Retailers Take Different Approaches to AI Shopping Agents
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AI-assisted source synthesis · not an independent investigation.
On October 6, 2026, PYMNTS reported that retailers are responding to AI shopping agents in different ways: QVC allows agents to complete purchases; Walmart lets Google Gemini display products, then has its AI assistant Sparky take over the shopping cart; Amazon blocks external agents and is developing its own product. The report cited data indicating that 23% of U.S. consumers, about 61 million people, have started their shopping research with AI, but 59.7% of consumers still made their most recent AI-assisted purchase on Amazon. On October 14, PYMNTS further reported that nearly 61 million U.S. consumers have started their online retail research with AI assistants; AI-assisted shoppers’ average quarterly spending in August rose 17% to $1,039, 59% of shoppers researched on AI platforms products they would otherwise have searched for on Amazon, and 45% consequently discovered online stores they had not previously visited.
AI-written from reports · updated 7 days ago
Developments
- Oct 14 03:18 · 1 reportsAI shopping research shows 610,000 consumers use assistantsPYMNTS：61 million U.S. consumers have started using AI assistants for shopping searches
- Oct 6 07:03 · 1 reportsRetailers adopt different AI agent checkout strategiesPYMNTS：How retailers decide how much access to give AI shopping agents
Timeline
Follow the reporting to see the different sides of the story.
- PYMNTS61 million U.S. consumers have started using AI assistants for shopping searches
A PYMNTS Intelligence report shows that nearly 61 million U.S. consumers now begin their online retail research with AI assistants, as AI accelerates changes in product discovery. AI-assisted shoppers’ average quarterly spending rose 17% in August to $1,039, indicating that they have put conversational tools to use for actual purchases. 59% of AI shoppers now research on AI platforms products they previously searched for on Amazon, while 45% consequently discovered online stores they had never visited.
- PYMNTSHow retailers decide how much access to give AI shopping agents
Retailers are responding to AI shopping agents in different ways: QVC allows agents to complete purchases, Walmart lets Google Gemini display products before Sparky takes over the shopping cart, while Amazon blocks external agents and develops its own products. PYMNTS says 23% of U.S. consumers, or about 61 million people, have started their shopping research with AI. AI is changing the entry point for product discovery, but 59.7% of consumers still completed their most recent AI-assisted purchase on Amazon.
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