QVC and Kohl’s Split Over the Future of Agentic Shopping

Retailers are taking different approaches to AI shopping agents, with some welcoming automated purchases while others restrict or block the technology entirely. According to The Wall Street Journal, companies including QVC, Kohl’s, Amazon, and Walmart are adopting contrasting strategies as agentic commerce begins to reshape online shopping.

The debate has intensified after Meta introduced Muse, an AI agent that can browse products and complete purchases on consumers’ behalf. Some retailers see an opportunity to reach new customers, while others worry about fraud, losing control over transactions, and weakening their direct relationships with shoppers.

Some Retailers Welcome AI Agents, Others Block Them

QVC and HSN are among the retailers embracing agentic shopping. Both let AI agents complete purchases and share their product catalogs with AI platforms, including OpenAI and Google, to increase visibility.

Other companies are taking a more cautious approach. Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, lets agents browse its e-commerce websites but does not currently allow them to complete purchases directly. The company has raised concerns about fraud and automated systems reserving inventory without completing transactions.

Kohl’s also restricts agent-initiated purchases, while Amazon has taken a particularly firm position against unauthorized third-party shopping agents.

Amazon recently blocked Meta’s Muse from shopping on its marketplace, citing concerns about unauthorized access and the identification of automated agents. At the same time, Amazon continues developing its own AI shopping capabilities, allowing it to maintain control over the customer experience.

Meanwhile, retailers including Walmart, Gap, and Best Buy have announced partnerships with Meta’s Muse. These collaborations suggest that some major retailers are willing to experiment with external AI platforms rather than rely exclusively on their own websites for customer interactions.

Who Controls the Customer Relationship?

The disagreement goes beyond technical questions about letting AI agents access online stores.

Traditionally, retailers have invested heavily in attracting shoppers to their websites, where they can influence purchasing decisions through product recommendations, advertising, personalized offers, and loyalty programs.

AI shopping agents could change this relationship. Instead of visiting several stores, consumers may increasingly rely on an assistant to compare products, evaluate prices, and complete purchases.

For retailers, this creates an opportunity to generate sales through new channels. However, it could also reduce direct customer interactions and limit access to valuable information about shopping behavior.

The implications vary by the retailer’s business model. Companies focused primarily on product sales may benefit from more transactions, while marketplaces that generate substantial advertising revenue could lose more when shoppers bypass traditional product discovery pages.

Consumer trust remains another obstacle. Many shoppers are comfortable using AI to research products but hesitate to authorize autonomous purchases, especially when payments and personal information are involved.

Product Information Becomes More Important in Agentic Shopping

Whether retailers welcome or restrict autonomous purchasing, AI already influences how consumers discover and compare products.

An AI assistant does not necessarily evaluate products the same way a human browsing an e-commerce website does. It relies on accessible information to understand specifications, compare alternatives, and match products to a consumer’s requirements.

This makes structured product information particularly relevant for brands, retailers, and platforms such as Icecat.

Accurate product identifiers, technical specifications, compatibility information, descriptions, and product relationships can help AI systems understand products and make more reliable comparisons.

Even retailers that don’t allow AI agents to complete purchases may still benefit from making their product information accessible to AI-powered discovery tools. Product research and checkout don’t have to happen through the same channel.

As more AI platforms enter shopping, consistent product information across digital environments could become a key competitive advantage.

Agentic Commerce Still Faces Important Questions

Major retailers’ contrasting strategies show that agentic commerce is still developing, with no established approach to balancing automation, security, and commercial interests.

Some businesses prioritize early access to AI-driven customers, while others prefer tighter control over their digital storefronts and transactions.

The eventual direction will depend on consumer adoption, payment security, technological reliability, and the commercial arrangements between retailers and AI providers.

For e-commerce businesses, however, one requirement is becoming increasingly relevant regardless of their chosen strategy: products need to be understandable and discoverable across a growing range of AI-powered channels.

Retailers may disagree about whether AI agents should be allowed to complete purchases, but preparing reliable product information for AI-driven discovery is already becoming part of e-commerce operations.