Liverpool department store deploys agentic AI shopping experience

An iconic Mexican retailer Liverpool is incorporating agentic AI into its everyday shopping experience.

While Liverpool may not be a household name in the U.S., it is Mexico’s largest and oldest department store chain (on par with Macy’s in the U.S.). The 178-year-old retailer boasts 124 department stores throughout Mexico. Parent company El Puerto de Liverpool also operates 186 stores under the Suburbia nameplate.

In early November, the retailer announced a partnership with commerce tools to bring agentic AI to the shopping experience.

“Our customers are shifting from search and scroll to asking specific questions and expecting faster decisions,” said Antonio Guichard, Liverpool’s chief digital officer, in a company press release. “We’re focused on meeting customers where they are and creating seamless journeys, not fragmented experiences.”

El Puerto de Liverpool ranks No. 30 in the Top 2000. The database ranks North America’s online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. Additionally, the Top 2000 retailers using commerce tools generated more than $3.44 billion in 2024 ecommerce sales.

Almost a year ago, Liverpool reached a deal with Nordstrom to take the American retailer private. Liverpool now has a 49.9% stake in the upscale retailer.

Liverpool taps commerce tools for agentic AI

Dirk Hoerig, founder of commerce tools, heralded the partnership as ushering in a new era of shopping.

“The era of agentic commerce has arrived, and a significant part of AI searches is related to product recommendations and shopping,” Hoerig said. “Retailers need to prepare data, governance, and checkout for AI-led journeys to stay ahead.”

He added that Liverpool is adapting to the evolving customer journey with this partnership.

Experts agree that this is the direction online shopping is headed.

“Liverpool’s move signals that the era of agentic commerce, where shopping begins and ends inside an AI assistant, isn’t just theoretical anymore,” says Dustin Engel, co-founder and principal consultant at Elegant Disruption.

Elegant Disruption is a strategy and management consulting firm dedicated to technological innovation.

Engel told Digital Commerce 360 this partnership injects operational efficiency and data discipline into Liverpool’s arsenal.

“By integrating commerce tools’ agentic systems, they’re essentially creating a new commerce channel the ‘agent channel’ where accuracy, brand control and compliance matter just as much as price and promotion,” Engel said.

He noted that agents represent the next major governance challenge retailers will face. They pose questions such as how to ensure an AI agent represents a brand correctly when the agent is executing real transactions on a user’s behalf.

Agentic commerce model is spreading

Engel predicts that globally, the model Liverpool is adopting will spread fast.

“We’re already seeing the shift from search and scroll to ask and act behaviors,” Engel said. “And retailers that have already started to invest in structured data, unified commerce platforms and strong API governance will move the quickest.”

Joe Gagnon, CEO of Raynmaker, also said this move signals a sea change in the way online shopping is conducted. Raynmaker is a company focused on retail technology solutions or consulting.

“Liverpool’s move is the next turning point for retail,” Gagnon said. “By deploying agentic AI, [Liverpool is] not just adding a chatbot; they’re enabling full-cycle interaction: ask a question, get an answer, buy in the same flow. 24×7. It reduces friction and increases conversion.”

Gagnon said agentic AI will be the new standard for omnichannel experiences.

“The shopper wants to interact conversationally to find what they need,” Gagnon said. “They don’t think in terms of channels. This presents an opportunity to extend the brand and complete a purchase seamlessly without switching apps, screens, or waiting.”

He noted that the online retail industry is witnessing the emergence of the “one-interaction sale” in the same way “one-click buying” once emerged as the new big thing.

“This is the beginning of a larger retail shift,” Gagnon said. “As LLMs become smarter and commerce becomes more flexible, agentic systems will transition from novelty to necessity.”

He added that retailers who adopt this approach early will accelerate growth because they can connect with the shopper at any time in any modality.

“Consumers can purchase what they want, when they want it,” Gagnon said.

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