For online merchants
AI automation for online merchants
German online retail grew 3.2 percent in 2025. Temu, Shein and AliExpress grew 27.2 percent and took around 30 percent of the entire market's growth (bevh). Over 70 percent of merchants engage with AI, but only 9 percent see a measurable revenue effect (Shopware 2026). The tools are not the difference. The expensive processes run across several systems, and no platform feature covers that.
30 minutes, no obligation. German or English. Clicking loads Cal.com (USA); the call runs on Google Meet. Prefer to write first? Ask by email. We send the draft data processing agreement and our terms on request.
- 27.2%
- growth of Temu, Shein and AliExpress in 2025, compared with 3.2 percent for the total marketbevh annual press conference, January 2026
- 9%
- of merchants see a measurable revenue effect from AI, while over 70 percent engage with itShopware merchant survey 2026
- €17.70
- per return paid by small senders in the Bamberg cost survey, compared with €5.18 at large sendersUniversity of Bamberg returns research (data year 2012)
In short
The expensive processes run across several systems, and no platform feature covers that. We build the connections between them. The trial run starts at €2,500.Last updated:
The gap
Shop systems automate product texts. Your expensive processes run across systems.
Shopware AI, JTL's extensions and the marketplaces' listing generators are good and mostly already paid for, so use them first. But the service inbox, returns and compliance fields run across shop, merchandise management and three marketplaces, and no platform feature covers that. We build the connections between them.
A service inbox that answers from your data
The system answers order-status questions automatically from data already in merchandise management and shipping. It drafts everything else for your team to check and approve. In the 2025 Digital Commerce Report, a third of German respondents complain about service problems and nearly 40 percent regularly reach nobody. Being reachable is now a competitive advantage.
Returns: automate the work around them
Wrong expectations are the classic reason for returns. We automate return-reason capture and sorting, status messages and restocking, and improve product data to prevent returns. The cost gap is structural: small senders paid €17.70 per return where large ones paid €5.18.
Compliance fields, checked before the marketplace does
The system checks every listing on every channel against the mandatory fields of product-safety, accessibility and packaging rules. It reports gaps before a marketplace suspends the listing.
Connect the tools you already own
JTL, Shopware or Shopify and the marketplace APIs are already part of your business. In 2026 the gain comes from connecting them, not from another feature subscription. We found the same pattern across ten industries.
Your duties first
Eighteen months of new duties, handled as data
Few industries got as much new compliance work in eighteen months. Each duty means maintaining fields per item and per channel, and that makes it a case for automation. The figures on this page come from the German market, and the rules are German and EU rules; for each project we check the rules of your country.
- GPSR on every single listing
- Since December 2024, the product-safety regulation requires manufacturer details, a responsible person in the EU, warnings and a product image for every single listing. The marketplaces enforce this technically.
- BFSG: the exemption, exactly
- The accessibility act has applied to B2C shops since June 2025. Only micro-enterprises are exempt: fewer than ten employees, and at most two million euros in either annual revenue or balance sheet total. With ten or more employees, the act applies.
- Art. 50: chatbots yes, product texts no
- Since 2 August 2026, a service chatbot must identify itself as AI, and a note in the legal notice is not enough. Ordinary AI-generated product texts do not need a label, despite the persistent rumor. The duty covers chatbots and deceptively realistic media content.
- PPWR on top of LUCID
- From August 2026, the packaging regulation PPWR adds conformity duties on top of the existing LUCID packaging registration, again per item and per channel. Only structured product data keeps this manageable.
How it starts
Same steps, scoped to your business
Intro call
Free
30 minutes on where your business loses time. If AI is not the right tool, we tell you.
Trial run
from €2,500 · credited to the implementation
We map where the hours actually go and rank the tasks by payback. You get a short list with the expected effort, not a slide deck.
Implementation
Fixed fee, named in your proposal
We implement and test one workflow with your team, typically within two to four weeks once prerequisites are confirmed. We train your team, and your team checks and approves before customer data leaves a draft.
The implementation of one contained workflow costs about €3,000 to €5,000. Projects with several processes and systems cost more, and the fixed fee is in your proposal before work starts. Ongoing care starts at €250 per month per workflow. 30 min · remote · no obligation. And if AI isn't the right tool, we'll say so.
Fair questions
What online merchants ask us first
01We already use Shopware AI or JTL's extensions. Is that not enough?
Use them; they are good and mostly already paid for. But they automate single steps, mainly product texts. In the Shopware survey, 70 percent engage with AI but only 9 percent see a measurable effect. That gap exists because the expensive processes (service, returns, data upkeep) run across systems. Connecting them is integration work, and that is what we do.
02Is it true that 30 to 40 percent of inquiries are where-is-my-order?
That is a vendor number. No independent German study exists, and we say so plainly. The customer side is solid: a third complain about service problems and nearly 40 percent regularly reach nobody (Digital Commerce Report 2025). The approach works either way: the system answers status questions from your own shipping data and drafts the rest for your team to approve.
03Do AI-generated product texts need labeling?
No, even though the opposite keeps circulating. The labeling duty of Art. 50 covers chatbots, which must identify themselves as AI since 2 August 2026, and deceptively realistic media content. Ordinary product texts are not covered.
04Does the accessibility act apply to our shop?
Probably yes. Only micro-enterprises are exempt: fewer than ten employees, and at most two million euros in either annual revenue or balance sheet total. With ten or more employees, or above both two-million limits, the act applies to you. We can automate the check of your own mandatory fields.
05What does it cost?
The trial run starts at €2,500. If you go ahead, we credit it in full against the implementation. If we advise against automating in writing, we refund the fee. The implementation gets its own fixed-fee quote. On our blog we explain, with sources, what AI automation actually costs. The implementation of one contained workflow costs about €3,000 to €5,000. Projects with several processes and systems cost more, and the fixed fee is in your proposal before work starts. Ongoing care starts at €250 per month per workflow. Read the article with the cost examples. Calculate with your own numbers.
Robert Van YsendyckFounder & Managing Director
In 30 minutes we can tell whether automation pays off for your shop. If it does not, we tell you.