Agentic commerce

The next major retail transformation

As a shopper, imagine being able to delegate your entire shopping list to an intelligent AI assistant and return later to find everything already researched, compared, purchased, and scheduled for delivery. You could say, “Plan a family dinner for six this weekend with a mix of vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, within a $100 budget.” Within seconds, the AI assistant compares recipes, checks local grocery inventories, applies loyalty rewards, places orders across multiple retailers, and coordinates delivery times.

For you, there are no search results to browse, no carts to manage, and no checkout process to complete. For retailers, this interaction represents an entirely new channel: agentic commerce (a-commerce). This is a world where intelligent AI agents act on behalf of consumers and collaborate directly with retailer systems to fulfill demand.

A-Commerce extends far beyond chatbots or recommendation engines. It’s not just a concept; it is a structural change in how demand is created, managed, and fulfilled. By 2030, analysts project that 25% of global e-commerce sales will be enabled by AI agents, and 55% of digital consumers will already begin product research using large language model platforms. Retailers that adapt early could gain significant competitive advantage. Those that do not risk losing visibility and relevance in this next major retail transformation.

The evolution of agentic commerce

Brands and retailers have excelled in digital commerce by optimizing search and marketing to capture visibility, using personalization engines to boost conversion, and orchestrating consistent omnichannel experiences across physical, digital, and social touchpoints. Agentic commerce, however, represents a fundamentally new channel with a different interaction model and set of customer expectations. It compresses days of research, discovery, and comparison into near-instant moments of evaluation, changing how consumers allocate attention and make choices.

As AI builds trust, customers will increasingly hand over not just recommendations but also purchasing authority to autonomous agents, challenging brands to rethink how they earn influence and integrate into automated workflows.

1. Assisted discovery: Basic personalization and recommendation algorithms surface products based on customer interests. 
2. Assisted shopping: Conversational interfaces and agents help customers with navigation, queries, and recommendations.
3. Agentic shopping: GenAI platforms and agents enable customers to discover, compare, and purchase products directly through conversation without visiting brand sites.
4. Autonomous shopping: Agents act on behalf of customers proactively to search, decide, and transact across channels, within preapproved parameters.
5. Agent-to-agent commerce: Third-party agents interact directly with brand agents to complete transactions.

How retailers can prepare

Agentic commerce is reshaping the retail landscape faster than any prior digital transition: 63% of global retailers now agree that companies without AI agents will fall behind within two years, and 58% believe AI agents will handle most customer interactions within five years. Preparing for this reality requires immediate, coordinated investment in both technology and organizational change. Delaying risks losing relevance and/or competitive advantage.

1. Invest in agent-ready data infrastructure, APIs, and interoperability
2. Monetize agents to offset revenue decline
3. Develop foundational capabilities now
4. Launch branded agents and measure performance impact
5. Build trust and governance frameworks
   

By focusing on these priorities, retailers can make tangible progress on the a-commerce journey, building readiness for long-term participation in a connected, agent-driven retail ecosystem.

Thank you to our key contributors: Kasey Lobaugh, Jean-Emmanuel Biondi, Tye Chait, Apurva Limaye, Ana Musson, Jeannine Sheinberg, and Carmella Quintos.