Agentic Commerce: AI Agents and the Future of E-Commerce

Agentic commerce thus describes transformation toward commerce where digital
agents assume purchasing decisions. While big tech attempts building central
platforms and ecosystems for such agents, merchants face questions of preserving
brand sovereignty, data, and customer relationships. Here Riverty engages: with
agentic-ready payment workflows already based today on technologies like
tokenization, fraud monitoring, and compliance, the company creates foundations for secure, flexible, and transparent transactions – including future scenarios where
AI-driven agents integrate more strongly into checkout.

 

What Is Agentic Commerce? Definition, Significance, and Market Potential

Agentic commerce describes digital commerce’s next evolution stage: purchases no
longer initiated exclusively by humans but prospectively executed increasingly by autonomous agents. Initial approaches already visible today – recurring subscription purchases, automated replenishment systems, or smart home devices triggering orders independently. Fully autonomous processing where agents negotiate prices, compare offers, and execute payments independently remains a future scenario.

Market potential proves enormous however: analysts expect a significant share of
online transactions processed through AI-supported shopping agents in coming
years. Particularly relevant: distinction between two segments – utility-driven
commerce already partially reality today through automatic reordering and price optimization, and experience-driven commerce where brand loyalty, service, and
experience matter more but development remains in its early phase.

 

From E-Commerce to Agentic Commerce: The Next Evolution Stage

Autonomous commerce solutions already automate order-to-cash (O2C) process
segments today, e.g., subscription management or returns. Prospectively,
automation will encompass all steps – from product search through price negotiation to after-sales processes. Merchants addressing this transformation early secure efficiency gains and competitiveness.

Particularly decisive: payments no longer just final step but become agent workflow
part.

• Today’s reality: Automated subscriptions, simplified return processes
• In development: Digital wallets, tokenization, virtual cards as basis for secure
  automation
• Future: Complete O2C automation through agents, including price negotiation
  and dynamic processing

 

How Shopping Agents Shape E-Commerce Purchasing Behavior

For consumers, AI shopping assistants already offer convenience today through
recommendation engines, price alerts, and automated reordering. Prospectively,
they’ll assume entire purchasing decisions, completely relieving consumers.
Customers benefit from price optimization, automatic ordering, and individualized
offers.

However, expectations for trust and transparency rise with increasing autonomy.
Security and data protection already rank as central purchasing criteria today. In
scenarios where agents execute transactions independently, this becomes even
more important. A current study on changed purchasing behavior demonstrates
digital research and AI recommendations already influence purchasing decisions
today.

Utility-Driven Shopping Agents: Price, Efficiency, and Automation

Utility-driven shopping agents represent most developed use cases. They optimize
standard purchases by comparing prices and checking delivery times. Initial
manifestations already exist – smart home orders and automatic repurchases.

• Today’s reality: Automatic reordering of printer cartridges or groceries
• Advantage: Price transparency and fast delivery processes
• Future: Mature multi-agent systems independently negotiating between
  merchants

Experience-Driven Shopping Agents: Brand Loyalty, Service, and Trust

Premium segment development remains more visionary. Here agents consider not
only price but also service, experience, and loyalty programs. Initial examples:
loyalty integrations in digital wallets. Fully agentic systems representing brand
experiences remain conceptual currently.

• Today’s reality: Loyalty program integration in digital payment methods
• Future: Agents actively incorporating brand values and services into purchase
  decisions

Agentic AI Shopping: Trust, Transparency, and Security from Customer Perspective

Consumers trust automated processes only when comprehensible. Data protection, compliance, and fraud monitoring already rank as hygiene factors today. Future transparency in agent decisions will prove decisive for securing trust. Studies like Telekom MMS on trust in AI agents demonstrate trust remains a central acceptance criterion.

• Today’s reality: Fraud monitoring, PSD2 compliance
• Future: Agents documenting purchase decisions explicably and verifiably

 

Agentic Commerce for Merchants: Opportunities, Risks, and Strategic
Responses

For merchants, agentic commerce opens new revenue potential on one hand while
requiring system preparation for futures where agents assume central purchasing
decisions. Today initial integration points exist, e.g., via APIs or smart replenishment.
Fully autonomously controlled workflows remain not yet widespread.

New Sales Channels Through Autonomous Commerce Workflows

Today visibility is primarily determined by SEO and ads. Future merchants must
additionally become ‘agentic discoverable.’ Initial steps already recognizable –
product data integration into smart home or voice assistant systems.

