AGENTIC AI
August/September 2026
housewareslive.net
‘This is really the first time in retail history where consumers are ready for technology that doesn’t necessarily exist from retailers’
AI is everywhere. It dominates headlines, shapes new products and is rapidly changing the way consumers shop. But beyond the hype, what does it mean for housewares retailers? Housewares Magazine was invited to an exclusive preview of CI&T’s 2026 Retail Tech Report: Agentic Edition to find out more.
identify the best value before they even visit a retailer. That was the message from Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategy and Insights at CI&T, who presented the findings of the company’s 2026 Retail Tech Report: Agentic Edition. Based on a survey of 2,004 UK and Ireland consumers, the report found that 68 per cent have already used an AI agent such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Copilot or Perplexity while shopping, with 80 per cent of
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rtificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of the customer journey for housewares shoppers, with consumers increasingly using AI agents to compare products, discover new brands and
those users having done so within the last three months. “It’s not the future anymore - it’s the present,” said Ms Minkow. She believes the industry is experiencing a major shift, with consumers adopting AI much faster than retailers have been able to build AI-powered shopping experiences of their own. “This is really the first time in retail history where consumers are
ready for technology that doesn’t necessarily exist from retailers,” she explained.
“In the past, retailers launched technologies like QR codes, click and collect or even the metaverse before consumers really understood the
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