Retailgentic

Can your AI assistant really shop for you? What happens when the “Buy Now” button isn’t clicked by a person? In this episode, Nekuda CEO Ayal Karmi explains how his company is rethinking payments for a world where autonomous agents act on our behalf.We talk about:• The lightbulb moment from a failed pizza-ordering agent• Why authorization (not just authentication) is the future• Real-world agent examples: fashion stylists, car modders• Competing (and not competing) with Stripe & PayPal• Raising a seed round led by Madrona, with Visa & Amex on board🔗 Visit Nekuda: https://nekuda.ai🧠 Read their Substack: https://nekuda.substack.com⏱️ Key Timestamps:00:35 – Ayal’s background in payments, AI, and crypto02:30 – The failed pizza-ordering agent that sparked Nekuda05:00 – The shift from AI-enhanced search to full agentic checkout08:10 – Early product pivots and the importance of intent in transactions12:00 – Who actually uses Nekuda’s tech: agent builders18:30 – Real-world agentic use cases: stylists, mechanics, and more21:00 – How their Substack brought in Visa & Amex as investors26:00 – Competing with incumbents like Stripe & PayPal34:45 – Will websites even exist in 2030?📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.

In this episode of Retailgenic, Scot Wingo welcomes Ananda Chakravarty, VP of Research at IDC’s Retail Insights Group. Ananda shares his decades of retail and technology experience spanning Monster, Staples, Oracle, Diebold Nixdorf, and Forrester to help break down:The real definition of Agentic AIHow retailers must prepare their data and sites for AI agentsWhy product discovery is ripe for AI-driven transformationThe massive implications for pricing, loyalty, personalization, and retail mediaHow agent-to-agent commerce may soon reshape buying behavior entirelyThis is a must-listen for anyone thinking about the future of retail, commerce, and AI.📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.Highlights:00:02:15 Ananda explains his IDC report on agentic AI & product discovery00:05:00 His career journey: engineering to business to retail tech00:10:45 Early e-commerce work at Monster, Staples, Talbots00:26:00 Deep dive into agentic AI orchestration & multi-agent workflows00:36:00 What retailers should do today to prep for AI agents00:41:00 How pricing, loyalty, and personalization will change00:44:00 Agents negotiating with agents (agent-to-agent commerce)00:48:00 The rapid acceleration of agentic traffic vs human traffic00:49:00 Where to follow Ananda's work

Roy Rubin, co-founder of Magento and now a venture capitalist at R-Squared Ventures, shares intriguing insights on the future of e-commerce. He believes the next billion-dollar brand may not need a website at all. The conversation highlights the concept of agentic shopping, the evolution of Magento, and the challenges faced during its acquisition by eBay. Rubin also discusses the transformative role of AI agents in commerce, as well as the potential disruption of current platforms like Shopify and Amazon.

In this episode of Retailgenic, host Scot Wingo sits down with Matt Nichols, General Partner at Commerce Ventures, to unpack the future of agentic commerce, the evolving role of AI shopping agents, and the new infrastructure needed to support them.Matt shares:- Why enriched product catalogs will power LLM-driven shopping- How AI-native checkout layers could disrupt traditional eCommerce- What retailers and marketplaces must decide about exposing data to AI platforms- Insights into Commerce Ventures’ investment thesis and portfolio companies like Kevel, Portless, and OptiversalFrom personalized retail media to tokenized payments and stablecoins, this wide-ranging conversation explores the critical infrastructure needed for a future where AI, not humans, drive most online shopping.🔔 Subscribe for more insights at the intersection of retail, eCommerce, and AI⏱ Notable Timestamps:00:01:56 – Guest intro: Matt Nichols, General Partner at Commerce Ventures00:04:50 – From VC to operator: Lessons from running a jewelry eCommerce brand00:06:00 – How SEO and dynamic product creation powered growth00:10:38 – How Commerce Ventures partners with strategic LPs00:14:00 – Unique investment model: small first check, large follow-on00:19:15 – Thematic investment areas: low-inventory retail, agentic payments, and AI-powered email00:25:56 – Agentic product catalogs: new expectations for PDP data00:28:00 – Why we need a Shopify for AI-driven commerce00:30:00 – Mastercard’s agentic wallet concept explained00:34:00 – How retailers can create compelling AI on-site experiences00:39:00 – Pricing wars: Will agentic shopping force new price structures?00:44:00 – Why eCommerce growth has plateaued (and what might reignite it)00:49:00 – Ads in AI overviews: The next monetization challenge for Google📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.

