Reimagining Retail With Agentic AI
In 2025, organizations are facing an unprecedented transformative shift in automation capabilities. Agentic AI, artificial intelligence that acts with autonomy, purpose and contextual awareness, is redefining what’s possible in business process automation.
According to recent research, by 2028, AI agents could generate around $450 billion in total economic value. This value includes both increased revenue and cost savings driven by implementation of semi-to fully autonomous AI agents.
Across every industry, including retail, organizations are starting to reframe how the collaboration of AI agents and individuals can take on more complex responsibilities. This is resulting in a shift that's forcing a reassessment of investment priorities in operations, customer experience, and workforce readiness.
AI Agents in Retail
Research shows that 30 percent of retail companies have a strategy and road map in place and are already implementing agentic AI initiatives. From personalized shopping agents to AI-driven inventory and supplier management, retailers are harnessing this technology to boost efficiency and customer engagement. As adoption grows, the focus is shifting toward responsible scaling and seamless human-AI collaboration.
Numerous retail companies have started to implement agentic AI within their business. For example, a U.S. multinational retailer is in the process of introducing AI-powered shopping agents that act as personalized digital assistants for customers, offering product discovery and recommendations, cart management, order tracking, and reordering frequently purchased items, among other offerings.
A French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products is leveraging agentic AI by monitoring in-store sales and triggering smaller batch restocks based on localized demand, enabling agile response to fast-changing fashion trends.
From Tools to Teammates
Agentic AI isn’t just about replacing tasks, it’s about transforming the way humans and machines work together. AI agents must not be seen as only tools, but as part of a team. In the next three years, 30 percent of AI agents in retail organizations will act as autonomous members within human-supervised teams.
In order to make this collaboration work, retailers need to prioritize three things:
- Design interfaces and workflows that support clear human oversight and control. Ensure agentic AI systems are built with transparent, user-friendly interfaces that empower humans to monitor, guide and intervene when needed.
- Train teams not just to use AI, but to manage and collaborate with the technology. Prepare employees with the skills to actively supervise and co-create with AI agents, fostering a culture of partnership.
- Foster trust through transparency, explainability, and ethical safeguards. Establish confidence in agentic AI by making its decisions understandable, its processes transparent, and its operations aligned with ethical standards.
What Retailers Must Do Now
As retailers navigate the next wave of digital transformation, realizing the full potential of agentic AI is essential to move beyond experimentation and towards intentional, scalable implementation. Here’s what they must prioritize:
- Invest in data infrastructure. Strengthening foundational data systems ensures seamless integration, scalability, and reliability across agentic workflows.
- Break down silos to enable end-to-end agentic workflows. Removing organizational and technical barriers allows autonomous agents to operate across departments, fostering collaboration and accelerating decision-making.
- Pilot use cases with measurable return on investment. Start with targeted agentic initiatives that demonstrate clear value, then expand based on proven impact and strategic alignment.
Agentic AI is no longer a distant concept; it’s a strategic imperative. The future of retail isn’t just automated, it’s agentic, collaborative, and ready to deliver real impact.
Vince Crimaldi is executive vice president, retail market unit leader at Capgemini, a global leader in technology services.
Vince Crimaldi is an Executive Vice President, and part of the Capgemini sector leadership for Retail. Vince is responsible for strategy development and industry-specific solutions working with CXO partners for many of Capgemini's strategic clients in Grocery, Pharmacy, Consumer Products, Retail, Distribution, and Restaurants. Vince is focused on building solutions globally and in markets that drive business value for Capgemini’s clients in the sector, with a focus on the Store Experience Platform, Store Management and Operations, Supply Chain, Merchandizing, Enterprise, Product Management, Retail Analytics, and Digital/Cloud solutions in and above the store.
With more than 30 years of experience in designing and delivering transformational technology-based solutions, Vince has managed large programs for Fortune 500 customers across the Grocery, Pharmacy, Retail, Fashion, Restaurant, Distribution, Consumer Products, and Telecom industries including: McDonald’s, Best Buy, Albertsons, Costco, Meijer, TJX, Johnson and Johnson, Walgreen’s, Mitsubishi Corporation, Wyeth, CVS Health, Subway, Starbucks, 7-Eleven, and Meijer. He has accomplished this in a global context, forming teams spanning the U.S, Europe, Asia, Australia, LATAM, and the Middle East.
