Etail's Lena Moriarty on AI, Agentic Commerce, and the Future of E-commerce

The Rise of Agentic AI in E-commerce

• 🤖 The dominant theme at NRF 2026 was Agentic AI, shifting focus from basic task automation to smarter, more complex AI applications.
• 💡 A major hurdle discussed is getting talent and employees to adopt AI proficiency and integrate it into daily workflows.
• 💰 The significant investment in AI technology (in the trillions) versus the projected revenue (in billions) highlights a gap that needs narrowing.

Preparing for Agentic Commerce

• 🚀 Brands need to prepare for a future where AI agents shop on behalf of consumers, moving beyond simple personalization.
• 🛠️ This requires dedicated roles focused on optimizing AI agents and their personalization capabilities, as it's a complex, full-time job.
• 🤝 Conferences like eTail Palm Springs are crucial for exploring new technologies and understanding their real-world applications and ROI.

Tangible AI Applications in E-commerce

• 📈 Current adoption often focuses on optimizing SKU pages and ensuring description accuracy, which are task-oriented applications.
• 🎯 Real-world applications are expanding into personalization at scale and AI-generated content production, making processes more automated.
• 🧩 There's a significant knowledge gap in understanding where AI is currently used versus where it should be used in day-to-day operations.

Evolving Measurement and KPIs

• 📊 The traditional marketing funnel is becoming less solid, with consumers bouncing between channels more than ever.
• 💬 Agentic AI assistants further complicate measurement by introducing new layers to the buyer's journey and shopping behavior.
• 📈 Agile marketers will need to adapt to new KPIs that account for cross-channel behavior and AI-driven interactions.

Transparency and Authenticity in Customer Interaction

• ✨ Brands need to prioritize transparency and authenticity to build trust, as consumers are still apprehensive about AI-driven outreach.
• ⚖️ Balancing AI capabilities with human connection is key to staying ahead of the curve and meeting consumer expectations.
• 🗓️ Looking ahead, non-traditional social channels like Substack and Pinterest may become more prominent than traditional platforms like TikTok and Instagram.