Will agentic commerce push more merchants into marketplaces?
Will agentic commerce strengthen marketplaces, reshaping where consumers shop and merchants sell?
Agentic commerce, driven by AI-powered recommender systems, is steering more merchants toward large marketplaces, rather than opening up discovery to smaller sellers, according to recent research. ChatGPT alone handles around 50 million shopping queries daily, with AI-referred traffic to US retail sites increasing by nearly 400% in the first quarter of 2026.
Similarweb data shows marketplaces receive the most AI-referred traffic, approximately 47 million visits in the year to May 2026, and continue to grow faster than their size would suggest. The relationship between consumer preference and AI-driven recommendations is creating a feedback loop, reinforcing consumers' trust in marketplaces and shaping their subsequent recommendations.
This pattern suggests a concentration of agent-led commerce on large platforms, with important implications for merchants and their payment providers.
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