Retailgentic: Agentic Commerce meets Retail and Brands

True Fit is evolving from a static “what size should I buy?” widget into a conversational agent that can handle the nuanced questions shoppers actually ask: comfort, flattering fit, fabric behavior, and edge cases like petite proportions. We also dig into how vertical agents (like True Fit) can accelerate horizontal super-agents via Model Context Protocol (MCP), and why the future of agentic shopping will be built on clean, structured, prioritized proprietary data, not scraped internet sentiment.HighlightsTrue Fit’s specialized size + fit agent (and why it matters now)Why 70% of fashion agent questions are about size/fitThe “Fit Passport”: from form-filling to natural conversation profilingWhat generic agents miss: real-time sales + returns behavior, not just PDPs/reviewsVertical vs. horizontal agents, and how True Fit uses MCP as an accelerantThe unglamorous moat: data cleaning, normalization, canonicalizationTrue Fit scale: 80M active users, hundreds of millions of profiles, ~100K brands, ~500 retailersIf agentic commerce is collapsing the funnel, fit is one of the biggest friction points left, and True Fit is making it a first-class agent powered by the kind of data most models will never see.Timestamps01:44 — Breaking news episode + guest intro (Jessica Murphy, True Fit)03:12 — True Fit announces a specialized size + fit agent04:20 — From static widget to agentic shopping assistant05:47 — Why fit-related returns are so brutal in apparel07:02 — What the agent experience looks like08:05 — “Fit Passport” and conversational profiling09:07 — Where checkout happens (and what’s coming later)10:17 — Why generic agents break: stale info + limited context11:35 — The moat: structuring + cleaning sizing data12:30 — Vertical vs. horizontal agents13:29 — MCP as an accelerant for super-agents15:18 — Top-of-funnel value: narrowing choices to “most likely kept”16:10 — Who might use TrueFit’s MCP (LLMs + agent builders)16:37 — Availability: March partners, April target GA18:01 — Founder story: why Jessica started True Fit19:41 — Fundraising reality + “it’s a data problem”21:16 — True Fit scale + global complexity of sizing👉 Connect with Jessica: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-murphy-68a8b8/👉 Learn more about True Fit: https://www.truefit.com/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

There’s a fundamental difference between adding AI to today’s ecommerce workflows and re-architecting commerce for an agent-driven world.In this episode, we start with Deloitte’s Agentic Commerce paper and quickly fan out into what’s changed since its release. If you’re trying to separate signal from noise in the rush toward AI-powered shopping, this conversation grounds Agentic Commerce in real systems, real economics, and real decisions retailers need to make now.Highlights Why Agentic Commerce is a paradigm shift, not a bundle of AI featuresThe evolution from SEO → GEO → ACO, and why GEO is just a waypointThe two biggest misconceptions Deloitte is hearing from retailers and brandsWhy structured product + data catalogs are the no-regret investmentThe real question execs keep asking: Where do we start? (and what’s measurable)The “Acommerce ecosystem”: orchestrators + specialized “nano agents”Trust, security, returns, customer service, and why this can’t be a side projectForecasts for how big agentic commerce gets, and why the point is: it moves the needleAgentic commerce is becoming a new channel with new unit economics, and the brands and retailers that get their product truth, governance, and trust foundations right now will be the ones that win when agents become the default interface.Timestamps:01:54 — Meet Deloitte02:10 — The paper: Agentic Commerce: Redefining Retail Economics03:55 — ACO + the SEO/GEO conversation04:11 — VJ’s background: SAP → Deloitte, retail AI intersection05:50 — Brian’s background: supply chain → strategy → consulting07:49 — “Traditional AI” vs GenAI in retail09:38 — Why Deloitte wrote the paper (and why GEO isn’t the endpoint)11:49 — Deloitte’s definition: why it’s a journey, not a switch13:33 — NRF vibe check + what’s changed since December14:27 — Common misconceptions (and what leaders miss end-to-end)16:14 — The questions execs are asking: where to start + ROI18:03 — Why this could be a golden age of storytelling + loyalty21:06 — The no-regret starting point: catalogs + structured data21:34 — Org design + governance + democratizing AI usage23:15 — CFO-ready thinking: measuring value by channel26:12 — Zero-click pressure + “what are you doing about it?”28:31 — Balanced portfolio: fast wins vs complex upside30:32 — The core distinction, again: AI add-ons vs agentic redesign31:18 — Do we still need websites? (channels vs replacement)33:17 — Deloitte’s role: advise, build, operate37:29 — “Acommerce” + ecosystems of nano agents41:31 — Protocols + UCP + what changes next42:50 — Meta, OpenAI, Google: where this is headed46:58 — 2030 forecasts: conservative vs aggressive cases50:02 — Where to follow Saurabh's podcast: The Retail Tales👉 Connect with Saurabh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svijayvergia/👉 Connect with Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briancmccarthy/👉 Learn more about Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en.htmlCheck out the materials we discuss: 🔗 Agentic Commerce: Redefining Retail