled to keep up with.
Data shows that the rise of remote work has created an imbalance when it comes to store visits. Consumers are now using their newfound flexibility to travel to retailers on their own terms. This means that weekday store visits have steadily increased in the post-pandemic years, rising by as much as 9.06% on Wednesdays but at the cost of weekend trips to the mall.
With flexitime work emerging as not only a desirable quality in US job roles among workers but as a non-negotiable component of modern employee contracts, it’s been challenging for retailers to keep up.
The key beneficiaries of this shift have been eCommerce stores, with sales growth reaching almost 10% in the first quarter of 2026, a rate that has only been surpassed in Q4 2023 and Q2 2021 prior.
AI-Powered Growth
The emergence of artificial intelligence is now helping more eCommerce stores to catch up to their brick-and-mortar rivals by emulating their USP: in-store experiences.
The rise of agentic AI is already creating a natural level of dialogue between online shoppers and agents in a way that can perfectly replicate the brand’s personality and provide the feel of communicating to a member of staff in-store.
Modern AI agents can also handle post-purchase assistance, helping consumers to quickly modify their orders or track deliveries with the support of a natural language virtual companion.
Data suggests that agentic AI is already helping to recover 35% of abandoned carts through real-time conversational interventions, compared to 5-8% for more traditional email campaigns.
This provides a solid foundation for eCommerce stocks to continue to gain ground on their brick-and-mortar counterparts, and for investors looking to capitalize on long-term behavioral shifts among consumers, there are plenty of stocks that can benefit.
Notably, Walmart (WMT) has already driven a 26% rise in its eCommerce performance with the help of its recent deal with Google (GOOGL) Gemini to deliver agentic AI, while marketplace sales have climbed 50% to provide an AI distribution moat that few rivals can tackle.
Likewise, Etsy (ETSY) has launched an integration with OpenAI’s shopping framework, and the platform’s sequential buyer growth signals that AI agents are already rerouting its eCommerce traffic.
Another aspect of brick-and-mortar retail that eCommerce stores are replicating with the help of AI is virtual try-ons. Thanks to the launch of Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) AI Shopping tool, more consumers can stay at home and see how apparel fits and drapes across different body types. They can even upload personal photos to act as a digital avatar in a virtual fitting room.
Stocks like Shopify (SHOP) have already adopted the technology for use among its network of eCommerce retailers, making the stock a solid option for the transition away from in-store experiences.
The Future of Retail
The rise of flexible work has created a brand new environment for consumers that’s helping to support the integration of AI into online shopping experiences.
While the mall as we know it isn’t necessarily dying, consumer behavior is shifting significantly, which has created an increase in midweek visits while eCommerce stores are continuing to consistently grow in their popularity.
For investors, it’s worth tracking pioneering eCommerce stocks that are not only anticipating this trend but helping to support remote workers with digital experiences that replicate shopping in brick-and-mortar locations with the help of agentic AI and virtual try-ons.
If current trends continue and remain supported by innovations in AI, we could see eCommerce innovators to deliver long-term value that supports sustained digital transformation.
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