EC & AI Commerce News Digest (January 27, 2026)

Today's Top Stories

Visa and Inception Partner on Agentic Commerce in CEMEA Region

Inception partners with Visa to accelerate agentic commerce adoption

Inception will integrate Visa Intelligent Commerce into agentic commerce solutions enabling secure, autonomous commerce and AI‑driven payment capabilities.

G42-backed AI company Inception and payment giant Visa have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of agentic commerce in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region.

Through this partnership, Inception will integrate Visa Intelligent Commerce to provide secure autonomous commerce and AI-powered payment capabilities for merchants, issuers, and marketplaces. The two companies will jointly develop agent-based commerce capabilities and support enterprise adoption of agent-driven shopping through pilot programs and client demonstrations.

Godfrey Sullivan, Head of Products & Solutions at Visa CEMEA, stated that "AI agents are ushering in a new era of digital commerce, and trust is the core requirement for scaling these experiences," emphasizing that the combination of Inception's advanced AI capabilities and Visa Intelligent Commerce will enable businesses to build secure agent-driven purchasing and payment experiences.

Full Article: Visa and G42's Inception Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Agentic Commerce in CEMEA Region

eMarketer Releases AI Commerce 2026 Report

AI Commerce 2026

Growing consumer adoption of AI tools is positioning AI platforms as an alternative shopping channel—but most AI-driven transactions are still completed on retailer websites.

eMarketer has released its "AI Commerce 2026" report, predicting that e-commerce sales through AI platforms will reach $144 billion (8.8% of total retail e-commerce) by 2029. In 2026, this figure is expected to be $20.9 billion (1.5%), representing approximately 4x growth from 2025.

The report notes that responding to the evolution of consumer AI will be the top priority for retailers in 2026. While AI commerce will begin to gradually erode Amazon's marketplace dominance, autonomous agentic commerce remains a niche presence.

The report also predicts that Google and Amazon will gain advantages over ChatGPT in 2026, with more consumers using Google's generative AI features. Amazon's on-site AI tools are expected to generate more spending than ChatGPT's Instant Checkout.

Full Article: eMarketer Predicts AI Commerce Market to Reach $144 Billion by 2029

Retailers' AI Commerce Bet Poses Major Data Ownership Risks

Retail's risky AI commerce bet

As retailers race to meet consumers on external AI platforms, they risk losing data and direct interaction with shoppers. Experts say disruption has only just begun.

Retail Dive reports that dependence on external AI commerce platforms poses risks of data ownership loss and disintermediation for retailers. Wharton School Professor Kartik Hosanagar warns that "this will shake up the retail industry just like the internet did."

According to Adobe research, AI-driven U.S. e-commerce traffic increased 758% year-over-year. However, when customers complete purchases on external AI platforms, retailers lose valuable data such as search history and browsing behavior. "Whoever controls the agent has the power," Professor Hosanagar points out.

Deloitte's 2026 Global Retail Outlook found that 81% of surveyed retail executives believe generative AI will weaken brand loyalty by 2027. Nikki Baird of retail technology company Aptos warns that retailers will lose significant context if they cannot capture all data from discovery to decision to delivery.

Full Article: External AI Commerce Dependence Poses Data Ownership and Disintermediation Risks for Retailers

Agentic Commerce

FIS Launches Agentic AI Capabilities for Banks

FIS Launches Industry-First Offering Enabling Banks to Lead and Scale in Agentic Commerce

FIS®, a global leader in financial technology, today announced the launch of its first agentic commerce offering created by combining the scale and strengths of its global payments business and its newly acquired FIS Total Issuing™ Solutions portfolio.

Financial technology giant FIS announced on January 12 an industry-first solution enabling banks to lead and scale in agentic commerce.

In agentic commerce, AI autonomously handles product sourcing, price negotiation, and purchasing on behalf of customers. FIS's new solution helps bank clients identify and authorize agent-initiated transactions while supporting compliance. It provides capabilities to securely use "Know Your Agent (KYA)" data and card details, while also enabling fraud prevention for consumer protection.

FIS is partnering with Mastercard and Visa to offer initial use cases including transaction authorization, fraud prevention, loyalty, and customer service. The solution is expected to be available to all FIS issuing bank clients by the end of Q1 2026. According to McKinsey projections, agentic commerce could generate up to $1 trillion in retail revenue in the U.S. and $3-5 trillion globally by 2030.

AI Commerce Tools

AI Search to Impact $750 Billion in U.S. Revenue

AI search ad spending will climb with consumer adoption

US advertisers will spend $25.9 billion on AI search ads in 2029—13.6% of all search ad spending, up from just 0.7% in 2025.

According to McKinsey research, $750 billion in U.S. revenue is expected to be generated through AI search by 2028. 50% of consumers are intentionally seeking out AI search engines, with many users citing AI search as their top source for purchasing decisions.

For retailers, preparing product data optimized for AI search has become urgent. Beyond traditional SEO strategies, structured data, detailed product descriptions, and AI-friendly content formats are required. Brands that are unprepared risk seeing traffic from traditional search channels decline by 20-50%.

