Claude has started displaying product cards across multiple product categories including electronics, fashion, beauty, and pet products (Retailgentic). This upgrade moves Claude from a research-only capability to a product-discovery capability on the agentic commerce spectrum. The move aligns with Anthropic's stated interest in "agentic commerce, where Claude acts on a user's behalf to handle a purchase," following meetings with merchants reported earlier this year (Retailgentic).
Adobe's latest retail report reveals that answer-engine-driven retail sales accelerated to 138% year-over-year growth, with AI-driven travel spiking 194% and financial services rising 105% (Retailgentic). Visits initiated by answer engines are worth 53% more than traditional traffic, and Adobe data suggests agentic commerce traffic could reduce product returns by 69% (Retailgentic). For commerce practitioners, this signals a fundamental shift in how consumers discover and purchase products, with answer engines becoming a primary traffic channel alongside traditional search.
The momentum is accelerating: AI-driven retail sales have grown 1,324% since October 2024, and adoption curves show a 19-percentage-point gap between Gen Z (53% adoption) and Baby Boomers (34%) (Retailgentic). Meanwhile, Perplexity has downgraded its commerce capabilities, removing buy functionality and product cards, positioning Claude and other answer engines as the emerging leaders in agentic retail.