Agentic AI is beginning to reshape how the consumers shop online, which makes developing strategies to capitalize on the technology critical for retailers, according to a study from Bain and Co.
The Bain report “Agentic AI in Retail: How Autonomous Shopping Is Redefining the Customer Journey,” confirms more consumers are using GenAI as they shop. Yet, it also notes half of shoppers still express concern about letting AI agents autonomously handle purchases from start to finish.
Bain asserted generative AI has changed how consumers find and evaluate products, with 30% to 45% consumers in the United States having used the technology for product research and comparison. Consumers are increasingly turning to AI as a shopping starting point, Bain observed, with 17% of unique online shoppers saying they will begin holiday shopping by employing an AI platform such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. Not only that, but 30% of consumers plan to start with Google search, which is now AI-enabled. Among unique shoppers polled, 52% of Millennials and 25% of Gen Zers said they would use an AI assistant to commence holiday shopping, Bain reported.
As of this holiday season, more consumers are using GenAI, whether they know it or not, as in the case of search engines. Agentic AI is gaining traction. Agentic AI, which combines memory, reasoning and tech tools to act semi- or fully autonomously, now accounts for up to 25% of referral traffic for some retailers, although it is still less than 1% of total traffic, Bain indicated. Of the three types of AI agents — third-party “objective” agents, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, on-site retailer agents and off-site retailer agents — consumers currently trust retailers’ on-site agents three times more than any other. However, Bain asserted third-parties threaten to undermine the use of retail site-specific AI agents. As such, retailers will have to consider and decide how to participate in the agentic AI emergence by driving their own agentic capabilities or by strategically collaborating with outside AI operators.
“Agentic AI marks a major shift in retail discovery and loyalty since the rise of search engines,” said Aaron Cheris, partner in Bain’s retail practice. “These systems are beginning to act independently across the shopping journey, from product research to checkout, creating both disruption and opportunity for retailers. This is the moment to strengthen customer relationships, build trust and make retailer-value obvious to humans and to algorithms alike.”
