AI Agents & Unified Data: Ecommerce's 2026 Powerhouse

By 2026, agentic AI and unified commerce are poised to transform scalable ecommerce operations. Consumer comfort with AI tools is growing, with 32.7% of EU individuals aged 16-74 using generative AI in 2025. Simultaneously, enterprise applications are shifting towards AI that executes tasks, with Gartner forecasting up to 40% of these apps to feature task-specific AI agents by 2026.

Unified commerce is essential as AI's effectiveness hinges on accessible, integrated data. When inventory, orders, pricing, and customer context reside in disparate systems, both human and AI-driven customer experiences suffer. Unified data platforms provide a single operational framework, enabling retailers to ensure consistent inventory visibility, synchronized fulfillment, and reliable pricing across all touchpoints.

Online shopping is mainstream, with 77% of EU internet users purchasing online in 2024. However, physical retail remains vital for discovery and fulfillment. Retailers often struggle with disconnected systems, hindering AI's ability to act intelligently. Unified operational data offers a practical bridge, providing real-time, consistent information for stock, orders, pricing, and customer context.

The shift toward agentic AI involves AI safely taking actions within business systems, such as resolving customer service issues or updating product feeds. This capability relies heavily on unified commerce to reduce the risk of automation operating on incomplete data. A phased roadmap focusing on data unification, controlled automation, and scalable governance will be key for sustainable AI integration and fewer reputational risks in 2026.