Economic🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode, Scot digs into a question he keeps getting from readers and listeners: What’s actually going on inside Amazon’s Rufus, and what should brands do about it?Ian brings fresh analysis from Sensor Tower’s panel-based methodology (privacy-compliant, double opt-in), walking through Holiday ’25 shopping sessions to show where Rufus shows up in the funnel, how usage spikes during peak moments, and why it appears to correlate with dramatically higher conversion. Along the way, they zoom out to the bigger shift: as more people learn to “talk to AI” (thanks to ChatGPT-style habits), conversational shopping becomes increasingly normal, and increasingly hard to “optimize” using old keyword-era tactics.Highlights:“The consumer is trained.” A year of daily conversational AI use has taught people how to prompt, so when they see Amazon Rufus, they already know how to use it.Rufus sessions show a major conversion lift. In Ian’s read of the report: ~3.5× lift vs. non-Rufus sessions, with Rufus-touch sessions far more likely to end in purchase.Rufus had outsized influence during Holiday ’25. A large share of purchases included Rufus interaction, even if not every session did.Their team mapped ten distinct Rufus-assisted shopping paths, including the standout “Research Conversationalist” profile.Correlation vs causation is real. Ian flags measurement caveats: not every “non-Rufus session” is a shopping mission; intent bias exists; so the takeaway is directional, but meaningful.Brands should shift from “keyword jail” to “product truth.” Better attributes, clearer specs, stronger review signals, and real storytelling matter more in conversational shopping.AEO anxiety + the brand-level rebound. Ian argues the future isn’t just “optimize for prompts”, it may reward brands with stronger reputation and social proof signals (think forums and communities).AI can talk consumers out of premium. They’ve seen examples where AI steers price-sensitive users away from expensive brands, an early warning system for brand teams.Retail media won’t vanish, but it will mutate. In a lower-click world, retailers will experiment heavily to preserve value, without turning the experience into ad soup.If you’ve been treating Rufus like a curiosity, this data makes it hard to ignore: conversational commerce isn’t “coming”, it’s already shaping how high-intent shoppers decide.Timestamps:00:00 – The Consumer Is Now Trained02:09 – Why This Episode Focuses on Rufus05:49 – Ian Simpson’s Background06:47 – Founding a Bottled Tea Startup09:14 – Pathmatics → Sensor Tower Acquisition10:11 – How Retail Media Intelligence Was Born13:50 – How Sensor Tower Delivers Its Data15:36 – Why Sensor Tower Started Tracking Agentic Commerce21:08 – How the Rufus Analysis Was Done22:48 – The 3.5× Conversion Lift Explained24:18 – Amazon’s $10B Rufus Claim vs. Independent Data28:16 – Correlation vs. Causation in Rufus Usage31:23 – Rufus as a Research Companion32:20 – The Cup Holder Story (Problem-Based Shopping)39:55 – Why Rufus Usage Sticks After the Holidays40:19 – The 10 Rufus Shopping Profiles41:35 – The “Research Conversationalist” Funnel45:00 – Why “AEO” Makes Ian Nervous46:47 – Brand Matters Again in Agentic Commerce48:47 – When AI Talks Consumers Out of Premium Products58:21 – Retail Media’s Future in a Low-Click World01:01:31 – Avoiding the Minority Report Ad Nightmare01:06:21 – Instacart: The Wild West of Retail Media01:07:15 – Where to Follow Ian👉 Connect with Ian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iansimpson/👉 Learn more about Sensor Tower: https://sensortower.comCheck out the materials we discuss: 🔗 Sensor Tower Black Friday AI Trend Update  🔗 How Amazon’s Rufus Shaped Holiday Shopping🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot and Ken map out how Mastercard saw agentic commerce coming early, and what they built in 2025 to prepare the ecosystem, especially around trust, identity, consent, and tokenization.We dig into: How Mastercard Foundry takes ideas from experiments → production-grade products → global scale“Know Your Agent”: registering legitimate agents (agentic equivalent of KYC/KYB) to reduce malicious bot risk“Order Intent”: adding richer context so that with consent, agents/merchants can fulfill the right order (not just process a payment)Why consumer consent is non-negotiable (passkeys/biometrics + tokenized credentials)Mastercard Insight Tokens: a secure and governed way for agents to access and apply permissioned insights from Mastercard, which will enable consumers to receive, with their consent, more personalized and useful experiencesAgentic Toolkit and why Mastercard leaned into services to support customers move from strategy → execution fastMastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework: helps merchants totransact with trusted agents with a minimal liftStandards: why Mastercard will support ACP + AP2 and expects interoperability (or convergence) over timeAgentic commerce won’t be won by whoever moves fastest, it’ll be won by whoever earns trust at scale.Key timestamps05:14 — Ken’s background: technologist, global banking work, startups, Accenture, Citi → Mastercard Foundry07:44 — How Foundry works: experiment, build, then “graduate” products into core teams10:32 — The pace-of-change thesis: why organizations must be built to adapt continuously13:07 — How Mastercard saw