statement is backed up by recent data from Salesforce’s ‘Connected Shoppers’ report, which found that approximately 22 per cent of shoppers already use AI for product discovery and inspiration, 20 per cent use it for customer service and 18 per cent use it for finalising purchases. About 70 per cent of shoppers surveyed expressed interest in AI agents helping them optimise their loyalty points.  The same report revealed that, unsurprisingly, Gen Z shoppers are 10 times more likely (20 per cent) than baby boomers (2 per cent) to frequently use AI to discover new products. The retail industry can no longer afford to ignore the potential of agentic AI or avoid allocating budget for technological developments.  Already, 43 per cent of retailers are piloting autonomous AI, Salesforce’s report divulged, while another 53 per cent are evaluating its uses. What Walmart’s moves indicate about the future of AI in retail Inna Tokarev Sela, the CEO and founder of software development platform Illumex and a pioneer in governed enterprise AI infrastructure, commented that the concept of a super agent is a logical evolution for retailers. “Most enterprises today are dealing with ‘agentic silos,’ fragmented bots built by employees across departments with no oversight or shared context, leading to conflicting behaviors and missed opportunities for automation at scale,” Sela explained. “To create a truly functional super agent, companies need to align context, data, and interpretation. If done right, this unification will unlock hyper-personalised, end-to-end experiences that reflect a user’s entire lifecycle, from loyalty data to delivery preferences, across channels and interfaces.” Realistically, Sala noted that not every retailer can replicate Walmart’s approach overnight, as the retailer is a unique case with deep in-house technical expertise.  However, she remarked that smaller or less resourced retailers can adopt off-the-shelf solutions that support integrated super agents and get similar results. She also believes that Walmart’s adoption of model context protocol (MCP), an open protocol that standardises how applications provide context to large language models, will likely shape how retailers approach incorporating agentic AI into their businesses going forward. Similarly, Kiri Masters, an advisor for ReFiBuy.ai, an artificial intelligence-based platform designed to drive innovation in e-commerce and retail, noted that “the wide-ranging nature of Walmart’s AI transformation is a signal to the entire retail industry”. Masters explained that if Walmart’s move proves successful, it “could force every major retailer to develop similar capabilities or risk having their interfaces appear antiquated”. For example, as Walmart continues to use AI agents to optimise and accelerate the shopping process, customers will begin to rely on and expect other brands to match the delivery speed that Walmart can deploy, with 70 per cent of baskets delivered in one hour or less when Express delivery is selected.  Rather than just using AI as a separate tool to improve existing processes, Masters warned that retailers need to rebuild their core systems around AI agents.  Walmart’s shift “signals that every aspect of commerce will be affected by AI – the front-end shopping experience, the day-to-day work of employees and how physical store environments are operated and maintained,” said Masters.  “Whether customers embrace this vision – and whether competitors can match Walmart’s integrated approach – will determine which retailers thrive in the AI-powered commerce era ahead,” she concluded.