AI Shopping Agents Hit Scale in China: 120M Transactions in One Week — NIQ Global Intelligence plc

Event summary

Alipay AI Pay processed over 120 million transactions in the week of February 5–11, 2026.
Adobe Analytics reported a 1,200% increase in generative AI-driven traffic to US retail sites between July 2024 and February 2025.
Only 8% of consumers have let AI complete a purchase, despite higher adoption for research (34%) and review summarization (23%).
Analysts project the global agentic commerce opportunity at $3–5 trillion by 2030.

The big picture

AI shopping agents are transitioning from theoretical discussions to real-world infrastructure, particularly in China. While transaction volumes are surging in Asia, Western consumers remain hesitant about granting full purchase autonomy to AI. The strategic tension lies in balancing technological capability with consumer trust, as brands and retailers adapt to a commerce landscape increasingly mediated by autonomous agents.

What we're watching

Trust Gap Dynamics: How the gap between AI capability and consumer trust will evolve, particularly in Western markets.
Data Readability Imperative: The pace at which brands optimize product data for machine readability to remain visible in agent-mediated commerce.
East-West Divergence: Whether Western markets can bridge the trust and measurement gaps while Asia scales AI-driven transactions.