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.

Messy product data and system silos are stalling its plan to monetize ChatGPT through AI-driven commerce

New protocols aim to secure their role as default rails for bot-led shopping.

Google’s latest AI tools let users buy via chat as the company tries to turn its search dominance into agentic commerce gains.

As genAI assistants play a more prominent role in shopping, retailers and brands will have to rethink how their loyalty programs support direct consumer relationships, and how loyalty benefits can be surfaced in AI conversations.

Opt-in discoverability could lock in younger, AI-curious shoppers early.

As AI agents gain traction, reliability will determine if consumers stick around.

US holiday shopping remained strong, Fiserv pursued agentic commerce, and Zoomex launched a crypto-backed credit card.

In 2026, commerce will thread itself even more tightly into the platforms consumers already use, whether they're watching TV, scrolling TikTok, or browsing a retailer’s site. Streamers will hunt for new revenues beyond subscriptions and ads, fashion shoppers will polarize toward luxury or low-cost, and TikTok Shop will transition from experiment to expectation. Meanwhile, creators will embed more directly into retail environments as brands seek safer, more strategic partnerships.

Inflation, layoffs, and uncertain tariffs may dampen demand even as AI raises hope for new sales channels.

Amazon’s grip on ecommerce stays firm—for now—as Prime-led growth holds steady, yet AI agents could eventually challenge its ecommerce and retail media supremacy.

Retailers faced a challenging year as economic factors, new technologies, and changing consumer behaviors reshaped the landscape. Here are our top five stories from this past year and what they meant to a tumultuous industry.

Artificial intelligence is working its way into every facet of the US economy, and the payments industry is no exception. While the changes to consumers’ payment behavior will be gradual, providers need to act now, according to our 2026 AI in the Payments Customer Life Cycle report. Providers need to overcome critical issues like data fragmentation, but a well executed AI strategy can help providers maintain control over product discovery and streamline checkout.

Walmart’s OnePay adopted Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to drive agentic commerce as a credentialled provider, per a press release. With Chrome remaining consumer’s most popular browser, Gemini is narrowing the gap with ChatGPT as the most used chatbot: We forecast that by 2029, Gemini will hold 53% of genAI market share. That in turn could give Google’s AP2 a large share of agent-driven consumer spend in the long term, as consumers develop loyalty and use patterns around AI platforms.

Stripe launched its Agentic Commerce Suite, enabling affiliated merchants to service agentic checkout, per a press release. Merchants will be able to upload their inventories to databases that are scannable by AI agents without updating their own tech stack. Gen Z and millennials shoppers are becoming more comfortable using AI agents to shop for discretionary and essential shopping hauls. Merchants that make it easy for consumers to transfer repeat purchases to programmable agentic purchases stand to score great volume opportunities as shoppers look for a low-touch restock experience.

Amazon's recent business moves, examining corporate layoffs, AI-powered shopping features, and new smart glasses technology for delivery workers paint an interesting view of its immediate future and what it could mean for consumers.