NRF 2026 | Agentic Commerce: decoding the new challenges in retail

Co-founder of Converteo, Thomas Faivre-Duboz, decodes the macro-trends redefining global business from Toronto. As a Partner and AI & Retail expert, Pierre-Eric Bénéteau translates these revolutions into concrete strategies for brands looking to stay ahead of the curve.

Key takeaways

• Agentic commerce is becoming an operational reality. Autonomous AIs, capable of selecting and purchasing products, are progressively integrating into the retail ecosystem.
• With its UCP protocol, Google is setting a standard that foreshadows the future of e-commerce marketplaces, where AIs will operate, changing the rules of online visibility.
• How to adapt? By enriching your product feeds to “speak” the language of AI and by developing your own agents to avoid becoming a mere supplier to Google or OpenAI ecosystems.
• For retailers, the challenge is twofold: adapting to this new form of intermediation while harnessing the potential of agents for their own operations, from customer service to in-store experiences.

The 2026 edition of NRF has confirmed it: the era of AI experimentation is over. The real revolution is no longer AI that recommends, but AI that acts. Agentic commerce—the vision of an artificial intelligence capable of managing transactions autonomously—is now an imminent reality poised to redefine the rules of the game for retailers and consumers.

The question is no longer if AI agents will transform e-commerce, but how fast and who will set the standards.

UCP: Google lays the foundation for the agentic commerce

Arguably the most structural announcement from NRF 2026 was Google’s launch of the UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol). Its goal is to create a unified technical infrastructure for AI agents, retailer platforms, and payment systems to interact seamlessly. This paves the way for delegated shopping journeys, where the consumer expresses a need and lets an AI handle the search and selection.

Two market dynamics to understand

This evolution creates two parallel movements for companies in the sector:

1. The new role of platforms: Interfaces like Gemini or ChatGPT are becoming potential transaction channels. The risk for a brand is to see its role reduced to that of a supplier if it doesn’t master its presence on these new touchpoints.
2. The opportunity for brands: In response, retailers are already developing their own expert agents. The objective is to create a customer experience so relevant (advice, project assistance, service) that the consumer prefers this proprietary ecosystem.

A new paradigm: from customer journey to “purchasing project”

For the consumer, this shift translates into a more direct experience. The often-manual research and comparison phase is now delegated to an agent. The user will only need to describe an intention or a project. For example, a query like “I’m going fishing this weekend, suggest the right gear for the local weather” or “Help me renovate my bathroom using these plans” illustrates this new mode of interaction.

This paradigm introduces a new form of intermediation, representing a strategic challenge for retailers. Some major players have already begun to integrate this logic: Home Depot is developing an agent to guide DIY projects, while Pandora is automating parts of its customer service, with measurable results such as an improved NPS.

The impact extends across the entire value chain

This revolution is not limited to the customer interface. Agentic AI is infusing the entire retail value chain:

• Marketing Operations: The “Creative Factory” concept is becoming a reality, with AIs capable of generating large-scale campaigns (text, images, videos) to reduce production costs and timelines.
• In-Store Experience: Technologies like computer vision (illustrated by the startup XXII) allow for the analysis of in-store traffic with the same level of detail as a website, paving the way for the optimization of physical journeys.
• Augmented Sales Associate: Real-time assistance tools provide sales staff with cross-sell recommendations (as seen at Dior), aiming to improve sales performance.

5 key projects to frive the agentic transformation

Integrating agentic commerce is less a technical project than a corporate vision. Here are 5 key projects to prepare for the future:

1. Align AI strategy with business objectives. The first step is to define the purpose: should the AI generate growth, improve productivity, or foster innovation? A clear vision allows for the alignment of initiatives and the measurement of real impact.
2. Foster a culture of continuous learning. The pace of technological innovation requires moving beyond the model of one-off training. The key is to integrate ongoing monitoring and to acculturate teams to new tools and paradigms.
3. Audit and simplify business processes. AI is most effective on a solid foundation. Before automating, it is essential to map, question, and optimize existing customer journeys and internal operations.
4. Structure data as a strategic asset. This is the foundation. Projects must aim to centralize, clean, enrich, and make data (product and customer) accessible so that it can be used by agents.
5. Build a controlled agentic architecture. Beyond the choice of tools, the challenge is governance. It involves adopting a modular approach to orchestrate agents while maintaining strict control over costs, performance, and the relevance of interactions.

The era of agentic commerce opens up new prospects. Companies that integrate it into their strategic vision will position themselves for future growth.