AI Shopping Agents Threaten Amazon and Walmart Dominance

Good morning. The retail landscape is on the brink of significant transformation as AI shopping agents become more sophisticated and widely adopted. These agents may soon rival human customers in online purchasing frequency—a topic explored in depth by Fortune's Jason Del Rey in his latest article.

The Rise of AI Shopping Assistants

Del Rey spoke with Scot Wingo, an e-commerce disruption expert and founder of ReFiBuy, who predicts that AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity will dramatically alter the retail ecosystem.

• Wingo believes these large language models (LLMs) are gaining consumer attention and broad distribution, forcing them to monetize through shopping features.
• Perplexity’s recent shopping feature launch signals a new wave in e-commerce, according to Wingo.

Challenges for Amazon and Walmart

• Amazon’s Rufus AI: While Amazon has introduced its own AI shopping assistant, Wingo argues it may struggle to compete with ChatGPT due to its reliance on ad revenue from traditional search.
• Walmart’s Open Approach: Unlike Amazon, Walmart is embracing AI shopping agents, a strategy Wingo calls "smart" given its position as an Amazon challenger.

E-Commerce Growth and Sustainability

• Walmart’s e-commerce business turned profitable for the first time in Q1 2025, with over 20% growth across all segments.
• John David Rainey, Walmart’s CFO, attributes this success to a flexible omnichannel strategy and increased marketplace seller interest.

The Future of Retail

As AI shopping agents gain traction, retailers must adapt quickly—or risk losing their most loyal customers to algorithms.

Additional Insights

• CFO Appointments:

  • Dave Bragg named CFO of UDR, Inc. (source).
  • Tarek Robbiati appointed CFO of Pure Storage (source).