The Asia Pacific region is expected to generate around two-thirds of the world’s new retail sales over the next five years, driven by a consumer base of more than 4.3 billion people, 18 megacities, and a rapidly expanding middle class.
A Deloitte report, titled “The future of commerce: Agentic shopping in Asia Pacific,” highlighted the region’s strong positioning to lead the development of agentic commerce, driven by digitally fluent consumers and advanced commercial ecosystems. Nearly three-quarters of consumers in Asia Pacific already use artificial intelligence to discover, compare, and learn about products, according to the report released on Tuesday.
Adoption of agentic AI among businesses is also accelerating. Currently, 29 percent of consumer companies in the region report using the technology, a figure projected to rise to 76 percent within the next two years.
Despite early progress, the report showed that significant work remains in areas such as technology infrastructure, governance, security, and trust. Industry players are facing increasing pressure to adapt as consumer behavior evolves and AI begins to reshape the retail value chain.
Vivek Sharma, Consumer Industry Leader, Deloitte Southeast Asia, said that agentic AI can transform commerce in Southeast Asia, where digital discovery, social interaction, and transactions already intersect across platforms and physical retail. He noted that as autonomous agents begin acting on behalf of consumers and businesses, they will become central to the shopping journey, requiring a redesign of products, services, and data systems.
The report identifies several trends shaping retail in the region. These include the rise of hyper-personalized engagement through AI-driven insights, the transformation of physical stores into intelligent environments, and the growing use of AI agents across operations such as inventory management, pricing, and customer service. It also highlights the emergence of “shopping agents,” which assist consumers in searching, comparing, and even purchasing products.
To remain competitive, the report outlines key priorities for retailers and consumer brands. These include strengthening data foundations and governance, integrating digital and physical experiences, adapting operations for real-time responsiveness, and maintaining strong customer connections. It also emphasizes the importance of reimagining physical stores as experience-driven spaces and engaging with a rapidly evolving ecosystem of AI technologies and partnerships.
The findings suggest that while agentic AI is already moving beyond experimental stages, its full impact on retail in Asia Pacific will depend on how quickly businesses can adapt to a more autonomous and interconnected commerce landscape.