agentic commerce early (signal-spotting in 2024)14:23 — The 3 converging forces: AI reasoning, compute, and foundations (tokens/passkeys/consent)19:01 — AgentPay launch + what it includes (Know Your Agent, Order Intent)21:05 — Consumer consent, passkeys/biometrics, and tokenizing payment credentials22:25 — First agentic transaction (partner example)23:19 — Agentic Toolkit + Insight Tokens + consulting expansion26:00 — Merchant Acceptance Framework + scaling agentic readiness for the “long tail” of merchants27:13 — Tokenization explained simply (cocktail-party version)29:37 — Passkeys explained (biometric identity replacing passwords)33:37 — Returns problem + how agentic workflows could reduce “buy 3, return 2”40:19 — Standards wars: ACP vs AP2 + why Mastercard stays agnostic44:03 — Crystal ball: adoption, trust, and why B2B may go autonomous faster47:43 — The travel agent analogy: why some flows stay assisted by choice👉 Connect with Ken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-moore-cio/👉 Learn more about Mastercard: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en.html🔗 Agentic Toolkit: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2025/september/mastercard-unveils-new-tools-and-collaborations-to-power-smarter,-safer-agentic-commerce.html🔗Agentic Commerce Rules, Mastercard Joins Google: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/stories/2026/agentic-commerce-rules-of-the-road.html🔗Agent Suite: https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/press/2026/january/mastercard-launches-agent-suite-to-ready-enterprises-for-a-new-e.html🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc: https://retailgentic.transistor.fm

Consumer behavior is already shifting, people are asking LLMs what to buy, building shopping lists in chat, and moving through commerce in new ways. In this episode of Retailgenic, Scot sits down with Maia to unpack what “agentic commerce” actually means, why Stripe is moving fast, and what merchants can do now to get ready for checkout inside AI experiences. They discuss:Why agentic commerce is a spectrum: fully autonomous agents vs. AI-assisted buying inside chat interfacesStripe’s four AI focus areas (and why agentic commerce is only one bucket)The big initiatives driving Stripe’s agentic pushWhat Copilot Checkout looks like in practice: Stripe-powered checkout embedded natively in chatHow Stripe is approaching merchant control and merchant-of-record requirementsHow product discoverability works today (feeds + syndicator integrations) vs. the longer-term self-serve visionWhat merchants are asking for most: fraud, trust, identity, and governance in an agent-led worldThe “why now” moment: traffic shifts, zero-click pressure, and board-level attention accelerating experimentsAgentic commerce is no longer theoretical, it’s becoming a real channel. The winners will be the merchants who make their catalogs discoverable, keep control of checkout, and build trust and fraud defenses for an AI-led future.Notable Timestamps02:06 – Scot introduces Maia, AI CRO at Stripe04:07 – Maia’s background: e-commerce founder → LivingSocial → Stripe06:54 – Stripe’s 4 AI buckets (infrastructure, AI across payments, dev tools, agentic commerce)09:22 – The “agentic commerce is a mirage” debate + definition confusion10:43 – Maia’s spectrum definition: autonomous vs. chat-native buying14:40 – Copilot Checkout: what it is, how Stripe fits, and where to sign up (waitlist)18:15 – Agentic Commerce Suite: discoverability, checkout/fraud, choosing agents in dashboard20:04 – How products become discoverable: direct feed vs. syndicators + onboarding reality today21:15 – Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs): secure handoff + merchant-of-record control24:05 – Merchant sentiment shift: from skepticism → exec sponsors + resources dedicated29:37 – Fraud + trust layer: Radar expansion, Link wallet, and SPT fraud signals31:58 – 2030 sizing: Stripe won’t pick a %, but “this is happening”33:07 – Where to follow Maia/Stripe + NRF context👉 Connect with Maia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maiaj/👉 Connect with Scot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/👉 Learn more about Stripe: https://stripe.com/payments/ai🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

This week on the retailgentic podcast, we have an experiment for you. NRF concluded Tuesday Jan 13th and Scot's good friend and podcast partner over at the Jason and Scot show, Jason Goldberg (Chief Digital Commerce Officer at Publicis) was invited to ‘tie the bow’ on the conference in the last keynote: Commerce Disrupted: Rise of the AI Native Consumer.This episode is the audio from that presentation on 1/13/26. Jason covers:Agentic commerce, defined clearly: not “AI efficiencies,” but new consumer behaviors (and the full “iceberg” of influence, not just robot-takes-card transactions).Is it hype or historic? Jason frames the debate (skeptics vs believers) and uses live audience polling to set the stakes.A disruption of discovery: the decline of “saw in store,” then “search,” then “social”, and now the robot becomes the front door.The cautionary tale (Tudor Ice): why incumbents often miss the next business model, even when they dominated the last one.Retail growth is concentrated: a few giants capture a huge share of growth, while challengers (Shein/Temu/TikTok Shop) rewrite the playbook.AI shopping ramps fast: