July/August 2026 ertonline.co.uk


Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of the electrical retail customer journey, with shoppers increasingly using AI agents to compare brands, find lower prices and narrow down product choices before choosing which retailer, brand and product to go with. That was the message from Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategy and Insights at CI&T, as she presented findings from the company’s 2026 Retail Tech Report: Agentic Edition. Based on a survey of 2,004 UK and Ireland consumers, the research found that 68 per cent have already used an AI agent such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini,


Copilot or Perplexity while


shopping. Of those users, 80 per cent said they had done so. Agentic AI refers to digital assistants that can do


more than answer questions. They can compare products, check prices and delivery times, narrow down choices, add items to a basket and, within rules set by the user, complete purchases. It turns AI from a research tool into an active shopping assistant. “It’s not the future anymore, it’s the present,” Ms Minkow said. “This is really the first time in retail history, at least


since I’ve been doing this, where consumers are ready for technology that doesn’t necessarily exist from retailers,” she continued. “It used to be the other way around. Retailers would have all this technology that they would launch, whether it was buy online and pick up in-store, QR codes or the metaverse, and consumers didn’t necessarily understand the value of it.” By contrast, consumers are already experimenting


with third-party AI tools, even if the retailers they shop with have yet to develop their own agentic services.


Smarter and more strategic The research found that 87 per cent of consumers believe they are making smarter purchase decisions than they were two years ago.


For 36 per cent, a smarter decision means paying


more for a product that offers better quality or lasts longer, while 30 per cent associate it with choosing retailers and brands they have researched more thoroughly.


Ms Minkow said this value-conscious mindset was particularly pronounced among UK and Ireland shoppers.


“Consumers here are extremely conservative with


their spend, more so than American consumers,” she said. “That’s why this technology resonates with them so much, because it allows them to feel extremely


well informed. It allows them to be the empowered shopper they want to be and really strategic with what they spend.”


This has clear implications for electrical retailers,


where purchases such as televisions, washing machines and refrigeration appliances commonly involve comparisons across price, energy consumption, capacity, features and warranties. Some 69 per cent of respondents said AI helps them become smarter about what they buy, and half (48 per cent) said it had caused them to shop more.


Comparison is the priority Consumers are primarily using AI agents to compare brands, locate the lowest available price and find retailers selling a particular product. Electronics and home appliances were also among the categories where respondents said they frequently research brands and product types. Ms Minkow described AI


platforms as “the


new mall”, because they bring a wide range of brands, products and retailers together within one conversation. “Agents are putting all brands and all products


under one roof,” she said. “You can really pick and choose.”


For electrical retailers, that could mean a customer begins with a broad question such as which television is best for sport, which washing machine is suitable for a large family or whether a heat-pump tumble dryer represents good long-term value. However, Ms Minkow warned against assuming


that a detailed question means the consumer fully understands the category. “Consumers are not necessarily going to these engines to learn, but they are going to them to research something specific,” she said. “They want just the right amount of information to


solve a problem. They don’t want to be overwhelmed.” That gives retailers an opportunity to validate the customer’s research, explain product trade-offs and highlight areas an AI recommendation may not have considered, including installation, delivery, recycling and after-sales support.


Saving mental energy The report found that consumers value AI agents for finding lower prices and reducing the mental effort involved in researching a purchase. Ms Minkow said this reflected a broader change in how shoppers define convenience. “It used to be about saving time. Now it’s about saving mental energy,” she explained.


“Sometimes that means having a full conversation


with an agent, but that’s convenient for the consumer because it helps them understand to the level that they need.” This


also challenges the idea that keeping


customers on a retailer’s website for longer isn’t necessarily a sign of success. “They know what they want, they have a mission


and they want to find it,” Ms Minkow said. “Get in, get out, whether that’s online or in physical stores.” According to the report, consumers want search experiences that locate the exact item they have in mind, show lower-priced options and provide enough information to make the right decision.


Trust remains essential Despite growing adoption, consumers are not yet ready to give AI complete control over higher-value purchases. Respondents were most comfortable


allowing


agents to find the best price, recommend products, compare retailers and check shipping or returns policies. They were less willing to allow an agent to complete checkout automatically. “Consumers still want


to feel in control of the


purchase decision,” Ms Minkow said. Trust is strengthened when an AI tool explains why


a product was recommended, clearly displays the total price and shows the alternatives it considered. Paid influence, meanwhile, risks undermining confidence. A quarter of consumers said they would stop using a platform if results were ordered according to how much a brand or retailer had paid. “Consumers are really smart and really savvy,” Ms


Minkow said. “They can tell when they’re being sold something that a retailer paid to sell them rather than something that is actually going to solve the problem.” Ms Minkow’s central recommendation was that


retailers should ensure their products and services remain visible across a rapidly expanding range of channels.


“The consumer is everywhere, so retailers need to be everywhere too,” she said. This means improving product descriptions,


imagery and specifications so that search engines and AI agents can accurately understand what


is


being sold. It also means explaining the wider value of buying from a specialist, including expert advice, installation, local delivery, appliance removal and support after the sale. “The path to purchase is expanding,” Ms Minkow concluded. “Consumers are more omnichannel than ever.”


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