In 2026, major retailers are increasingly embracing agentic AI commerce, even as they risk losing direct access to customers and control over their data. Companies like Etsy, Target, and Walmart have made strides to integrate their merchandise into external platforms by partnering with Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot. These retailers previously collaborated with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to facilitate product purchases on the platform, while Amazon and Walmart are promoting their own AI consumer-facing assistants, named Rufus and Sparky respectively.
The swift advancement of agentic AI poses a potentially transformative impact on the retail sector. “I kind of think that this is going to shake up retail just like the internet did,” stated Kartik Hosanagar, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Retail executives echoed this sentiment during discussions at the National Retail Federation’s 2026 Big Show in New York City, where leaders like Ulta Beauty’s CEO Kecia Steelman and REI’s CEO Mary Beth Laughton highlighted the pervasive influence AI is expected to have on business operations.
The rationale behind aligning with platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini is to engage customers where they already are. Walmart’s incoming CEO, John Furner, emphasized this point at the NRF conference. Data from Adobe’s 2025 Holiday Shopping report shows that AI-driven U.S. e-commerce traffic surged by 758% year over year from November 1 to December 1, with traffic to U.S. retail sites on Cyber Monday skyrocketing by 670%.
Katherine Black, a partner at Kearney focusing on food, drug, and mass market retail, noted that deeper consumer engagement is anticipated: “More consumers will use it for shopping and for more types of shopping.” However, this engagement does not come without its challenges. Experts warn that data ownership and potential disintermediation—where retailers lose direct interaction with customers—are significant risks associated with external AI commerce.
Data and Disintermediation
When customers shop on a retailer’s e-commerce site, they generate valuable data insights that help retailers understand their preferences. However, if the shopping experience occurs entirely on external AI platforms, the retailers may lose this critical data. Wharton’s Hosanagar pointed out that “whoever controls the agents now has the power,” highlighting a potential shift in the balance of power within retail.
A recent Deloitte report found that 81% of retail executives believe generative AI will diminish brand loyalty by 2027. During the NRF conference, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled new retailer commerce tools for Gemini, which he claims can enhance the customer journey from product discovery to final purchase. Yet, this raises concerns about data ownership. Nikki Baird, vice president of strategy and product at Aptos, noted, “If they’re not sharing everything that happened that led to the discovery… then the retailer loses so much context.”
Pichai emphasized collaboration as essential, declaring, “What we have learned from the last 27 years of working with retailers is that we only succeed together.” The risks extend beyond data ownership; Hosanagar noted that as AI systems streamline checkout and shopping experiences, retailers may find themselves relegated to mere fulfillment roles, losing their grip on brand interactions.
While Amazon has not yet announced plans to sell products on ChatGPT, it has focused heavily on its own AI initiatives. This month, Amazon launched a dedicated site for its generative AI-powered Alexa+ assistant to facilitate conversational purchase planning. Despite this, participation in external AI platforms may become essential for retailers moving forward. Following the launch of OpenAI’s Instant Checkout feature on ChatGPT, the company indicated that such capabilities could influence merchant rankings in search queries.
Walmart appears to be adopting a dual strategy, engaging with external AI commerce while striving to position itself as a preferred retailer in this evolving landscape. Black from Kearney asserted that most retailers recognize the trend toward multi-retailer agents and understand they must remain relevant within that space.
With about half of retail executives predicting the current multi-step shopping process will collapse into a singular AI-driven interaction by 2027, the industry finds itself at the nascent stages of e-commerce evolution through agentic AI. Hosanagar pointed out that future shopping may involve AI agents not just interacting with platforms but proactively conducting transactions on behalf of consumers.
For instance, an AI agent may learn a frequent traveler’s preferences—such as preferred airlines—and take the initiative to book flights or accommodations without the user needing to engage directly. Hosanagar emphasized that this could lead to retailers having less direct interaction with end customers, transforming how businesses approach customer engagement.
This shift could also extend to physical retail environments. As consumers increasingly rely on AI for real-time insights while shopping, Baird suggested that equipping store associates with AI technologies could enhance customer interactions. Retailers may leverage AI to automatically notify customers when desired products are back in stock, fostering sales.
The retail landscape is poised for dramatic changes as agentic AI continues to evolve, indicating a future where retailers must adapt to a new dynamic in customer interactions and data management.
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