Future-proofing against—and capitalizing on—advances in consumer-facing AI will be the overarching theme for retailers in 2026.

OpenAI’s push into commerce took a major step forward with the launch of in-app shopping on ChatGPT, though it will take time to gain traction as a meaningful retail sales channel.

Now that consumers can make direct purchases within ChatGPT, marketers and retailers must reimagine the customer journey once again.

AI shopping assistants are boosting discovery and personalization, but trust issues and fulfillment challenges could limit their impact on channel migration.

Amazon used its annual seller conference, Amazon Accelerate, to unveil new tools and fulfillment capabilities that underscore its ambition to serve as the infrastructure of retail. The retailer is weaving together AI-driven tools, externalized logistics, and its vast seller network to extend its influence beyond its own marketplace. As Amazon extends its reach through MCF and Buy with Prime, it increasingly sees merchants and marketplaces not as rivals but as collaborators.

The situation: Amazon and Google, once bound by a symbiotic relationship in which Amazon funneled ad dollars into Google Search and Google indexed Amazon’s pages, are now veering toward open conflict as generative AI (genAI) blurs the lines between ecommerce, advertising, and search. Both companies are determined to own the entire journey from discovery to checkout, and that ambition is unraveling what remains of their former détente. Our take: Amazon and Google are racing to define where and how consumers discover and buy products in the genAI era. If Amazon succeeds in walling off its marketplace data and steering shoppers to its own AI interfaces, the retail landscape could splinter into walled gardens where tech giants cooperate far less. That winner‑takes‑all dynamic might suit the victors, but it risks degrading the overall consumer experience with fewer choices and less transparent pricing. At the same time, it could lead brands and retailers into a margin‑sapping race to the bottom inside whichever closed ecosystem proves most dominant.

Payment processing solutions from major US digital commerce platforms are maturing and capturing a greater share of their retail ecommerce sales. Here’s how five platforms are approaching the payment facilitator (payfac) model to catapult their growth.

The news: Shopify will not allow agents and other bots to purchase on users’ behalf without “final human review,” the company said in an update to the code used by merchants to operate their online storefronts. Our take: While AI agents aren’t yet reliable enough to be given free reign over purchase decisions, companies have to be prepared for a future where they soon will be.

The news: Sovos will automate Shopify’s sales tax returns process for merchants. Our take: Reclaiming time and reducing risk for merchants helps position Shopify as a stronger commerce platform and partner.

The news: Shopify partnered with Coinbase and Stripe so customers can pay with the USDC stablecoin at checkout. Our take: Coinbase is the biggest winner in this partnership. Cryptocurrency needs to gain traction with a wide merchant network to accelerate its use, and Shopify represents a huge score for Base.

Tariff uncertainty, billion-dollar merger and acquisition deals, and a jump in social commerce will create new dynamics in the payments industry in H2 2025. Burgeoning tech like agentic AI and stablecoins will further shake up the space.

Tech layoffs surge as AI eats middle management: Microsoft, LinkedIn, and others are slashing jobs to “flatten” org charts, raising concerns that generative AI's rise will echo the dot-com era's reckoning.

New features let brands display shoppable feeds and target ads during key video moments, capitalizing on YouTube's rising share of streaming time.

Both firms are slashing hundreds of jobs, citing AI efficiencies and market shifts—signaling a future where only the AI-proficient survive.

Pushing out contractors to prioritize automation could save costs but risks alienating users, hurting team morale, and compromising content quality in the short term.

Could OpenAI turn ChatGPT into a shopping hub? The company is reportedly partnering with Shopify in an effort similar to other genAI shopping efforts by Perplexity and Microsoft.

The company demands AI-driven workflows while offering only self-led training, risking burnout and backlash from a workforce already bracing for cuts.

Shopify is on an AI acquisition spree: The company’s latest purchase, Vantage Discovery, will enable it to offer brands genAI-powered search capabilities and improved product discovery.

Despite an industrywide push to grow via nonmerchant partnerships, BNPL players still rely on individual deals to reach large merchants

Its impressive growth gives Shopify a volume and cross-sell boost