The agent doesn’t have a seat at that table. Yet.

The agent doesn’t have a seat at that table. Yet.

Census put online orders at 17.1% of US retail sales this spring. The other 83% was bought some other way, most of it standing in a room with the thing in your hands.

The agents are coming, and fast. Adobe saw AI traffic to US retail sites up 693% last holiday season, from what it calls a modest base, and forecasts another 130% this year. Google’s AI has checked out for shoppers in Search since last November, and this month its Universal Cart added merchants like Target, Sephora and Walmart.

But look at how it works. The agent buys where the merchant has said yes. The merchant still owns the stock, the hours, the fitting room and the person who knows.

That’s the seat. For now the table is still the store, and the agent is waiting outside with a list.

Is your store written so an agent can read it, and built so the person behind the agent wants to walk in?

What are your thoughts? DM if you want to schedule a deeper dive.