from research → to product tiles → to direct purchase inside AI experiences, plus retailer catalogs moving upstream.0-click commerce: the next leap isn’t fewer clicks, it’s no clicks (automation, replenishment, “never let me run out”).Onsite vs offsite agents: retailers’ on-site assistants (ex: Amazon) vs consumers using neutral offsite agents that choose the retailer for them.Winning the robots: why optimization shifts toward what models care about (criteria, sources, “GEO/AEO/ACO”), and why this changes constantly.Change management wins: Doug McMillon’s “How did you use AI to prepare?” as a culture lever—and why org adoption matters as much as tech.If AI changes the way people discover, it changes everything downstream. Brands, retailers, and platforms all have to learn to win the robot’s shelf.Notable timestamps 00:00 — The real disruption: new consumer behavior, not efficiency gains01:43 — Scott sets up the “special episode” + NRF context03:17 — The experiment: “put you in the audience” (keynote replay)06:29 — The big questions: how big is agentic commerce + who wins?08:07 — Skeptics vs believers: “hallucination” vs “overhyped” vs transformational11:05 — Defining agentic commerce + the “influence vs transaction” iceberg15:07 — Tudor Ice story: disruption, incumbents, and missing the next model19:14 — $5.3T retail + who captured the growth (concentration)22:16 — “Disruption of discovery”: saw-in-store → search → social25:04 — Viral demand shock example (whipped coffee)26:53 — Sunscreen example + TikTok → then “ask the robot”29:08 — “How fast this changed” (recent launches + ecosystem momentum)30:19 — From “order” to “never let me run out” (automation framing)31:11 — Clicks: 22 → 4 → “one-click” → 0-click32:40 — Proof points: agent assistants and rising adoption33:49 — Offsite agents: buying without choosing a retailer first34:03 — In-store: pointing ChatGPT at the shelf (real-world agent use)36:29 — Scale math: small % of prompts can still be massive volume38:34 — Robots optimize differently + why brands need new processes/tools39:36 — GEO/AEO vs the bigger strategic layer (Agentic Commerce Optimization)40:33 — Doug McMillon’s culture lever: “How did you use AI to prepare?”42:12 — Final message: change management to avoid being the “ice harvesters”👉 Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasongoldberg/👉 Connect with Scot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/👉 See the slides: https://open.substack.com/pub/scotwingorefibuy/p/jason-goldbergs-full-nrf-keynote🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

Today we have a special FLASH episode - no fancy intros, just the news as it's breaking at NRF.

Consumer behavior doesn’t change overnight, even when the technology is obvious. In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot sits down with Hamish Gunasekara to unpack why agentic commerce is inevitable, why it’s moving slower than the hype suggests, and why product data infrastructure, not checkout, is the real unlock.We cover:Why “fully autonomous shopping” is the wrong definition of agentic commerceWhy consumer habits change slower than technologyWhy global mega-catalogs don’t work (and never really have)How vertical AI shopping experiences can thrive alongside ChatGPTThe hidden trust and governance problem no one is talking aboutWhy product catalogs are the hardest unsolved problem in commerceIf you’re a retailer, brand, agent builder, or investor trying to understand what actually matters in the agentic commerce stack, this episode is foundational.Timestamps:02:39 Meet Hamish & the origin of Catalog04:55 From Afterpay to Cash App Commerce11:30 The Naya experiment & lessons learned14:24 How AI is changing discovery16:08 Why catalog data is broken18:30 Fundraising & early traction20:48 Who Catalog is built for23:20 Why global catalogs don’t work28:30 The agentic commerce stack33:40 Defining agentic commerce (correctly)37:30 Why vertical agents will win43:45 Trust, governance, and adoption44:51 Where to learn more👉 Connect with Hamish: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamish-gunasekara/👉 Learn more about Catalog: https://getcatalog.ai/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc: https://retailgentic.transistor.fm

Matt Nichols is back, and a lot has changed since his first appearance on Retailgentic. Scot and Matt revisit the predictions he made six months ago, look at what came true far faster than expected, and dig into the infrastructure challenges that still stand between us and frictionless agentic transactions. From SKU mapping and API-first checkout to the economics of feeds and the future of retailer traffic, this episode is a full-stack view of where Agentic Commerce stands at the end of 2025, and what’s coming in 2026.If you want more of Matt’s backstory and Commerce Ventures’ thesis, listen to Episode 4! It pairs perfectly with this deep dive. In this episode, they cover: Why VC predictions used to take 5–10 years to play out… and now take 5–10 weeksWhat Commerce Ventures is hearing from both startups and their LP base (top retailers + PSPs)Why ACP isn’t “the solution”—and what infrastructure still needs to be builtThe “API vs. fake-it-til-you-make-it” debate in agentic transactionsHow retailers should think about feeds, reviews, and blocking scrapersWhy “AI magic on your own site” is step one for most brandsPredictions for 2026: traffic shifts, wallet