Virtually half of the UK’s high retailers are already investing in “agentic AI” to revolutionise their cost programs, but solely a small fraction possess the infrastructure or contractual frameworks to help it safely, in keeping with new analysis.
The Retail Agility Report from regulation agency TLT, which surveyed the highest 100 UK retailers, reveals a sector within the midst of a speedy technological shift. Whereas 49 per cent of shops are pouring capital into agentic AI—autonomous programs able to executing duties like replenishment and cost choice—simply 15 per cent consider their cost contracts are prepared for AI-mediated transactions.
The rise of autonomous funds
The report highlights that retailers are transferring past easy automation towards extra advanced, autonomous use instances. Roughly 29 per cent of these surveyed are investing in a mix of agentic AI and loyalty-linked funds, whereas 20 per cent are focusing completely on agentic AI.
Early functions of this know-how embody autonomous inventory replenishment, dynamic pricing, and AI-driven choice of cost strategies to optimise prices or buyer desire. Nonetheless, this innovation is outpacing governance. Practically half of the retailers surveyed admitted they’re unclear about the place legal responsibility lies when an AI agent makes a cost or buying choice—a essential blind spot for fraud groups and monetary establishments.
BNPL and digital wallets dominate
Past AI, the analysis factors to a broader diversification in cost strategies as retailers attempt to scale back friction at checkout.
- Digital wallets stay the highest precedence, with 50 per cent of shops investing within the know-how.
- Purchase Now Pay Later (BNPL) continues to surge, prioritised by 45 per cent of respondents, notably within the trend and sweetness sectors the place flexibility drives conversion.
- Open Banking adoption stays fragmented; whereas 25 per cent are piloting options and 32 per cent plan to undertake them, solely 15 per cent have absolutely built-in Open Banking into their stacks.
In distinction, enthusiasm for crypto and blockchain funds stays low, with solely 10 per cent of shops prioritising these strategies.
The ‘innovation hole’
The pace of adoption has created what the report describes as an “innovation hole,” the place technical functionality exceeds regulatory certainty. A big 70 per cent of shops cited evolving regulation as a significant problem.
Particular considerations embody incoming BNPL guidelines, steerage on AI-driven transactions, and obligations beneath the Knowledge Use and Entry Act (DUAA), which is about to underpin the UK’s Open Finance framework.
Alex Williamson, associate, funds at TLT, warned that success will rely upon closing the hole between innovation and governance.
“Digital wallets, BNPL, embedded finance and AI are reshaping client expectations however solely 15% of shops really feel they’ve contracts match for these applied sciences, and legal responsibility round AI-enabled transactions stays unclear for many,” Williamson mentioned. “Success will rely upon deep collaboration between retailers, PSPs, banks and FinTechs.”.
As commerce turns into extra autonomous, fraud detection can also be changing into a battleground. The report notes that 29 per cent of shops plan to deploy AI-based fraud detection to tell apart between respectable agent-driven transactions and malicious bots. This can require programs able to real-time behavioural evaluation that may parse each human and machine buying patterns.
