At the UXDX conference, Sneha Narahalli, Head of Product & UX at Sephora, discussed how commerce has evolved over the past decade. In the past, businesses focused on an “omnichannel commerce” by connecting experiences across stores, websites, apps, and digital platforms. She explained that the industry is now entering a new phase where digital experiences are becoming fragmented. Customers are no longer starting their journey in one place controlled by brands. Instead, they are discovering products and services through tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, search engines, social platforms, conversations, and recommendations. Due to this change, customer journeys now begin wherever customers encounter information.
The key takeaway was that customers are not thinking about channels, but are asking simple questions. Questions like “Can this help me?”, “Will this work for me?”, and “Can I trust this?” Sneha said this evolution is moving from “omnichannel commerce” to “intent-driven commerce.” While omnichannel strategies focus on connecting platforms, intent-driven commerce strategies focus on supporting customer decisions.
She concluded that the companies most likely to succeed will not necessarily be the ones with the most touchpoints, but the ones that make complicated experiences feel simple and seamless. Traditionally, brands expected customers to move through company-controlled spaces like homepages, product pages, and checkout flows, but that assumption is rapidly changing.