battles, Apple’s eventual entry, and moreWhere Matt thinks the industry is overly optimistic, and where the real upside isIf this year taught us anything, it’s that the next six months will change more than the last six years. Stay tuned.Timestamps05:00 — Welcome back, Matt Nichols05:10 — Six months later, the world looks different05:35 — Commerce Ventures in 60 seconds06:30 — What changed in 2025?08:00 — Standards vs. infrastructure10:00 — Retailers’ three priorities right now12:40 — Static feeds → AI-centric feeds15:00 — Reviews, Q&A, and proprietary data17:30 — SKU-level identifiers20:00 — API-first checkout vs. agentic scraping22:30 — Fraud, agent authentication & whitelisting24:00 — Payments are further ahead than commerce infrastructure27:00 — What retailers are actually worried about30:00 — Google’s role in accelerating the shift32:00 — Vertical agents vs. horizontal giants34:00 — Predictions for 2026 & beyond38:00 — Final reflections👉 Connect with Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewnichols/👉 Learn more about Commerce Ventures: https://commerce.vc/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc: https://retailgentic.transistor.fm

In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot sits down with Luca to unpack a research paper that blends academic rigor with real-world implications:“LLMs Reproduce Human Purchase Intent via Semantic Similarity licitation of Likert Ratings.”The paper, co-authored with Colgate-Palmolive researchers, explores whether AI can accurately simulate human reactions to product concepts, enough to replace or accelerate traditional consumer panels, which are slow, expensive, and hard to scale.This one goes deep, but in ways that any retail or AI leader should care about. Scot and Luca discuss:Colgate’s Challenge: How to test product concepts faster and at scale.Synthetic Consumers: AI models that react to products like human panels.Accuracy Breakthrough: Reaching ~73–74% agreement with real consumers.Fixing LLM Failure Modes: Why naive prompts don’t work, and what does.Bayesian Reasoning: Adding uncertainty so AI stops being confidently wrong.Smarter A/B Testing: Using AI to pre-screen ideas before running live experiments.Digital Clones: Future consumers earning money by sharing preference data safely.Simulated Populations: Matching real audiences for testing and predictions.AI isn’t just helping brands write copy or generate images, it’s beginning to think like their customers. If synthetic consumers continue to evolve at this pace, product development, A/B testing, and personalization may look completely different in just a few years.Timestamps: 03:00 — Luca’s background: Rocket Internet, HelloFresh, Lazada, Stitch Fix08:00 — How PyMC Labs was founded & why Bayesian modeling matters16:00 — Bayesian thinking explained in simple terms19:00 — High-stakes decisions & why probabilistic reasoning matters24:00 — Colgate’s challenge: testing product concepts at scale26:00 — How synthetic consumer panels work30:00 — Accuracy results: humans vs. AI (~73–74%)32:00 — Why naive LLM prompting fails (“mode collapse”)35:00 — How reasoning → scoring solves accuracy issues38:00 — Example: synthetic consumers evaluating PyMC’s own website redesign44:00 — How AI can pre-screen ideas for smarter A/B testing48:00 — Where AI cannot replace causal testing49:00 — Digital clones & monetizable consumer preferences52:00 — Future benchmarks, new LLMs & evaluation methods👉 Connect with Luca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lfiaschi/👉 Learn more about PyMC Labs: https://www.pymc-labs.com👉 Check out the paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.08338🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc: https://retailgentic.transistor.fm#Retailgentic #AgenticCommerce #SyntheticConsumers #AIShopping #ProductTesting #CPGInnovation #GenerativeAI #BayesianModeling #Ecommerce #FutureOfRetail #DataScience #LLMs #AIResearch

In this episode of Retailgentic, host Scot sits down with Mike Edmonds, PayPal’s VP of Agentic Commerce & Commercial Growth, to unpack the massive pivot PayPal has made into the Agentic Commerce era, and what it means for retailers, brands, platforms, and developers.Mike goes deep on:PayPal’s Agentic Bet: Why PayPal is going all-in on Agentic CommerceMerchant Anxiety, Explained: The real reason so many merchants are anxious about LLMsInstant Checkout 2.0: Where PayPal sees Instant Checkout heading nextWallets as Identity: Why wallet identity will matter more than ever2030 Predictions: Mike’s bold predictions for shopping agents in 2030Two-Track Future: A world split between autonomous commerce and luxury human-led experiencesProtocol Chaos Simplified: How PayPal plans to tame and unify an explosion of competing protocolsMerchant of Record Relief: The surprising emotional fear merchants have about disintermediationAs AI agents reshape discovery, checkout, and trust, PayPal is building the rails for the future of digital commerce.Key Timestamps:02:15 — Mike introduces his background.04:45 — How Mike’s career path led directly into PayPal’s Agentic Commerce leadership role.06:20 — What “VP of Agentic Commerce & Commercial Growth” really means at PayPal.07:48 — The biggest lessons Mike learned leading AI strategy at Microsoft.10:35 — What merchants are actually thinking about Agentic Commerce (the real pulse).12:18 — Mike explains the off-surface vs