GLOBAL BRANDS LOOKING FOR UNIFIED FULFILMENT
Edition 004 | November 2025
You're reading IF/Then by IFGlobal, the monthly newsletter for brands who don't compromise. For every what if, there's a then. If you're building your brand, then we're building with you. If you want scale, then you need strategy. If you're ready to grow, then this is where it starts.
Empowering customers one decision at a time
The next frontier of ecommerce isn’t just personalisation, it’s delegation.
Autonomous AI agents are now performing shopping tasks for consumers; from researching products, comparing prices and even making purchases on their behalf. These digital shoppers don’t sleep, don’t get distracted, and act with the precise preferences of their human owners. This shift is redefining how people buy, and how brands must sell.
According to Omnisend, 55% of UK consumers use AI chatbots to help them when shopping online. With 31% of consumers now preferring to search for products with AI versus 21% who prefer legacy search engines, this stat also highlights a significant shift toward broad, unbiased results (adMarketplace).
- AI-driven discovery is exploding. Traffic to retail sites from AI tools has surged 1,200% year-on-year, marking one of the fastest shifts in digital consumer behaviour since the rise of social commerce.
- Organic search is in decline. Traditional SEO-driven traffic is down 25%, as consumers increasingly turn to AI chat interfaces and shopping assistants instead of Google’s search results.
- Shoppers are trusting AI recommendations. Around 80% of online shoppers now use AI-generated answers in at least 40% of their purchase-related searches, signalling a major change in how buying decisions are influenced.
- Checkout is moving inside AI platforms. OpenAI is piloting an integrated checkout within ChatGPT, blurring the line between discovery and conversion, and creating a new channel retailers can’t afford to ignore.
These aren’t predictions for the future. They’re emerging consumer habits shaping the next wave of ecommerce. Brands that fail to adapt to agentic commerce risk becoming invisible to the very shoppers they aim to reach... both human and machine.
The ChatGPT checkout moment: Commerce enters the chat
A landmark change just arrived in the US. ChatGPT now enables direct purchases within chat.
ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy from US Etsy sellers without ever leaving the conversation, and integrations with over a million Shopify merchants, including Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori, are on the way.
A shopper might ask ChatGPT, “Find me a minimalist gold necklace under $100,” and instead of linking out, ChatGPT can recommend, display, and complete the checkout all within the conversation window.
This new model is powered by OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, co-developed with Stripe and major retailers. It’s an open framework that allows AI agents, consumers, and merchants to transact securely, paving the way for a world where any brand can plug into AI-driven shopping flows.
For consumers, this means smooth, conversational commerce. For brands, it unlocks access to hundreds of millions of potential buyers who increasingly start (and now finish) their shopping journeys inside AI environments.
The entire commerce stack is being redefined around conversational buying and autonomous checkout. And the brands that act early can position themselves at the forefront of this, building discoverability, trust and transactional readiness where attention now lives.
From manual clicks to autonomous decisions
Autonomous agents change the shopping journey from reactive browsing to proactive engagement. Instead of humans scrolling through endless options, AI evaluates features, prices, availability and reviews, narrowing choices before a customer even sees them.
Imagine an AI agent curating skincare products based on a shopper’s past purchases, ingredient preferences, and subscription timing. Now extend that thinking across industries.
- Beauty and wellness. AI recommends products that match skin type, scent preferences, and seasonal needs, automatically building replenishment orders.
- Fashion and apparel. Algorithms style complete outfits from a customer’s browsing history and size profile, surfacing complementary items before checkout.
- Home and lifestyle. Smart assistants suggest décor, cleaning, or kitchen items that align with a user’s past purchases and home aesthetic.
- Food and beverage. Meal-planning AIs reorder ingredients or beverages that fit dietary goals, consumption patterns, and price sensitivity.
- Electronics and tech. AI curates upgrades or compatible accessories the moment a consumer’s current device nears its lifecycle end.
For brands, this new ecosystem means your product must be AI-ready. That means easily identifiable, contextually relevant, and optimised for both human appeal and algorithmic recognition. Discoverability isn’t just about SEO - it’s about training the machines that will shop on behalf of your customers.
"Discoverability isn't just about SEO anymore. Brands need to train the machines that will shop on behalf of their customers, and adapt to be part of that decision-making loop or risk being bypassed entirely. Agentic commerce is shifting the focus, and we're seeing consumers delegating decisions to AI more and more." - Ryan Grimshaw, Head of Marketing and Communications at IFGlobal.
Why this matters for brands
AI agents don’t buy emotionally; they buy efficiently. That’s why brand strategy now has to work on two levels; delighting human customers while also signalling value to autonomous agents. Done well, agentic commerce turns automated decisions into long-term brand loyalty.
- AI agents remember preferences and patterns, meaning repeat purchases depend on product discoverability and trust signals.
- Fulfilment, data accuracy, and product readiness are now as crucial as marketing.
- Early adoption positions brands to thrive in an AI-mediated shopping landscape.
How we help clients stay ahead
For agentic commerce to work at scale, brands must make sure their fulfilment operation is machine-friendly.
- Subscription and repeat-order automation. AI agents love predictability. We help make recurring deliveries effortless for subscription brands and customers by making sure products are always ready to be re-purchased by both humans and machines.
- Real-time order management. BladePRO guarantees complex, agent-driven orders are executed flawlessly across fulfilment centres. Whether an order originates from ChatGPT, Shopify, or another AI interface, we handle the precision and logistics behind the scenes to make sure every order is fulfilled the same. On time, and brand-first.
- Bespoke packaging and brand-first delivery. Agentic commerce might be automated, but branding and the human experience still matters. From custom inserts and personalised packaging to kitting and influencer boxes, we help brands maintain that emotional connection at every doorstep.
- Returns and reverse logistics. Even AI can make imperfect recommendations. We make corrections instant, data-rich, and easy for your customers, turning each return into insight that improves your discoverability and agent-level trust.
- Amazon growth. Through our in-house Amazon growth agency, Amplifi, we help brands scale on the world’s largest and most complex marketplace. Combining deep marketplace expertise with IFGlobal’s fulfilment infrastructure, we deliver end-to-end solutions to help brands take full control of their Amazon channel, from strategy and content, to ads, operations and compliance.
The future of shopping is still human at heart
Agentic commerce doesn’t eliminate the human experience of shopping. It elevates it. By removing friction and noise, it gives customers more time to enjoy the outcomes of their choices. For ecommerce brands, the mission is clear; be discoverable to AI, delightful to humans, and ready for both.
Book a discovery call to find out how we can help you with scalable fulfilment operations, whether the order comes from a loyal customer or autonomous AI agents.
IF you're on the road, Then here's where you'll find us in November
There's still time to register for the South Coast eCommerce Meet-Up, a networking event for ecommerce professionals from the UK’s South Coast. Join us and hosts Real Agency at The Bournemouth Stable on Thursday 13th November to meet like-minded ecommerce professionals, exchange ideas, and discover how IFGlobal can support your brand’s growth.
You'll also find us at...
📍 Dreamland - Sponsored by Shopify - 5 Nov | 83 Rivington Street, London
📍 Organic Trade Association Conference - 6 Nov | The Barbican Centre, London
📍 Retail Supply Chain & Logistics Expo - 12 Nov | Excel London
📍 CoCreate 2025 by Alibaba.com - 14 Nov | InterContinental London
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