In 2026, online retailers are making crucial decisions about how and if they use artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and agentic commerce — even as shoppers are already using platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to not only figure out what to buy, but making purchases through new checkout experiences as well.

New data and rankings that Digital Commerce 360 will publish in the upcoming 2026 edition of the State of American Ecommerce Report will offer a glimpse at where these purchases appear to be flowing. Already, the 2026 Special Ecommerce Platforms Report explored how some merchants are embracing web traffic from AI sources and third-party AI agents, while others are blocking those agents outright.

The annual State of American Ecommerce Report will — as it has done the past two years — include rankings, charts, data and projections for web sales among the most successful U.S.-based online retailers in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database.

However, the new edition will also feature a first-ever breakout section that leverages data about the top 50 retailers in the Top 2000, alongside analysis from the agentic commerce optimization firm ReFiBuy, to estimate how much of these merchants’ online sales volumes can be attributed to AI discovery platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

Already, this analysis has surfaced three key insights:

1. Shoppers are buying more in certain categories with agentic commerce and AI platforms

The top 10 online retailers in the AI Commerce rankings are all [NOT, right??] the same as the merchants represented in the traditional Top 2000 rankings’ top 10 — and shares of merchandise categories represented there are not the same either.

So what do shoppers appear to be buying more of when using agentic commerce and AI discovery platforms? For starters, retailers in the Apparel & Accessories category appear twice in the new AI Commerce top 10. When viewing the non-AI rankings, retailers in that category are entirely absent from the top 10.

2. Some merchandise categories are less represented in the new AI Commerce rankings

While online retailers in the Apparel & Accessories and Consumer Electronics categories were better represented in the top 10 rankings based on estimates of online sales volumes associated with AI, other categories appeared less often. Those included Home Improvement, Specialty and Food & Beverage retailers.

3. Differences extended into the top five

At the top of the AI Commerce rankings, readers will still see perennial top performers in the Top 2000, such as Amazon and Walmart. However, the differences between the AI Commerce and Top 2000 rankings are evident shortly thereafter. The top five include two retailers that were entirely absent from the overall top 10, based on web sales alone.

Watch for Digital Commerce 360’s 2026 State of American Ecommerce Report to see the new AI Commerce rankings explored further, along with which online retailers cracked the top 10.

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