Swayed by Influencers, Decisions Made by AI... The Autonomous Shopping Era [Weekend Money]

Streamlined Purchasing Through AI Search and Filtering
From Influencers' 'Discovery' to AI 'Comparison'
Accelerated Differentiation of Roles in the Commerce Ecosystem

With the full-scale introduction of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in online shopping, some analysts say the e-commerce market has now entered the "autonomous" stage.

The era in which consumers searched for keywords and compared prices themselves is coming to an end, giving rise to a new age of "agentic commerce," where AI understands consumer requirements and filters only the most suitable products for them.

'Search' Declines, 'Filtering' Takes Center Stage... Purchase Conversion Rates Near 11%

Recently, Orin A, an analyst at LS Securities, commented, "If the role of search engines in the past was to show as much information as possible, the value of generative AI now lies in removing options that consumers no longer need to check themselves," adding, "AI platforms suggest shopping options based on user context, resulting in higher purchase conversion rates than traditional e-commerce platforms."

In the past, consumers needed to navigate multiple sites to find products, comparing prices and reviews themselves. However, with the advent of AI agents, the customer journey is rapidly being streamlined from 'search→explore→compare→purchase' to 'AI search→portal verification→purchase'. In fact, according to data from Shopify, e-commerce purchase conversion rates by category were under 10%, but purchases aided by AI recommendations saw a conversion rate as high as 11.4%.

As agentic commerce spreads, the roles of marketing channels are also expected to become more clearly delineated. Influencers serve as human agents, discovering new products and creating purchasing desire. When AI narrows down options to fit user criteria, consumers ultimately verify the AI-recommended products through reviews and communities.

Walmart Re-evaluated for Offline Infrastructure... Beneficiaries Include APR and Dalba Global

Amid these changes, retailers merging existing offline infrastructure and AI, as well as consumer goods companies with strong digital marketing capabilities, are expected to benefit.

LS Securities highlighted Walmart in the United States as a stock of interest. Walmart has improved logistics efficiency by using its nationwide stores as e-commerce fulfillment hubs. Additionally, with the implementation of its proprietary generative AI assistant "Sparky," Walmart increased the average order value of its AI-using customers by 35% compared to other customers.

APR, a beauty tech company newly included in the analysis (target price KRW 570,000, investment opinion: Buy), was noted for its global creator network and marketing strength. After building brand awareness through social network service (SNS) virality, APR expanded online sales and successfully entered offline retail, demonstrating this strategy in both the United States and Europe.

Dalba Global (target price KRW 260,000, investment opinion: Buy) diversified its product portfolio beyond its single hit product, Mist Serum, launching follow-ups such as sun care and double cream. Based on online-verified demand, it is accelerating expansion into offline distribution networks in both North America and Europe.

However, the penetration speed of agentic commerce may vary by product category. For low-involvement products such as daily necessities, automation using AI could progress rapidly. In contrast, for high-involvement products like fashion and beauty, where consumer taste and experience matter more, AI may not be able to fully replace human decision-making.

Researcher Oh emphasized, "Even if AI does the shopping, consumers' fundamental desire to try something new will not disappear. The competitiveness of a brand in the future will be determined by who can first capture consumer interest and accumulate more reliable digital signals that AI can trust."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.