Checkout.com: AI Shopping Demand Outpaces Consumer Trust
Key insights
- 33% of consumers expect AI to drive 10%+ of purchases within a year, but AI agents currently handle only 3% of transactions.
- 25% of consumers would never delegate purchases to AI, and 27% distrust any organization operating an AI shopping agent.
- Consumers cap unsupervised AI spend at £177 per purchase on average, slightly below the £200 merchants expect.
Why this matters
AI agents completing purchases autonomously represent a shift in where retail conversion actually happens, and this data shows the trust infrastructure needed to make that shift viable is still being built. The £177 versus £200 authorization gap and the 57% brand-switching willingness signal that when AI mediates purchasing, merchants risk losing checkout control and long-term brand relationships simultaneously. With 72% of merchants already sensing they are behind on AI readiness and only 3% of transactions currently involving AI agents, the next 12 months are where competitive positioning in agentic commerce will be defined.
Summary
Checkout.com's new report finds 33% of consumers expect AI to drive 10%+ of purchases within a year, yet AI agents handle only 3% of transactions today.
72% of merchants believe consumers will adopt AI shopping faster than businesses can prepare, while 25% of consumers say they would never delegate purchases to AI and 27% distrust any organization operating an AI shopping agent on their behalf.
Essentially: (Checkout.com) maps a consumer AI shopping appetite that is outrunning both merchant readiness and trust.
- Consumers cap unsupervised AI spend at £177 per purchase on average; merchants expect £200.
- 57% would allow AI to switch brands for better value, threatening brand loyalty across retail categories.
Groceries lead willingness to delegate (41%); financial services sits lowest (15%), contrary to merchant expectations.
Potential risks and opportunities
Risks
- Merchants deploying AI shopping agents without spending caps and real-time permission revocation risk significant backlash, given 25% of consumers would never delegate purchases and 27% distrust any organization running an AI agent.
- The 57% of consumers willing to let AI switch brands for better value means early AI shopping deployments could accelerate defection to lower-cost competitors rather than building retention.
- Financial services firms face the steepest adoption barrier at 15% consumer willingness to delegate, potentially making AI agent investment in that vertical generate poor near-term returns against merchant expectations.
Opportunities
- Grocery and household supply retailers can move fastest on agentic commerce, with 41% and 31% of consumers willing to delegate those categories respectively, giving first movers a measurable lead.
- Payment infrastructure providers building merchant-side tools for spending caps, real-time permission revocation, and easy cancellation could unlock the 89% of merchants already preparing for agentic commerce.
- Brands with strong value propositions stand to gain as 57% of consumers allow AI to switch for better value, making transparent pricing a stronger retention signal than legacy brand equity in AI-mediated retail.
What we don't know yet
- Which of the six surveyed markets (UK, US, Brazil, China, France, UAE) show the widest divergence in consumer willingness to delegate AI purchases, given regulatory and cultural differences across them.
- How merchants plan to technically implement real-time permission revocation and spending caps, and whether existing payment rails can support those controls without new infrastructure investment.
- Whether the 3% of current AI-agent transactions reflects genuinely autonomous AI decisions or automated rules-based replenishment systems being counted as AI.
Originally reported by Retail Insider
Read the original article →Original headline: Checkout.com: 33% of Consumers Expect AI to Drive 10%+ of Their Purchases Within a Year, But 27% Would Never Trust an AI Shopping Agent