on-surface Agentic Commerce model.13:10 — Why merchants feel overwhelmed by LLMs, APIs, and protocol sprawl.14:47 — PayPal’s role as the one-to-many connector across LLMs and platforms.16:06 — What technical pieces merchants need in place to integrate Agentic checkout.17:45 — How on-surface conversational agents can finally boost conversion rates.19:30 — Why conversational checkout is the missing piece in Agentic shopping.20:55 — What the Perplexity partnership enables for checkout, payments, and reach.23:30 — How PayPal is powering ChatGPT Instant Checkout and expanding ACP.26:12 — Why Agentic protocols are diverging, and how PayPal navigates the chaos.28:30 — The emotional fear merchants have of LLMs.30:05 — Mike’s 2030 prediction31:40 — Why some categories will automate, while luxury experiences stay human.33:10 — Multimodal will reshape shopping through voice, gestures, and identity.35:00 — The top concerns merchants raise in every PayPal Agentic conversation.37:05 — Where to find Mike and what PayPal has coming next.Announcements & press releases related to the conversations:Perplexity: https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2025-05-14-Perplexity-Selects-PayPal-to-Power-Agentic-CommerceGoogle (commerce agent for merchants: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/financial-services/introducing-an-agentic-commerce-solution-for-merchants-from-paypal-and-google-cloudOpenAI: https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2025-10-28-OpenAI-and-PayPal-Team-Up-to-Power-Instant-Checkout-and-Agentic-Commerce-in-ChatGPTAP2: https://developer.paypal.com/community/blog/PayPal-Agent-Payments-Protocol/ and https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/announcing-agents-to-payments-ap2-protocolPayPal’s Agentic Commerce Services: https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2025-10-28-PayPal-Launches-Agentic-Commerce-Services-to-Power-AI-Driven-Shopping👉 Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeledmonds/👉 Learn more about PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/us/home🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, Scot talks with Stu Solomon, CEO of HUMAN Security, the company analyzing 20+ trillion digital interactions every week to detect bots, fraud, and now agentic AI behavior. Stu breaks down:Why bots now exceed human trafficThe 1300% growth in agentic activityHow HUMAN identifies good vs. bad botsThe rise of agentic logins, navigation, and even checkoutsWhy spoofing of ChatGPT and Perplexity traffic is explodingWhat retailers need to know about letting AI agents crawl their sitesThe coming world of agent-to-agent commerceIf you’re preparing for the future of retail, ad tech, AI commerce, or online security, this is essential listening.Timestamps02:20 — What HUMAN actually measures (bot vs human vs agentic)03:40 — Stu’s background (military → Amazon → banking → VC → CEO)06:40 — The logistics + retail connection09:00 — How HUMAN works: media + enterprise security11:00 — The digital journey from ad → login → checkout12:11 — HUMAN at 20 trillion interactions/week16:55 — Why HUMAN started publishing agentic data17:50 — 1300% growth in agentic activity18:30 — Machine traffic surpasses human traffic19:40 — The diversification of generative AI traffic20:30 — Agentic login + website navigation behavior24:00 — How HUMAN distinguishes bot vs agent vs human33:00 — The bad side: spoofed ChatGPT & Perplexity traffic38:30 — Retailers blocking bots without realizing it47:00 — The inevitability of agentic adoption48:40 — The future: agent-to-agent transactions49:30 — The end of 2FA hell?👉 Connect with Stu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stu-solomon-733a217/👉 Learn more about HUMAN: https://www.humansecurity.com/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot sits down with one of the most influential product leaders in commerce technology: Nitin Mangtani, SVP & GM of Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Their relationship goes back almost two decades, intersecting at Google, during the rise of online shopping, and now again at the dawn of agentic commerce. Nitin shares his journey from supply chain analytics at i2 Technologies, to building Google’s earliest commerce products, to founding and scaling PredictSpring, and finally leading Salesforce’s reinvention of unified and agentic commerce. This conversation is packed with history, strategy, and forward-looking insights into where AI shopping agents are taking the industry.Timestamps:03:20 – Early career: i2 Technologies & supply chain beginnings10:00 – Joining Google in 200613:30 – Launching Google Commerce Search & Site Search16:40 – Froogle/Google Shopping goes from “fun project” to billion-dollar business18:00 – Comparison engines, feed specs & early retail taxonomy challenges20:15 – Canonicalization and why product data was Google’s first “AI problem”22:40 – Leaving Google to start PredictSpring24:20 – PredictSpring’s original vision: mobile commerce & no-code apps26:05 – Pivoting PredictSpring: TAM realities & shifting to Point of Sale29:00 – Competing with Shopify POS, Square & the white space in enterprise POS31:30 – Startup lessons: pivots, risk, funding & an 11.5-year journey34:45 – Salesforce approaches PredictSpring: acquisition story38:00 – Meeting Marc Benioff & Salesforce’s leadership culture41:00 – Becoming SVP/GM: unifying Commerce Cloud, POS, OMS & Payments44:10 – Agentforce & the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) with OpenAI & Stripe47:10 – Discovery vs checkout: why syndicated checkout is harder49:30 – Messaging commerce: WhatsApp, SMS & conversational transactions51:30 – Full automation: replenishment, grocery & true agentic behavior52:45 – Why commerce is strategically important to SalesforceAgentic commerce isn’t just a channel change, it’s a full-stack rewrite of how discovery, decision-making, and checkout work. Nitin makes clear that the next wave won’t be about small UX improvements, but about systems that think, act, and transact on behalf of consumers and retailers alike. With leaders like Nitin driving Salesforce’s transformation, the future of unified and agentic commerce is arriving faster than expected.