Sucharita Kodali, Vice President at Forrester Research and retail expert, joins the discussion to unpack the rise of agentic AI in shopping. She dives into the surge of retail media networks post-COVID and how generative AI is reshaping brand strategies. TikTok’s growing role in product discovery poses a challenge to traditional platforms like Google. The conversation also touches on the hype versus reality of agentic shopping, as well as the potential threats AI poses to industries like ticketing, making it a must-listen for retail enthusiasts.

In this episode of Retailgentic, Scot Wingo is joined by Michelle Grant, Director of Strategy & Insights for Retail and Consumer Goods at Salesforce. Michelle brings powerful insights from Salesforce’s massive retail data sets, surveys, and first-hand industry experience.They dive deep into:🧠 How Gen Z is driving the adoption of AI shopping agents📊 Data from Salesforce’s Connected Shoppers Report🤖 Where AI agents are showing up in real-world retail—from customer service to marketing and inventory📈 What brands and retailers must do to stay relevant in the agentic future💬 Why websites aren’t going away—but will need to evolve fastIf you want to understand the real-world impact of generative and agentic AI in commerce, this episode is a must-watch.0:00 - Intro and Michelle’s background  2:00 - What Michelle does at Salesforce  5:45 - Salesforce’s data sources: Commerce Cloud + surveys  8:00 - GenAI traffic trends (Q1 2025 data)  10:30 - AI agent traffic from ChatGPT & Gemini  12:00 - Social vs. search vs. agentic behavior  14:10 - Connected Shoppers Report overview  15:00 - Gen Z adoption of AI agents  18:20 - What consumers want AI agents to do (customer service, returns, loyalty)  22:00 - Retailer adoption of agentic tools  26:00 - The future of retail websites  30:00 - Hyper-personalization and AI memory  35:00 - Final thoughts on retail strategy in the AI era📰 Make sure to subscribe to the Retailgentic Substack: https://www.retailgentic.com📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Retailgentic Podcast, your guide to the fast-emerging world where AI agents meet retail and e-commerce.In this foundational episode, host Scot Wingo lays out:Why AI shopping agents may be even more disruptive than marketplacesWhat “agentic commerce” actually means (and what doesn’t count)Who the major players are today — and who’s coming nextThe three phases of the shopping journey: Research → Find → BuyWhat brands and retailers need to consider: Embrace or block?The emerging payment protocols and agentic frameworksKey predictions about Apple, Meta, Stripe, and the Chinese playersWhy loyalty, personalization, and strategy are all about to be rewrittenWhether you’re a retailer, brand exec, investor, or just AI-curious, this episode sets the stage for everything to come.📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai📺 Watch episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@retailgentic🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple, etc.

Welcome to Retailgentic, the podcast where we explore the fast-evolving intersection of retail, ecommerce, and Agentic AI, what we call Retailgentic.Hosted by Scot Wingo, this show is your partner in navigating a future where AI agents shop on behalf of humans, reshaping everything from payments and checkout to customer loyalty and digital advertising.In this trailer, we introduce the mission, stakes, and big questions ahead. If you’re a brand, retailer, or vendor looking to stay ahead of the curve, you’re in the right place.🎧 Subscribe now and get ready to rethink retail as we know it.