Shopify is gearing up for a major transformation, as stated by its president, Harley Finklestein, at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles. The e-commerce veteran highlighted the company’s commitment to agentic shopping.
As the second-largest e-commerce provider in the U.S. after Amazon, Shopify sees potential in agentic to expand online retail, which currently constitutes only about 18% of U.S. retail purchases. Agentic can serve as a new entry point for e-commerce sellers.
Finklestein explained that Shopify will start using agentic applications as personal shoppers, with a gradual rollout. These shoppers are expected to enhance future shopping, allowing consumers to discover, buy, and compare products more efficiently.
Agents will bring context to shopping, a current shortfall of traditional search engines. Using the example of searching for athletic shoes, Finklestein’s preference for On shoes could be better represented by agents than a general search engine directing him to popular retailers like Footlocker.
While current search engines already tailor results based on search history, agentic shopping aims to better consider personal preferences in the future.
Finklestein noted the influence of social media and television on shopping but emphasized that a chat application, acting as a personal shopper, provides authentic recommendations without commission bias, likely showing products aligned with user preferences.
Shopify is developing an AI assistant for merchants called Sidekick, alongside an agent for support and a protocol for better merchant data understanding. Finklestein believes agentic shopping will be integral to the retail ecosystem.
He expressed excitement for this new era of commerce, anticipating opportunities not only for large merchants but also the broader spectrum of merchants.