How AI and Agentic Commerce are shaping digital transformation in retail
- Louise Arnold
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
The recent Digital Maturity to AI Mastery webinar, hosted by Commerce in partnership with The Engineer, offered valuable insights into how Agentic Commerce is reshaping the eCommerce landscape.
One of the key takeaways, shared by Rupert Chappell, Key Account Director at Commerce, was how quickly product discovery is shifting from human-led search to AI-assisted journeys.
A couple of stats that caught our attention with implications for retailers, particularly those in B2B, are significant:
B2B online sales are expected to double in the next five years
Over half 58% product discovery now begins on AI tools
As Commerce highlighted, digital maturity is directly aligned to success in this brave, new world. With digital maturity defined as the alignment of technology with business goals, regular review of goals and ability to change.
That message mirrors what we’ve discovered in recent client research at thinkTRIBE. Digital Transformation remains a central theme across all sectors, but the focus is evolving: from adopting new technology to ensuring digital strategy, business outcomes, and customer experience are fully aligned.
It also builds on themes we’ve been exploring through our Agentic Commerce Series - looking at how AI is redefining product discovery and purchase, and what this means for retailers preparing to embrace this next shift.
1. Digital maturity and change capability drive resilience and growth
Commerce’s framework for assessing digital maturity covers six key pillars: digital objectives, tech stack, customer centricity, data, logistics and fulfilment, and culture and innovation.
The results were striking: businesses at the lower end of the maturity scale were twice as likely to experience revenue decline compared to leaders.
For retailers, digital maturity isn’t just about having the right tools. It’s about how well digital objectives align with business goals, and how often those goals are reviewed, refined, and adapted.
As AI adoption accelerates, digital change adaptability is becoming key success. For B2B retailers, that capability is especially critical. Buyers now expect the right products faster than ever before, and their CX expectations increasingly mirror those of B2C.
We explored this further in The customer experience gap in B2B eCommerce and how to close it, which highlights how B2B commerce can bridge the CX gap.
Retailers that break down silos, align digital and commercial objectives, and treat technology change as a continuous capability, not a one-off project, will be best positioned to thrive as AI reshapes discovery and conversion.
2. Data is becoming your storefront
As AI channels take on more of the search and discovery process, product data intelligence is emerging as the new battleground. Commerce put it succinctly: “Data will become your new storefront. That shift means retailers must ensure product data is not only visible but also verified, explainable, easily understood and optimised for each AI channel. Think of AI as your biggest referral partner.
Retailers should ask:
Are our products discoverable and ingestible by AI?
Is our data accurate, contextual, and backed by evidence?
Can AI access the right information, from reviews to specs, to make reliable recommendations?
For B2B retailers, this is particularly vital. Complex pricing, contract visibility, and multi-tier product configurations make clean, structured data essential to maintaining both trust and conversion.
Rather than relying on scraping, retailers should take control of how their data is surfaced, using data syndication platforms to ensure product information is consistent and AI-ready across every channel.
Platforms such as Feedonomics, Commerce’s product data syndication solution, are already helping retailers optimise and distribute data more effectively across AI channels. These will become increasingly valuable for ensuring product information is consistent, discoverable, and explainable across every surface.
3. Focus AI on friction, not novelty
One of the most practical messages from the webinar was clear: use AI to remove friction, not add it.
For B2B retailers, this might mean:
Enabling real-time pricing or stock visibility for trade accounts
Streamlining repeat orders
Automating “where’s my order?” or quote requests
AI shouldn’t replace human interaction, it should enhance ease, speed, and add transparency. The same principle sits at the heart of great customer experience in both B2B and B2C.
4. Preparing for Agentic Commerce
As we explored in our Agentic Commerce series, the rise of Agentic Commerce - where AI agents transact directly, isn’t mainstream yet, but the groundwork is being laid.
We’ve already moved from buyer → retailer to agent → retailer, and agent → agent is not far away.
Retailers that:
Assess their digital maturity and align strategy with business goals
Structure and optimise product data for AI discoverability
Use AI to improve business workflows and enhance CX, not complicate it
…will be best positioned to move from digital maturity to true AI readiness.
Because as discovery shifts to AI, success won’t hinge on technology alone, it will depend on how well your business can adapt, align and deliver for both human and machine customers.
Final thought: Treat Digital Transformation as an agile process
AI adoption is accelerating, but readiness is inconsistent. Retailers that treat Digital Transformation as an agile process, continually assessing digital maturity, adapting digital objectives, refining data, and focusing on AI to improve business processes and CX, will lead the next phase of the eCommerce evolution.
As Commerce summed it up: “Data will become your storefront.” The question now is how well your business is preparing to open the door?
Key takeaways for retailers
To prepare for AI-led discovery and the next phase of eCommerce:
Measure digital maturity across objectives, technology, data, CX and culture.
Align digital and business goals to drive agility and growth.
Develop product data intelligence to ensure AI can find, understand and ingest evidence in order to trust your product recommendations.
Use AI to remove friction, not add it - take small steps focussing on specific workflows with measurable improvements.
Wherever you are on your AI readiness journey, thinkTRIBE helps bridge the gap between digital transformation and real-world customer experience.
