Generative AI and immersive commerce have exhibited immense potential to redefine digital retail, shifting how customers can search, evaluate, and interact with products online. Amid this growth, new trends like conversational discovery and experiential e-commerce are poised to become essential components of brand platforms and catalog structures, a belief that guides Amelia Castellanos, founder of Buffaloe Digital and CMO consultant. Recognizing this paradigm shift, the company is helping e-commerce leaders make that pivot early, positioning its clients to benefit from the evolution in search, engagement, and purchasing behavior that, as Castellanos believes, is already underway.
According to Castellanos, generative AI is transforming digital shopping by turning what used to be static, one-way browsing into guided, conversational interaction. Shoppers may want to ask questions as naturally as they would in-store, about fabrics, sizing, fit, shipping, or comparisons between products. “One of the greatest impacts of generative AI right now is how it is attempting to humanize connections and create more trust value,” Castellanos says, emphasizing that customers could respond positively when brands use AI transparently. “The more transparent you are, the more successful the brand can become, because customers understand the intention is to make the experience easier for them.”
This shift toward transparency-driven trust, Castellanos believes, is playing a key role in accelerating adoption. “Conversational commerce is emerging as a new revenue channel built on this behavioral shift,” she explains. Instead of relying on clicks, shoppers can now rely on conversational queries and AI-driven summaries. Castellanos describes it as “a new sales channel that can focus on fewer clicks and more conversation,” adding that customers can buy in the same environments where they chat, research, and compare.
She highlights a popular commerce platform’s integration with AI chatbots, which she believes exemplifies this movement, enabling shoppers to browse and complete purchases directly through AI chatbots while syncing orders with the back-end systems of e-commerce platforms. It shows how conversational interfaces can become fully functional commerce gateways. “Consumers have already gotten used to purchasing off of social media channels; now AI chatbots are next in line,” she says. “It’s going to open up a whole other game, because it will be able to emulate the same level of conversational shopping people have with AI agents, except now it’s going to be in-app, with personal assistants who can shop for you.”
Castellanos believes that while conversations can transform the front end, AR and VR are redefining digital product engagement on a sensory level. “Brands invest in immersive tools because they can recreate the emotional and tactile qualities of physical retail,” she explains. Virtual try-ons, customizable lighting environments, 3D views, and interactive room placement can simulate the discovery process customers expect in-store.
“Immersive e-commerce is the closest way we’ve been able to translate the brick-and-mortar retail experience into a seamless online experience,” she says, noting that sites using these capabilities may be able to see remarkable consumer behavioral improvements. “It allows us to capture attention in a way that we never have before. Customers can feel like they are actually inside the store rather than on a flat webpage, increasing time on-site and reducing bounce rate.”
Gen Z’s influence on this shift, she believes, is unmistakable. With 73 percent of Gen Z still preferring live experiences and in-store shopping, Castellanos notes that immersive commerce can be a long-term investment in customer lifetime value. “Even when they do not immediately convert, their engagements can become groundwork for future loyalty,” she says, advising brands to adopt immersive strategies early. “If you wait two years, you might spend five times as much trying to catch up.”
Buffaloe Digital supports brands in building these immersive ecosystems by designing virtual try-ons, 3D visualization, and gamified launch experiences, designed to make online shopping feel exploratory. The goal is not just interaction but retention, repeat visits, and deeper emotional engagement. In her opinion, these experiences can strengthen the connection between physical stores and digital platforms, helping omnichannel brands to design cohesive channels to drive total revenue.
The company is also strategic about pairing technology with usability, blending advanced tools with human-centric design to make shopping personal and effortless. Castellanos describes it as a commitment to convenience: “Customers should be able to find what they want as quickly as possible, with as few clicks as possible, and with answers that are immediate and accurate.”
Behind that simplicity is a sophisticated operational backbone, automated catalog feeds, order status integrations, size recommendations, and streamlined order fulfillment flows. These efficiencies are aimed at reducing the workload of internal teams, enabling brands to redirect resources toward optimization and growth. “When AI manages repetitive inquiries, brands gain back the bandwidth to focus on website optimization, new sales channels, and advertising investments,” she notes.
Buffaloe Digital’s mission is to empower e-commerce brands to embrace AI, conversational commerce, and immersive AR/VR as foundational components of future-proof retail. As brands navigate the rapidly changing e-commerce environment, the companies that integrate these capabilities early could shape the next generation of online shopping, offering journeys that are intelligent, intuitive, and emotionally resonant.
