What: Agentic AI is disrupting the shopper journey, with autonomous agents mediating discovery, evaluation, and purchase, and challenging retailers to adapt or risk disintermediation.

Why it is important: As agentic commerce grows, retailers must act quickly to balance collaboration with third-party agents and the protection of their own data, fulfillment, and customer relationships.

Agentic AI is rapidly redefining the retail landscape, as autonomous shopping agents increasingly mediate every stage of the customer journey—from product discovery and comparison to purchase and post-sale support. While AI-driven referrals now account for up to a quarter of traffic for some retailers, the risk of disintermediation is rising as third-party agents become default starting points for shopping. Leading retailers are responding by developing proprietary on-site agents to enhance personalisation, retain control over data and fulfilment, and offer exclusive value propositions that attract direct traffic. At the same time, strategic partnerships with third-party platforms are becoming essential to maintain visibility and relevance in an AI-driven marketplace. The trust gap between retailer-owned and third-party agents is narrowing, making it critical for retailers to act swiftly, optimise their data and product catalogues for agentic commerce, and rethink retail media and monetisation models. Those who fail to adapt risk being relegated to commoditised fulfilment roles, losing both customer relationships and brand equity in the process. 

IADS Notes: Agentic AI is rapidly transforming the retail landscape, as detailed by Journal du Net (September 2025) and Forbes (February 2025), with autonomous shopping agents now mediating and automating key steps of the customer journey. With 38% of global consumers already using AI shopping tools and 80% reporting positive experiences, the shift toward agentic commerce is accelerating, raising the risk of retailer disintermediation and fundamentally altering how brands, retailers, and consumers interact. Leading retailers like Target are responding by optimising for generative engine optimisation (GEO) and preparing for agent-to-agent commerce (Retail Dive, September 2025), while others are investing in proprietary on-site agents to maintain control over data, fulfilment, and checkout (Inside Retail, November 2025). The rise of agentic AI is also disrupting retail media and advertising models, as algorithm-driven recommendations and agentic referrals become primary drivers of discovery and conversion. The trust gap between retailer-owned and third-party agents is narrowing, making early investment in proprietary AI capabilities and exclusive value propositions critical for maintaining relevance and customer loyalty. These developments underscore the urgent need for agility, omnichannel strategies, and new monetization models as agentic commerce becomes the new standard in retail.

Agentic AI in retail: How autonomous shopping is redefining the customer journey

Agentic AI in retail: How autonomous shopping is redefining the customer journey - pdf