While categories like payments, back-end infrastructure, and in-store systems remain relevant, AI has emerged as a defining force in retail tech for 2026.

Stablecoins are moving from crypto rails to mainstream payments infrastructure. Regulatory support and institutional investment are accelerating adoption, but consumer trust gaps, fragmentation, and liquidity risks pose near-term hurdles for digital payments.

The fintech and Stripe aren’t currently in talks, but a takeover is still possible.

To maintain growth, Sezzle looks to phone plan, subscriptions for stickiness.

As PayPal’s stock tumbles, Stripe is reportedly interested in buying some or all of the company.

The platform is introducing ChatGPT ads for merchants as it looks to become the go-to partner for agentic commerce.

The fintech tempers its expectation for AI in payments in the short term.

Despite the noise around agentic commerce, discovery isn’t fully automated. Consumers may encounter products through digital platforms, but they aren’t yet handing over curiosity or preference-setting to AI.

On February 20, eBay’s updated user agreement goes into effect, banning third-party AI agents that autonomously buy for consumers, targeting the emerging “buy-for-me” tools designed to handle discovery, decisioning, and checkout.

It’s betting that Google’s protocols will funnel agentic payment volume to its BNPL platform.

Consumer spending remained strong, but the network is losing its hold on Capital One’s credit program.

Mastercard bets AI recommendations are the clearest near-term use case for banking clients.

Growing consumer adoption of AI tools is positioning AI platforms as an alternative shopping channel—but most AI-driven transactions are still completed on retailer websites.

The deal expands PayPal merchants’ reach across agentic platforms, tightening its grip on AI-driven discovery and checkout.

Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol promises a common standard for agentic commerce. But AI-driven checkout will remain small for the foreseeable future, keeping the focus on how AI influences discovery rather than where transactions are completed.

Each is borrowing from the other’s playbook as they race to dominate ecommerce.

Supporting Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol signals a deeper bet on agentic commerce and AI-driven payments.

The retailer’s leadership reshuffle signals a long-term bet on agentic commerce and faster, AI-fueled retail.

"Retail and growing a business today relies a lot more on developing alternative revenue streams and brand building that goes far beyond the typical selling products at a good price," said our analyst Blake Droesch during a recent “Behind the Numbers” podcast recorded live at the National Retail Federation's (NRF) 2026 Big Show.

The growing role of AI in shopping is forcing retailers to rethink discovery and decision-making. Walmart, for example, is embedding its ecommerce capabilities into external AI assistants like Google’s Gemini. Meanwhile, Amazon is keeping AI-led discovery and decision-making inside its own ecosystem with tools like Rufus.