A vendor-backed whitepaper argues that AI could mediate discovery and baskets, recommending real-time offers while retailers retain pricing, rewards, data control…
A joint whitepaper by three firms, released 26 September 2026, has argued that retailers could lose direct customer relationships as AI-assisted shopping grows.
According to the commercial paper by loyalty technology provider Eagle Eye, produced with Deloitte Digital and Google Cloud, retailers should make loyalty data and personalised offers available to AI shopping interfaces. The argument is that AI platforms could increasingly mediate product discovery and basket-building, potentially reducing retailers to catalog or fulfilment channels.
Another recommendation is that retailers expose controlled loyalty data and offer decisions to AI platforms in real time, while retaining control over pricing, rewards and data sharing.
The paper, which does not include sample size, population or question wording, cites survey data showing that 41% of respondents had used dedicated AI platforms for product discovery as of January 2026, and that 33% said they had fully replaced previous methods. Separate Google Cloud and Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) research of 56 major EMEA retailers, based on 41m data points, suggest that nine provided highly personalised search results based on customer profiles. The whitepaper presents this as evidence that personalisation execution lags behind retailer intent.
Examples cited include Woolworths’ Olive assistant, which can suggest products, apply loyalty discounts and add items to an online basket while customers retain final approval; and Loblaw’s PC Express integration with ChatGPT, which lets shoppers create meal plans and populate carts before checking out through Loblaw’s app.
The whitepaper acknowledges that agentic commerce remains at an early stage, and that considerable uncertainty remains over how shopping will change. Nevertheless it argues that retailers should act now, positioning loyalty programs as sources of consented first-party and zero-party data and as infrastructure for real-time personalisation.
Because its authors sell the loyalty, AI personalization, consulting and cloud infrastructure the whitepaper recommends, its premise should be treated as a commercial argument rather than independent evidence of a market-wide shift.
