Retail 2.0: Agentic commerce and the future of how customers buy

How AI assistants are changing ecommerce and customer relationships – and what it means for customer acquisition, marketing, and the future of CX

Add bookmark
shopping trolly digital abstract

In the early 2020s, the tools emerged for consumers to change how they discover, engage with, and buy from organizations across all industries. In response, the big tech names developing LLMs for public use started to add dedicated features to facilitate agentic commerce.

Today, some AI assistants can close purchases within the chat interface, bypassing retailers altogether. 

As a result, agentic commerce and AI-first journeys are changing the rules of discovery, loyalty, and who owns the customer relationship – and it's front of mind for CX practitioners. By current estimates, Gartner says these tools will drive at least 20 percent of all revenue by 2030, representing a "trillion-dollar opportunity".

This report explores what is happening and what it means for those who design and deliver retail experiences. It includes case studies from Fun.com and Orpi, and insights from practitioners at Walmart Canada, Super Retail Group, Trustpilot and Metro Bank, as well as subject matter specialists Katja Forbes and Heather Holmes, and consultants from PR, marketing, and CX.

Download this report to find out about: 

  • The changing power balance in retail, and what it means for engagement and loyalty.
  • The key capabilities all organizations need to capture customers from zero-click search.
  • What happens to customer personas in an agentic trading environment and how to own and build the customer relationship.

 

Latest Webinars

The human role in AI: How Newcastle Theatre Royal redesigned their CX operating model

2026-11-24

12:00 PM - 01:00 PM GMT

How AI is reshaping service operations, workforce strategy and the human role - with practical lesso...

The future of customer service work: How AI agents change the workforce

2026-11-11

02:00 PM - 03:00 PM SGT

Explore how AI agents are reshaping customer service roles and skills, and what this means for workf...

How to build the internal case for voice AI agents

2026-10-22

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

How to build the internal case, clear legal and security reviews, test vendors, and prepare your tea...

Recommended