The purchase journey is being rewritten
The next major shift in retail is not simply faster checkout or better recommendations. It is the transfer of much of the shopping process itself from the consumer to an AI system acting on the consumer’s behalf. What Mastercard describes as agentic commerce points to a model in which shoppers no longer sift through products, compare reviews and complete transactions step by step. Instead, they express an intention, define a budget or preference, and allow an AI agent to manage the rest.
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That change matters because it alters a basic assumption of digital commerce: that the customer must always remain the active operator. Simon Forbes, division president for UK and Ireland at Mastercard, argues that this is one of the most significant transformations retail is likely to experience, precisely because it changes who initiates the purchase and how decisions are made. In that sense, agentic commerce is not just another convenience feature. It is a structural redesign of the buying journey.
From browsing to autonomous decision-making
The promise of the model lies in how much friction it removes. A consumer looking for an outfit, a birthday gift or a pair of winter running shoes would no longer need to move manually from site to site. The AI agent would narrow options according to taste, size, price and current relevance, while also responding to further prompts about fit, materials or style. Once the consumer approves the choice, the system would handle payment and delivery in the background.
Forbes presents this as a practical tool rather than a futuristic novelty. Agentic commerce, in his description, could manage everything from routine subscription top-ups to more considered product purchases. Over time, its usefulness could expand well beyond one-off shopping moments. The same system could help automate regular grocery orders, recognise which household staples are likely running low, identify relevant promotions and even interact with loyalty schemes so that vouchers or points are used at the right moment. Personalisation, in this vision, becomes active rather than passive.
Why trust will decide whether this model succeeds
The commercial logic may be strong, but the model depends on something more fragile than efficiency: consent. Consumers are unlikely to let an AI act for them unless they believe it is operating transparently, securely and within clearly defined limits. Mastercard’s own survey findings underline the challenge. With 76% of consumers saying they are more worried about cybersecurity risks than two years ago, and 59% agreeing that being scammed feels inevitable, the burden of proof falls heavily on the companies building this system.
That is why Mastercard is framing the development of agentic commerce around verification, registration and accountability. Forbes says AI agents operating in this environment would need to be registered, with common standards and compliance measures designed to govern their behaviour. In the initial model, the user would still see the details of a proposed purchase, the merchant would validate the intent, and the consumer would approve the transaction before the agent completes it. Only later would systems move toward purchases executed under pre-set instructions without direct intervention. The path to autonomy, in other words, is being staged through layers of control.
A more personal retail economy, if consumers accept the terms
What makes this development especially significant is not just automation, but the possibility of what Forbes calls “empathy at scale”. The more an agent understands a consumer’s habits, loyalties, sustainability concerns and immediate preferences, the more closely commerce can be tailored to the individual. That could make online shopping more accessible and less time-consuming, but it also raises a harder question about how much context people are willing to share in exchange for convenience. Mastercard’s response is to emphasise that control over data access and information-sharing remains with the consumer. Whether that reassurance is enough will determine how quickly this new retail model moves from experiment to everyday habit.
Author:
Lucia Mihalkova
COO of Webiano Digital & Marketing Agency
Source: Is AI set to transform the way we shop? (Hint: yes, it is)
