Signal Shopify, Amazon, and Walmart begin aligning on standards for AI-enabled transactions

Summary

McKinsey expects generative AI to be used more and more at the final stage of the consumer journey, completing the purchase itself. This AI-enabled buying, known as agentic commerce, will create what the report calls a dual front door, in which consumers can finish a purchase either through a retailer's own AI tools or inside a generative AI platform. Major commerce, technology, and payments companies, including Shopify, Amazon, and Walmart, have begun to align on common standards for AI-enabled transactions. Over time, such standards could let AI agents move more easily across retailers, compare products, apply loyalty benefits, and complete purchases for consumers. The report warns that this is likely to widen the performance gap between retailers with a mature digital presence and those without.