Ecommerce
Shiptheory

Is Your Store Ready for Agentic Commerce?

by Molly Schwerdt

August 18, 2026

The next online purchase may happen without the customer ever visiting the retailer’s website. AI agents are beginning to research, compare and buy products on consumers’ behalf, fundamentally changing how ecommerce businesses are discovered and chosen.

The Rise of Agentic eCommerce

35% of UK consumers have used AI to help them shop; this is a 39% increase year on year, signalling that this isn't a niche behaviour anymore. Consumers aren't just trying it either, as 64% of UK shoppers stated they would let an AI shopping agent research, compare and purchase products on their behalf. Source.

Businesses are struggling to keep up. UK government research on the adoption of AI shows that around 16% of UK businesses currently use AI, with only 7% adopting agentic AI specifically. The imbalance is significant: while two-thirds of consumers are happy to hand over parts of their buying journey to AI, only a small percentage of retailers have the infrastructure in place to meet shoppers' demands.

What Does This Mean for eCommerce Brands?

Now that AI agents are doing the browsing, comparing and buying for consumers, the traditional storefront has become one part of a bigger picture. Product data, pricing, availability and delivery information all need to be structured in a different way now. Storefronts used to be optimised for human eyes; now they need to also be structured properly for AI agents to read, trust and act upon to be reported accurately to the consumer.

This does not mean that the human experience is no longer top priority. Retailers are effectively serving two audiences at once: the shopper and the software. Structured product information, accurate stock levels and clear fulfilment terms have become increasingly important, because if the information the agent needs isn't there or reliable, it will move on to a competitor.

Customer Expectations Moving Forward

Even though discovery is becoming more automated, the things customers care about and prioritise have not changed; if anything, they have become less negotiable. Recent research found that three in five UK shoppers have abandoned a purchase or switched retailers because the available delivery options did not meet their needs, demonstrating the importance of choice, cost, speed and reliability. Another survey found that 84% of UK shoppers are unlikely to buy from a retailer again after a poor delivery experience. Source.

In an agentic context, this matters a lot. If an AI agent is comparing retailers on behalf of a customer, delivery promises and fulfilment accuracy become a competitive differentiator.

Steps to Prepare for Agentic eCommerce

Brands don't need to change their entire website overnight. They do, however, need to ensure the promises made to shoppers and AI agents can be fulfilled accurately.

Improve product information:
Keep product names, descriptions, specifications and identifiers accurate, structured and consistently formatted.

Maintain accurate prices and availability:
Pricing, promotions and stock information must remain current and consistent across every sales channel.

Clarify delivery and returns:
Make delivery costs, expected arrival times and returns policies easy for both customers and AI agents to understand.

Build flexibility into fulfilment:
Using multiple carriers gives retailers more delivery options and allows the most appropriate service to be selected for each order.

Automate shipping and updates:
Automate carrier selection, label creation and tracking updates to process orders accurately without creating additional manual work.

Turning Agentic Orders Into Reliable Deliveries

Agentic commerce may transform how an order is discovered and placed, but businesses still need to pick, pack and ship it successfully. Shiptheory connects ecommerce platforms and carriers, removing manual steps from the shipping process and helping fulfilment operations keep pace with increasingly automated purchasing.

By automating shipping decisions and updates, Shiptheory gives businesses the flexibility to manage increasing order volumes while continuing to offer the choice, accuracy and reliability customers expect. When an AI agent chooses your business, Shiptheory helps ensure the delivery experience gives the customer a reason to return.

Are You Prepared?

Existing Shiptheory customers can contact our team to explore how to get more from their shipping automation. If you’re not yet using Shiptheory, book a free demo to see how the platform can reduce manual processing and support flexible, accurate fulfilment at scale.