👉 Connect with Nitin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitinmangtani/👉 Learn more about Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of Retailgentic, host Scot Wingo sits down with Johnathan McGowan, co-founder & CEO of PayOS, to discuss how AI agents will handle payments safely and compliantly.From Visa and Mastercard partnerships to the first live Agentic token transaction, Johnathan explains how “day-one-ready” infrastructure will power the future of Agentic Commerce.Timestamps:01:56 — Meet Johnathan McGowan, co-founder of PayOS04:00 — From Visa to PayOS: the founding story06:40 — What Agentic Payments really mean08:10 — Partnering with Visa & Mastercard10:25 — “Day-one-ready” vs new payment rails12:50 — What PayOS actually does15:30 — Agent builders and early use cases18:40 — Understanding “intent” in payments21:50 — Future-proofing across protocols (AP2, ACP, etc.)24:55 — How the first live Agentic transaction worked29:50 — Why PCI compliance & trust matter36:00 — The global scale of Agentic CommerceAs AI agents start making real-world transactions, companies like PayOS are making sure those payments are not just possible, but trusted, secure, and global from day one.👉 Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnathanm/👉 Learn more about the PayOS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/payos/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

OpenAI’s Chief Economist Ronnie Chatterji joins Scot Wingo on the Retailgentic Podcast to unpack OpenAI's recent National Bureau of Economic Research working paper "How People Use ChatGPT".From asking vs. doing to AI-powered shopping behavior, this deep dive reveals how generative AI is transforming the economy and how soon “agentic” commerce will redefine online retail.This episode is more than a window into OpenAI, it’s a look at the data shaping how humans and agents will interact, shop, and make decisions in the years ahead. If you care about where AI is really headed, this one’s not just worth your time, it’s required listening.Timestamps:02:00 – Meet Ronnie Chatterji, OpenAI’s Chief Economist06:00 – How the ChatGPT usage study began10:30 – What surprised the team most15:00 – Asking vs. Doing: the evolution of agentic behavior19:00 – The viral “colored columns” chart and what it shows22:00 – AI and the future of writing, learning, and work26:00 – How Ronnie bought jeans with ChatGPT28:00 – The 2.1% insight: early AI commerce signals33:00 – Voice + vision = the next leap for agentic shopping38:00 – The global view of AI adoption42:00 – What’s next in OpenAI’s research45:00 – Closing thoughts & how to follow Ronnie👉 Connect with Ronnie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-ronnie-chatterji/👉 Learn more about the paper we discuss: https://openai.com/index/how-people-are-using-chatgpt/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of Retailgentic, Salesforce’s Director of Strategy and Consumer Insights Caila Schwartz joins Scot Wingo to break down Salesforce’s 2024 Holiday Forecast, and how AI agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are transforming the path to purchase.They cover:How 21% of global holiday spend will be influenced by AIWhy discovery (not discounts) is this year’s themeWhy Baby Boomers are finally using ChatGPT for shoppingHow Gen Z is bringing the mall back with AI in handThe return of “Discount Chicken” and the Tuesday-after-Cyber-Monday surpriseTimestamps:00:00 – Welcome + Caila intro01:00 – What Salesforce’s Consumer Insights team does04:30 – Agentforce and AI momentum post-Dreamforce07:00 – Holiday forecast: “Discovery” as the 2024 theme08:00 – How Agentic tools are changing product search09:45 – $263B in AI-influenced sales12:00 – Gen Z, Baby Boomers, and agentic adoption15:00 – Q3 data: growth, traffic, and product detail engagement19:30 – LLM referrals vs social media conversions22:00 – ChatGPT Checkout and embedded commerce25:00 – AI in physical stores — 57% of shoppers use agents in-store28:00 – Holiday sales forecast and discount trends33:00 – The rise of “Discount Chicken”38:00 – Loyalty consolidation and the price-sensitive consumer42:00 – Gen Z’s love of in-store experiences47:00 – The future of unified data and physical + digital retail50:00 – Closing thoughts👉 Connect with Manil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caila-schwartz/👉 Learn more about Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot Wingo talks with Manil Uppal, Founder & CEO of CartAI, about building the “execution layer” of agentic commerce, where AI agents don’t just recommend products, they