ESW’s Agentic Hub is built for global retail’s next chapter
eShopWorld (ESW) is a global leader in direct-to-consumer e-commerce, helping the world’s top brands deliver seamless, localised shopping experiences across 200 markets.
Headquartered in Dublin with 1,100+ experts worldwide, ESW provides end-to-end solutions from demand generation and checkout to delivery, returns, compliance and customer care, enabling brands to grow confidently and profitably at scale.
In an exclusive interview with Fibre2Fashion, Chief Product Officer (CPO) Frank Kouretas discusses how the company is shaping the future of global direct-to-consumer commerce.
ESW has long positioned itself as a global leader in direct-to-consumer ecommerce. How would you describe the evolution of cross-border commerce since ESW’s founding in 2010?
I think we have evolved from cross-border e-commerce to international ecommerce where we enable our clients to expand globally and some orders require cross-border shipments while others are sourced in country.
In an omnichannel world our goal is to ensure we leverage the best source of inventory for every order. In addition, I think international ecommerce has become a more important source of revenue for retailers that is more strategic than ever and we are seeing great demand for our services.
Success requires delivering fully localised and seamless journeys that feel native to each market, including pricing, payment methods, duty, tax, regulatory compliance, and delivery expectations.
ESW has built a platform that enables brands to deliver this level of true localisation at scale so they can operate globally with speed while meeting the expectations of shoppers in their home markets.
Your model focuses heavily on localisation and customer-centricity across 200 markets. What are the most significant challenges brands face when trying to replicate a ‘local’ customer experience globally?
The biggest challenge is keeping pace with rapidly shifting consumer expectations across diverse markets. Every country comes with its own regulations, cultural nuances, preferred payment options, and service standards. At the same time, we must uphold each brand’s unique values and quality to ensure a consistent global identity. Brands that work with us understand how essential this alignment is for successful international growth.
ESW simplifies this complexity by creating and managing fully localised shopper journeys, covering compliance, taxes, payments, and global logistics, so brands can focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences that feel authentic in every market.
ESW recently announced the upcoming launch of Agentic Hub. What inspired the development of this new Agentic AI platform, and how does it differ from traditional automation tools?
Agentic Hub was created to help brands navigate an increasingly complex global commerce landscape. While traditional automation improves efficiency, it relies on fixed rules and struggles to adapt to fast-changing conditions.
Agentic Hub brings adaptive intelligence to the entire commerce stack. Using emerging AI standards like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), it enables AI Agents to tap into ESW’s data and services to automate operations intelligently and power new, agent-driven shopper experiences.
By making commerce more intelligent, responsive, and scalable, Agentic Hub equips brands to thrive in the next era of global retail.
One of the stated advantages of Agentic Hub is its compatibility with MCP. How does MCP enable more seamless communication across different AI and commerce systems?
MCP enables consistent and secure communication across AI systems and commerce tools. It creates a shared language and structure that allows AI agents to exchange context and coordinate actions across payments, logistics, and customer experience systems.
This interoperability ensures that intelligence flows reliably across regions and functions, supporting localised decision making while maintaining global compliance.
MCP is the connective layer that enables coordinated, intelligent commerce at scale.
How are you integrating sustainable practices into logistics, packaging, returns and customer experience design?
ESW is continuously optimising logistics, packaging, and returns to reduce environmental impact. This includes using local return hubs to limit transportation emissions, designing packaging that reduces waste, and partnering with carriers that prioritise sustainable practices.
We also apply data-driven insights to help brands reduce returns, improve route efficiency, and make more sustainable supply chain decisions. Sustainability is built into our operational model because responsible commerce is essential for long-term global success.
What are the biggest challenges apparel and textile brands face when expanding cross-border, and how does ESW help solve them?
Apparel brands face significant challenges related to returns, fit, fraud, and varying regional expectations around style and sizing. ESW addresses these issues through localised checkout experiences, advanced fraud prevention, and AI-driven personalisation.
Our technology adapts to regional behaviours and continually optimises for conversion. This reduces friction and supports a shopping experience that aligns with both the brand’s identity and local customer expectations.
KUIU is a strong example of an apparel brand that leveraged ESW to scale globally. What were the key success factors that enabled KUIU to expand from North America into more than 37 international markets?
KUIU is an excellent example of how strong technology and a clear brand vision can accelerate international growth. Together, we created localised experiences that included local currencies, transparent pricing, fast delivery options, and simple returns.
KUIU remained committed to maintaining authenticity in every market while ESW provided the compliance, logistics, and operational scalability needed for expansion. This combination enabled them to convert complexity into sustainable growth.
How do you see agentic AI transforming apparel ecommerce, where customer journeys are deeply personal and style-driven?
Agentic AI, what we call Agentic Commerce will redefine how consumers discover and purchase products and will soon enable autonomous agents to anticipate needs and shop on our behalf. With emerging standards like MCP and the newly introduced Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), this shift is accelerating quickly.
In apparel, where style, fit and personal preference drive decisions, agentic systems can understand context far more deeply than traditional personalisation. They will deliver more accurate recommendations and more intuitive shopping experiences, ultimately increasing conversion and customer satisfaction.
How do you see the role of digital ‘shopping agents’ evolving in the next three to five years?
Digital shopping agents will evolve from simple recommendation tools into autonomous actors throughout the entire customer journey. They will interpret intent, make decisions, and manage tasks across discovery, purchase, and post-purchase support.
Using frameworks like MCP and emerging agent-to-agent (A2A) protocols, these agents will communicate directly with brand systems and other AI agents to execute actions and resolve issues in real time. The result will be more efficient, personalised journeys for shoppers and stronger value creation for brands.
Payment conversion rates and fraud prevention vary widely across regions. How will adaptive AI help brands better balance security, trust and convenience in international commerce?
Payments are one of the areas where AI delivers immediate and measurable impact. Conversion rates, fraud patterns, and trust signals vary significantly across regions, and static systems struggle to respond.
At ESW we use learning from global transaction data to refine payment flows continuously. This increases approval rates, reduces fraud, and balances convenience with security.
Customers experience a simple and trusted checkout journey while brands benefit from improved performance and reduced risk.
As more brands move from wholesale or marketplace models to direct-to-consumer, what are the core operational capabilities required to successfully support customers across multiple international markets?
Brands that operate direct to consumer across multiple markets need strong capabilities in localisation, compliance, logistics, and intelligence. Delivering meaningful customer experiences requires deep understanding of regional expectations, regulatory requirements, and cultural nuance.
ESW brings all these elements together in a single platform that supports localised checkout and payments, adaptive logistics, fraud prevention, and AI-driven insights. This enables brands to operate confidently in more than 200 markets and convert global complexity into a competitive advantage.
Looking ahead, what are your priorities for 2026 and beyond as ESW continues to expand its omnichannel, AI-driven and global commerce capabilities?
As we move into 2026, our priorities include delivering Agentic Hub and accelerating the expansion of our ‘Commerce Intelligence Layer,’ so adaptive AI becomes foundational across checkout, payments, logistics, and customer experience.
We are also advancing our MACH-certified infrastructure to support faster innovation, deeper integrations, and expanded omnichannel capabilities.
Our long-term ambition is to help brands operate with systems that anticipate needs, remove friction, and open new pathways for profitable global growth.
