Future Commerce

The Agent Has Left the Building

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As ChatGPT pulls back on native in-app checkout, malls becomemainstream again. Is agentic commerce ready for primetime, or are consumers seeking more analog experiences? PLUS: Dick's Sporting Goods' loyalty loop that turns steps into spending power, and a dystopian new platform that rents out humans for AI agents that can't operate in the physical world. Everything old is new again.

Granny’s Favorite Store Goes to TikTok Shop
Key takeaways:
  • ChatGPT is stepping back from native in-app checkout, but the commerce protocol it built with Stripe lives on
  • 77% of shoppers prefer clicking through to a website over buying directly via AI
  • The mall remains a societal favorite third space, even as stores become shoppable content studios (just ask John Lewis)
  • Dick's Sporting Goods' movement-linked rewards program is quietly building one of retail's stickiest loyalty ecosystems, making it a viable competitor to AI apps
  • "Rent-a-Human" platforms signal a strange new frontier: AI agents outsourcing tasks to people in “meatspace”
    • In-Show Mentions:
    • How 2,000 consumers used AI to shop
    • Gen Z Is Going to the Mall Again — WSJ
    • Rent-a-Human
    • Join us at Shoptalk Spring 2026!
      • Associated Links:
      • Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
      • Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print
      • Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
      • Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

        • Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!


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        Future CommerceBy Phillip Jackson, Brian Lange
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