Season 7, Episode 14: Re-evaluating agentic commerce (with Andrew Lipsman)

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Apr 28, 2026

Andrew Lipsman, independent analyst of retail media and e-commerce, breaks down agentic commerce’s shift from autonomous AI to AI-assisted shopping. He discusses why instant checkout experiments flopped, why retail platforms like Amazon gain AI utility, the improbability of western super apps, and rising opportunities in performance TV and in-store digital retail media.

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INSIGHT

Agentic Commerce Will Live On Retail Sites

Agentic commerce as fully autonomous agents is unlikely to displace retailers because consumer behavior and incentives favor on-site experiences.
Andrew Lipsman argues independent instant-checkout agents faced structural frictions and retailers will absorb AI utility on their platforms.

INSIGHT

Western Super Apps Are A Pipe Dream

Super app strategies in the West are unlikely to replicate China's WeChat because social, mobile, and e‑commerce evolved separately here.
Lipsman says asking retailers to build new in‑app shopping touchpoints creates a chicken‑egg investment problem.

INSIGHT

Instant Checkout Undermines Purchase Confidence

Instant checkout conversions were worse than clickouts, partly due to lack of trust and the paradox of choice.
Consumers dislike transacting via intermediaries and prefer multiple options to build purchase conviction, says Andrew.

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On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Andrew Lipsman to discuss the evolving landscape of agentic commerce and retail media. Andrew is an independent analyst and consultant who runs the Media, Ads + Commerce blog, which covers the retail media landscape. Prior to this, Andrew held roles at eMarketer and comScore. This is Andrew's third appearance on the podcast.

In our conversation, Andrew and I take stock of the evolution of the concept of agentic commerce since we last spoke six months ago, moving from the initial hype of autonomous AI agents to a more grounded reality of AI-assisted shopping experiences. Our conversation examines the failure of independent instant checkout experiments, the strength of established retail ecosystems like Amazon and Walmart, and the emerging opportunities in performance television and in-store digital advertising. Among other things, we discuss:

Whether the failure of instant checkout experiments signals a permanent preference for direct retailer relationships over AI intermediaries
How the paradox of choice and the need for basket building hinder the efficiency of single-option agentic transactions
If the success of Amazon's Rufus proves that AI utility belongs on retail platforms rather than independent LLM interfaces
Why the western market's fragmented ecosystem makes the development of a Chinese-style shopping super app highly improbable
What the massive investment in AI infrastructure means for the competitive landscape against established giants like Amazon and Google
When performance TV and in-store retail media will finally become a core priority for brand-focused chief marketing officers
How Shopify's role as an audience network might evolve as direct-to-consumer brands seek diversification beyond Meta and Google

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