What happened
BCG surveyed 50 of the top 300 global retailers and 100 of the top global brands, plus interviews with retail and technology leaders, on how external AI shopping agents change commerce. Headline finding: '68% of retailers expect agentic commerce to have a significant or transformational effect within two years.' It reports that marketplaces account for 26% of these retailers' online gross merchandise value on average (35% for the top quartile), that 81% of US and 53% of European consumers expect to use AI agents when shopping, and that only 18% of retailers consider their marketplaces ready for agents. On positioning, 42% are making their data discoverable by any agent, 32% give access only to chosen agents, and 6% block agents altogether.
Why it matters
Quantifies the shrinking competitive window in which retailers must make product data discoverable, evaluable and trusted by external AI agents — or lose the sale before a shopper ever visits — which is central to agentic-AI strategy and data-access decisions.
Action needed
Assess marketplace and product-data readiness for external AI agents, set an explicit agent-access/blocking position, and prioritise enrichment of product data and real-time availability within the next 1–2 quarters.