What's Agentic Commerce Without Infrastructure? (Distillation Aftershots)

Welcome to a new edition of The Board: Distillation Aftershots ^(*).

This newsletter shares curious and interesting insights and data points distilled from enterprise technology to identify what’s notable.

In this issue, we have to talk about agentic commerce, given how much it was discussed at NRF this past week. Have to… even if we did a newsletter on it before (11/23 issue). The last time we addressed it was an intro to the topic; this time, we have more in-depth links for you to read.  First, my take. 

I said in the previous newsletter:

“I have forever said commerce (or e-commerce as we called it originally) was not supposed to be an application.”

 

And that is also applicable to agentic commerce: it cannot function independently, it needs a strong infrastructure to support it, and that’s where vendors must provide value.  And it turns out most of them agree with that (and that drives me crazy) by releasing open-source, open-API, and easy-to-use resources as part of their agentic commerce offerings. Not a single vendor, as far as I can find, has said they are the only solution for agentic commerce; they all say, “We are part of the solution, check out how we integrate.”

During NRF (the National Retail Federation show in NYC happening every January), technology vendors went crazy to highlight how they are addressing agentic commerce, and how it is the latest (and most likely) way we will shop in the future.  Before committing to this vision, remember we said (and attempted) the same about social commerce. And I'm sure there were a few other smaller versions (metaverse, anyone?) of the same that bubbled up at NRF over the years. I am not demeaning the potential value of agentic commerce; I am saying there’s precedence for thinking the latest and greatest technology will replace previous iterations, when in reality it simply adds to the overall, integrated, not-a-standalone-solution model that enterprises run.

And so, the value of agentic commerce, as with past versions of x-commerce, is that by extending the ability to purchase via different interfaces, we extend the availability of the product to consumers.  Better ways to get to the product, faster ways to check out, an easier way to choose, pay, expect, and receive.  This will never change, even if brain-computer interfaces become the standard model for shopping.  Enterprises must ensure their commerce solutions are well-oiled, open, and easy to integrate into an agentic interface.  That’s the secret.  Always has, always will be: tune up your commerce infrastructure to be a platform for building an Agentic Commerce Ecosystem.

Here are some reading resources:

1. Walmart, which is proving to be an avant-garde enterprise in AI adoption, announced it is integrating its shopping experience into Gemini. If you are not in Gemini, your commerce system may collapse to Walmart’s ambition. Our own Larry Dignan wrote about it in more detail. 
2. Speaking of Gemini, Google puts its weight behind extending its AI solutions to accommodate all commerce platforms. As they say, “we are combining the best of Google Cloud's AI and infrastructure with a business's own institutional intelligence to power a truly agentic commerce journey” – it is about the customer journey. 
3. While searching for standards, I came across the Agentic Commerce Protocol.  I have not seen it being adopted, nor do I think it’s necessary to be honest, but if you are seeking a way to integrate your commerce ecosystem with all frontier models and partners, it’s a place to start.
4. A LinkedIn post from a vendor (read: take it with a grain of salt) claims a 54% higher conversion rate for agentic commerce versus traditional commerce, along with some ungodly explosive year-over-year growth rate for a solution that has been operating less than a year (here is where the grain of salt comes in handy). Also on LinkedIn: agentic payments are necessary for agentic commerce (hmm… maybe, more on this later).
5. Before NRF, Bloomberg says ChatGPT enables connections with Spotify, Zillow, and Stripe(to address those LinkedIn comments). Published September-October 2025.
6. And finally, a BCG research report that tells enterprises how to approach agentic commerce: with caution and consideration. Published October 2025.

What’s your take? We are fostering a community of executives who want to discuss these issues in depth. This newsletter is but a part of it. We welcome your feedback and look forward to engaging in these conversations.

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