Skip to main content

AI

A short history of the future of shopping and payments

A smartphone with projections of a shopping card and women's clothes on top of it.

    

September 8, 2026

      

As AI agents begin to transact on our behalf, commerce is entering a new era. A new report explores this evolution and why trust will become the foundation of agentic commerce.

The future of commerce is not defined by AI alone.

What if shopping became less about searching and comparing, and more about simply achieving the outcomes we want?

For decades, technology has helped simplify decisions, information and everyday tasks. Today, AI agents are beginning to act on people’s behalf, helping them search, compare, decide and transact within the boundaries they set. As these capabilities evolve, a new question is emerging: not what AI agents can do, but whether people will trust them to act on their behalf.

The future of commerce will not be shaped by AI alone. It will be shaped by trust, transparency and safeguards that allow people, businesses and financial institutions to participate with confidence. As software gains the ability to act on behalf of consumers and businesses, trusted identities, secure authentication and clear authorization become critical to ensuring people remain in control.

Developed in collaboration with leading futurists, Mastercard experts and original consumer research, “A short history of the future of shopping and payments,” explores what this shift could mean for consumers, retailers, merchants, banks and fintechs. The report examines how AI agents may reshape shopping, retail and payments over the coming years, and what it will take to build a future where software increasingly acts on behalf of consumers and businesses.

Drawing on expert perspectives and new consumer research, the report explores three perspectives on the future of commerce:

  • How AI agents could transform the shopping experience and accelerate the move from doing to delegating
  • What agentic commerce means for retailers, customer relationships and competition
  • How payments, identity, authorization and trust infrastructure must evolve to support autonomous transactions

Throughout the report, contributors share practical guidance and predictions for the years ahead while examining the opportunities and challenges that accompany one of the most significant changes in how people shop, sell and pay.

Ultimately, the future of commerce will not be defined by the smartest agents or the fastest transactions. It will be defined by the systems people trust enough to delegate to. This report explores what it will take to build that trust and unlock the next era of commerce.

Meet our futurists

By 2030, a website that loads slower than three seconds will risk losing 80% or more of sales.

Patrick Dixon Author, "How AI will change your life"
Patrick Dixon

In the agentic world, trust is not a sentiment, but a property – with machine-readable terms.

Theodora Lau Author, "Banking on (artificial) intelligence"
Theodora Lau

By 2030, your biggest customer is a network of agents with a genuine internal org chart and you can watch it negotiate with itself.

Katja Forbes Author, "Machine customers: The evolution has begun"
Katja Forbes

The future of commerce will not be defined by which agents are fastest, smartest or cheapest. It will be defined by which systems people trust enough to delegate to.

Magnus Lindkvist Co-author, "How to make AI useful"