Nestlé Appoints First Global E-commerce Innovation Leader

Mario Bencivinni bags new role at Nestlé

Nestlé appoints Mario Bencivinni as Global Ecommerce Innovation & AI Lead.

Nestlé has appointed Mario Bencivinni as Global Ecommerce Innovation & AI Lead, a newly created position at the group level.

Bencivinni stated that he is "grateful to be part of a company that believes in the next wave of innovation through generative AI and agentic AI," and will work on developing an agentic roadmap for sales and building, deploying, and establishing generative AI programs across markets. "What started a few months ago as selective pilots has grown into something much larger. We've entered a phase where experimentation alone is not enough—scale, concrete results, and change management are the real challenges," he said.

Global E-commerce Trends

Temu Shifts to Local Sellers Only in Turkey

Temu becomes local-only in Türkiye

Ecommerce giant Temu has suspended cross-border sales of products in Türkiye. Consumers can only see and buy products from local sellers.

Chinese e-commerce platform Temu has suspended cross-border sales in Turkey and now only displays products from local Turkish sellers with domestic delivery. This effectively transforms Temu into a Turkey-only marketplace.

This change was implemented just days after Turkish competition authorities raided Temu's Istanbul office on January 21. Additionally, the Turkish government will abolish the simplified customs system for low-value goods starting February 1, increasing costs for online orders from abroad. The threshold, previously at 150 euros and then lowered to 30 euros, has now been completely eliminated.

Temu established a local subsidiary in Turkey in June 2025 and began allowing Turkish sellers to list products. The company has not issued an official statement on whether this change is a permanent business pivot or a temporary measure.

German E-commerce Market Grows Beyond Expectations

German ecommerce grows beyond expectations

Online product spending in Germany grew by 3.2 percent last year, reaching 83.1 billion euros. This is more than expected.

Germany's e-commerce market recovered to over 80 billion euros in 2024 and is expected to grow to over 92 billion euros by 2026. This confirms recovery from the decline in 2022 and near-stagnation in 2023.

All growth came from marketplaces, which grew 8.8%, while other online channels declined an average of 5.4%. More than half of Germany's e-commerce sales occur through marketplace platforms, with Amazon and eBay maintaining dominant positions. Social commerce is also expected to reach $7.1 billion in 2025 and grow to nearly $9 billion by 2028.

Corporate News & Partnerships

Saks Off 5th Begins Online Division Liquidation

Saks Off 5th online is liquidating 5 years after split from brick and mortar

In 2021 private equity investors poured $200 million into a spin-off of the off-pricer's digital operations, but the anticipated return never materialized.

Saks Global's discount online division, Saks Off 5th Digital, has received U.S. bankruptcy court approval to hire liquidators for inventory clearance. The strategy of separating online and offline operations, which received $200 million in investment in 2021, is being reversed after just 5 years.

GlobalData's Neil Saunders analyzes that "the root cause is that parent company Saks Global has put all divisions in jeopardy due to massive debt." He points out that Saks Off Fifth Digital is a technically independent division and the weakest and least viable within the group. Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14, with excessive debt from the Neiman Marcus acquisition creating a liquidity crisis.

AppLovin Upgraded by Needham on Strong E-commerce Performance

Needham upgrades AppLovin, sees stronger e-commerce growth

Needham upgrades AppLovin to Buy with $700 target, citing stronger e-commerce growth.

Needham & Company upgraded advertising platform AppLovin to "Buy" with a price target of $700, revising 2026 e-commerce revenue estimates upward from $1.05 billion to $1.45 billion.

The company's AI advertising engine "Axon" has successfully acquired major brands including Etsy, Kalshi, Wayfair, Crocs, and Yeti, establishing itself as a challenger to Google and Meta. Axon Pixel has been detected on over 435 websites, a significant increase from several months ago. The self-service model launched in late 2025 allows small businesses to set up campaigns without large marketing teams.

Consio AI Raises $3.3M for E-commerce Voice Platform

Consio raises $3.3M to build the phone layer of ecommerce

We raised $3.3M led by RTP Global to help Shopify brands convert more revenue with AI-powered inbound voice and outbound phone sales.

Consio AI, a phone and voice AI platform for e-commerce, has raised $3.3 million in a seed round led by RTP Global. SaaStr Fund and Mu Ventures also participated.

The company was founded by early members of customer service unicorn Gorgias and helps e-commerce businesses increase sales through phone channels. A 24/7 inbound AI agent instantly answers calls, handles pre-purchase FAQs, guides checkout, and routes high-intent callers to representatives. It also provides outbound campaign capabilities for abandoned carts and high-value leads.

Summary

Today's news highlighted momentum toward the full-scale deployment of agentic commerce. Visa's partnership and FIS's announcement of banking solutions are accelerating agentic commerce adoption from the payment infrastructure side. However, as Retail Dive's analysis shows, dependence on external AI platforms also carries risks of data ownership loss.

According to eMarketer's forecast, AI commerce is expected to grow approximately 4x in 2026, but for retailers, balancing "AI-optimized data preparation" with "maintaining customer experience on owned channels" will be a critical challenge. Major CPG companies like Nestlé creating dedicated e-commerce AI leadership roles also indicates increased investment in this area.