The pilot highlights what matters most now: agentic readiness – the ability to design systems, data, and processes in a way that enables companies to deploy their own AI agents while seamlessly integrating with future external agent ecosystems.

A New Paradigm Shift in Commerce

Agentic commerce represents the next evolution of digital commerce: AI agents no longer just assist with product discovery but independently make decisions and complete transactions on behalf of consumers. As a result, digital commerce is increasingly shifting beyond the traditional online store into a variety of digital environments – from platforms and messaging channels to intelligent assistants.

Reality Check in Practice

The pilot turned this vision into reality: an AI agent selected a product and completed the purchase on behalf of the customer, including payment within the agent environment. The transaction was based on existing payment infrastructure, demonstrating that agent-driven purchasing is already technically feasible – provided that underlying systems are properly integrated and orchestrated.

“Agentic commerce is no longer a vision for the future—it is happening now,” said Carsten Bruning, Vice President Digital Commerce at Arvato Systems. “The key question is whether companies are able to evolve their system landscapes, data, and processes to keep pace with this new model.”

"Agentic commerce is the next evolution of digital commerce, with AI not just finding products but completing purchases," said Phil Fayer, Chair and CEO of Nuvei. "This proof of concept starts inside a merchant’s own experience and points to where payments are heading: a layer that lets any agent, on any protocol, pay across any network."

“For Kings and Priests, this was a firsthand demonstration of how agentic commerce could open entirely new channels for digital retail,” said Ralph Hürlemann, Founder of Kings and Priests. “The ability for AI agents to complete a purchase on a consumer’s behalf — without that consumer ever visiting our site — has the potential to fundamentally reshape how customers discover and buy products online.”

First Practical Insights at K5 Future Retail Conference 2026

Arvato Systems showcased the concrete challenges and opportunities for brands and retailers at this year’s K5 Future Retail Conference. In the masterclass “Agentic Commerce: Between Vision and Reality,” exclusive key insights from a joint study with ECC KÖLN were presented for the first time – complemented by practical learnings from the pilot project. The goal was to realistically assess companies’ maturity levels and highlight concrete starting points for building agentic readiness.

Ecosystems as the Foundation for Scalable Agentic Commerce

The pilot highlights that agentic commerce requires seamless collaboration between merchants, technology providers, and payment ecosystems. Arvato Systems assumes the role of integrator and enabler: as a central orchestration layer, we connect channels, data, and systems – creating the foundation for scalable, intelligent agentic commerce.