• Today’s reality: Integration in Alexa or Google Shopping
• Future: Agents proactively identifying and comparing products

Securing Brand Sovereignty: Visibility in Agentic Future

Direct customer relationships currently remain a central competitive advantage.
Future brand loyalty decides more strongly within agent ecosystems. Merchants
must begin today structuring loyalty systems and brand values to remain
representable in agentic processes.

• Today’s reality: Loyalty programs via wallets and apps
• Future: Agents automatically considering loyalty

Risks: Avoiding Big Tech Dependency and Data Loss

Already today merchants depend on platforms like Amazon or Google. Agentic
commerce could intensify this dependency. Strategically important therefore:
choosing partners operating merchant-first while securing data sovereignty. The
ECC Club Study 2024 on platform giants’ battle clarifies this development.

• Today’s reality: Platform dominance in e-commerce
• Future: Even stronger centralization through big-tech agents if merchants
  create no alternatives

 

Payment Provider Role in Agentic Commerce

In today’s commerce, payment providers already prove indispensable. Future
transforms them from checkout final step to central integration layer for agent
workflows. Technologies – from tokenization to virtual cards – already exist; their
consistent embedding in autonomous systems remains the beginning stages.

Why Secure and Flexible Payment Flows Prove Decisive

Payments must function smoothly already today. Agentic processes intensify this
requirement: every disruption interrupts autonomy. Zero friction becomes standard.
According to Bitkom studies on cashless payment, customers increasingly expect
digital payment options.

• Today’s reality: Digital wallets, BNPL, virtual cards
• Future: Complete embedding of these methods in autonomous agent flows

Particularly decisive: payments no longer just final step but become agent workflow
part. Initial initiatives like Stripe concept for developing open standards for agentic commerce demonstrate payment standards must be thought agent-ready going
forward.

Compliance, Regulation, and Trust as Success Factors

Regulatory frameworks like PSD2 or AML already apply today, creating trust. With
increasing automation, additional AI-related regulations are expected. Parallel tech
companies drive standards forward – such as Google with Agent Payments Protocol
(AP2) – enabling AI agents secure and comprehensible payments.

• Today’s reality: PSD2 compliance, AML standards
• Future: AI-specific rules ensuring transparency and fairness

Merchants and providers must integrate these early.

Riverty Strengthens Brand Sovereignty with Agentic-Ready Payment
Workflows

Riverty positions itself clearly as merchant-first payment partner for agentic
commerce. Focusing on flexible payment solutions, regulatory security, and brand
sovereignty, Riverty supports merchants already today – while simultaneously
developing solutions for an agentic future.

Technologies Today and Tomorrow: Tokenization, Virtual Cards & More

Tokenization and virtual cards represent proven technologies today. Riverty expands
these into agentic-ready solutions enabling seamless payment process integration
into agent flows. Goal: payments secure and compliant today, functioning tomorrow
in autonomous scenarios.

Agent-Ready Commerce with Brand Focus

Riverty ensures merchants already retain brand presence control today.
Simultaneously, the company develops structures keeping brands visible even in
automated environments. Thus Riverty distinguishes itself clearly from platform
providers primarily focused on their own ecosystems.

Trust and Compliance as Foundation

Security forms an agentic commerce foundation. Riverty builds on fraud monitoring,
regulatory compliance, and transparent communication. These competencies prove established today, continuously expanded to secure trust even in autonomous
environments.

New E-Commerce Normal Called Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce marks digital commerce’s next major step. While initial
applications represent today’s reality, fully autonomous shopping agents remain
under testing and piloting. For merchants this means: align systems today to remain
connectable tomorrow.

What Merchants Should Do Now to Become Agentic-Ready

• Prepare systems and data structures agent-readable
• Design loyalty programs for future agent flow integration
• Choose payment providers delivering secure technologies today while
  orienting toward future

 

Agentic Commerce: Keeping Tomorrow’s Commerce in View

Agentic commerce already manifests today in initial applications like automated
ordering or loyalty integrations, while fully autonomous purchasing processes
undergo testing. Those establishing systems timely as secure, transparent, and
brand-oriented remain connectable for coming developments. Thus data sovereignty and brand presence preserve – while simultaneously opening new sales channels.

Talk to Riverty about preparing your commerce strategy for an agentic future. With Riverty, merchants retain control while autonomous agents prospectively process transactions seamlessly, securely, and brand-compliantly.