E-commerce adoption of AI shopping agents

Retailers are increasingly integrating AI agents to automate consumer shopping tasks. In Poland, Żabka, in collaboration with Jush and delio, introduced an AI-driven feature using Model Context Protocol technology. This beta system allows users to plan meals based on dietary needs, analyze refrigerator photos, and prepare shopping baskets with applied coupons. The system selects fulfillment methods based on order size, though customers must still manually finalize orders.

In Europe, fashion retailer Zalando has launched “Zalando Extended,” a pilot project with Westwing designed to allow customers to find and purchase products from other retailers directly within the Zalando app. This initiative is part of a broader move toward “agentic commerce.” Zalando aims for its AI agents to be capable of autonomously managing the entire shopping process, including price comparisons and final payments at partner stores, by 2027.

The announcement of this initiative coincided with Zalando’s third-quarter financial results, which reported revenues of approximately 3.17 billion euros, a 5.1 percent increase year-over-year. Despite growth in gross merchandise volume, the company’s gross profit margin fell below market expectations due to ongoing investments. Following the financial report, Zalando shares saw a 5 percent decline in early trading, although analysts at Jefferies & Company Inc. maintained a “Buy” rating with a price target of 35 euros.