buy them. From his early startups acquired by H-E-B and UPS to his vision for CartAI, Manil shares how his team is solving the hardest problem in agentic shopping: completing checkout seamlessly across any retailer.Key Timestamps00:02:00 – Manil’s background: from delivery startups to AI infrastructure00:09:00 – The “aha” moment: from “Where to Buy” to “Go Buy It”00:15:00 – The 3 layers of Agentic Commerce: Catalog, Payments, Checkout00:20:00 – How CartAI executes merchant-native checkouts across platforms00:26:00 – Why retailers need a whitelist for good agents00:33:00 – Handling out-of-stocks, variants, and dynamic pricing00:40:00 – Thoughts on ChatGPT’s new ACP standard00:43:00 – Lessons from early food delivery startups for agentic commerce00:46:00 – The future: vertical AI apps, expert agents, and commerce everywhereAgentic commerce is evolving fast and CartAI is building the rails to make it work.👉 Connect with Manil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maniluppal/👉 Learn more about CartAI: https://www.cartai.ai👉 Explore their substack: https://substack.com/@cartai🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic

In this special Retailgentic episode, guest host Kiri Masters turns the tables on our regular host, Scot Wingo (CEO, ReFiBuy). They unpack the next big retail revolution, Agentic Commerce, and what it means for shoppers, retailers, and brands as AI shopping agents like ChatGPT and Perplexity redefine discovery, loyalty, and checkout.Scot shares the lessons behind ChannelAdvisor, Spiffy, and now ReFiBuy, plus why messy product catalogs, ad overload, and loyalty programs will determine who wins in the AI marketplace era.⏱️ Key Timestamps00:00 – Intro: Kiri turns the tables02:15 – Scot’s early career & first startup07:50 – Building ChannelAdvisor14:30 – Lessons from going public20:05 – Spiffy and the services economy26:40 – Discovering AI → the spark for ReFiBuy33:00 – What is Agentic Commerce?38:20 – ChatGPT & Perplexity in the marketplace race45:00 – The product catalog problem explained51:00 – How ReFiBuy solves it with AI55:20 – Retailers’ edge: loyalty, data, customer experience59:00 – The next phase: marketplaces 2.01:02:00 – Close: The future of AI shopping👉 Connect with Scot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/👉 Learn more about ReFiBuy: refibuy.ai🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://youtu.be/4xI9qXNU_R0

In this episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, Scot Wingo sits down with Jason Nyus, General Manager of North America at Shopware, a leading open-source e-commerce platform. Jason brings over 25 years of experience (20+ at Digital River) to unpack where e-commerce is heading, why Shopware is betting big on agentic commerce, and how the Agentic Commerce Alliance could shape the industry’s future.Timestamps:02:00 – Jason’s 25-year journey in e-commerce, from Digital River to Shopware06:00 – The early days of app stores: Nokia, Blackberry, Microsoft09:45 – Why Digital River pivoted and what commoditization taught him13:00 – Why Shopware sees opportunity in mid-market and complex use cases20:30 – Shopware’s scale: $23B processing volume, top 6 global commerce platform26:00 – Introducing the Agentic Commerce Alliance: vision, openness, and independence36:00 – Use cases for agentic commerce: competitive pricing, loyalty, and customer service42:00 – Risks and opportunities for Shopify, Google, and Amazon in the agentic era46:00 – Jason’s predictions: a billion-dollar brand without a website, 25% of e-commerce becoming agentic by 2030Jason makes it clear: the future of commerce won’t be decided by one platform. Shopware’s vision of an open, agent-friendly ecosystem is a bold alternative to a closed, platform-controlled future. The Agentic Commerce Alliance could become one of the most important initiatives shaping AI-driven retail.👉 Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonnyhus/👉 Learn more about Shopware’s vision: shopware.com👉 Explore the Agentic Commerce Alliance: agentic-commerce.org🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://youtu.be/4xI9qXNU_R0

On this special Retailgentic episode, we sit down with Jordi Montes, CEO & co-founder of SimpleCheckout.ai, who officially launched today. Jordi shares his journey from Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to building a unified checkout and payment framework for AI agents. We dive into why agentic payments matter, what SimpleCheckout solves, and how it could reshape the future of online retail.Timestamps:00:01:55 – Jordi’s background: from TravelPerk to Lightning Network00:05:30 – The “sci-fi moment” that inspired SimpleCheckout00:12:00 – Why payments must evolve beyond the browser00:18:00 – Mapping agentic commerce to the travel industry model00:23:00 – Competing visions: SimpleCheckout vs. PayOS vs. Nacuda00:31:00 – The role of personalization in agentic commerce00:39:45 – Why SimpleCheckout is payment- and merchant-agnostic00:43:30 – Looking ahead: the future of agent-to-agent paymentsSimpleCheckout’s launch marks a turning point in how AI agents will transact. As agentic commerce takes hold, Jordi’s vision of a universal, flexible checkout protocol could define the rails of the next decade.Checkout their substack announcement: https://simplecheckout.substack.com/p/agentic-commerce-made-simple🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.