E-commerce Sellers Pivot to Profitability as AI Adoption Hits 82%

The report, which surveyed 550 decision-makers across the US and Europe, highlights a clear departure from the growth-at-all-costs model that dominated previous years. While 82% of organizations have integrated or are currently considering AI to streamline operations, the transition remains uneven. Three in five businesses still rely on manual or only partially automated processes, forcing teams to dedicate nearly a third of their weekly workload to repetitive, error-prone tasks. These manual bottlenecks now account for higher operational costs and significant delays in launching across new platforms.

TikTok Shop has emerged as a critical component of this new strategy, with 55% of sellers now active on the platform. Even in markets like France and Germany, where the channel is relatively new, adoption has reached meaningful scale in under 18 months. Despite this enthusiasm for new sales channels, the primary barrier to further technological transformation remains a cautious approach to compliance and regulatory risk, particularly in Germany. As firms navigate these hurdles, the consensus among leadership—including ChannelEngine CEO Jorrit Steinz—is that future growth depends on connecting fragmented data to offset the rising costs of manual labor.