{"id":1004808678,"date":"2026-10-05T01:52:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T09:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004808678"},"modified":"2026-10-05T02:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T10:09:27","slug":"if-ai-becomes-the-shopper-whats-next-for-industrial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/if-ai-becomes-the-shopper-whats-next-for-industrial\/","title":{"rendered":"If AI Becomes the Shopper, What’s Next for Industrial?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This article first appeared in the CPE Sneak Peek Newsletter. Subscribe now<\/a> for early access to exclusive content, in-depth analysis and key trends!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As AI agents increasingly optimize purchases, retailers will likely face greater pressure to strengthen their fulfillment capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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AI shopping agents could draw industrial real estate deeper into the sales process. Image by A5\/Adobe Stock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In such a scenario, AI shopping agents could strengthen the role of industrial assets in the customer experience, a recent JLL study<\/a> predicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI-powered shopping is in fact expected to heighten, rather than redefine, consumer expectations already shaped by e-commerce, making fulfillment infrastructure an increasingly important part of the sales process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsumers have been pushed by the Amazon effect<\/a>,\u201d John Kirkman, CBRE\u2019s supply chain advisory leader, told Commercial Property Executive<\/em>. \u201cA-commerce is going to accelerate the expectation of quality, price and speed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirkman went on to explain that brands used to hire marketers to find consumers, but today consumers can \u201chire\u201d AI agents to find products. The challenge now is determining how retailers can get these agents to select their products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fulfillment gains an edge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Price has traditionally been a major factor in consumers\u2019 purchasing decisions, and while it remains influential, the rise of e-commerce has brought availability and delivery speed further into the mix. A-commerce changes who is doing the evaluating, with AI agents potentially weighing those factors when deciding which retailer best meets the consumer\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Thompson, JLL’s international director of supply chain & logistics solutions for the Americas, gave an example of how this trend works. He explained that a consumer could find a cheaper pair of pants that are out of stock, while another pair could cost $3 more but arrive the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LISTEN TO<\/strong>: Why Small-Bay Demands Discipline<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat fulfillment promise is going to be the key thing,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the agent may not evaluate the warehouse itself, it could consider the availability for faster delivery that the specific facility is able to provide. Location and operations can allow the retailer to keep that delivery promise, which could help it win the sale. Thompson sees this trend reinforcing the need for more automated facilities closer to the consumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In making delivery an even more significant competitive factor, A-commerce would be accelerating a shift that began with the e-commerce boom, Kirkman observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson added that fulfillment could in fact become more important than marketing. If a retailer can market a product successfully, he explained, the effort loses its value when that product isn\u2019t available when a customer goes to purchase it. He believes that fulfillment, and therefore industrial real estate, is a critical part of the \u201ccustomer marketing promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If delivery plays a greater role in customer acquisition, the distinction between traditional marketing investment and spending on fulfillment infrastructure could begin to blur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investment shifts toward AI visibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Retailers are already taking steps to adapt to AI’s growing role in the shopping process. According to Colliers, nearly 40 percent of major U.S. retailers have implemented AI shopping assistants. Anjee Solanki, national director of retail services & practice groups at Colliers, said retailers are investing in the infrastructure to make their products more visible to AI systems. Retail media networks, geolocation data, computer vision and updated POS systems all generate clean, real-time product and inventory data, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn AI agent can’t recommend or select a product it can’t accurately see,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If AI agents consider inventory availability and delivery speed along with price, Solanki sees fulfillment becoming not just an operational consideration but a competitive input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFulfillment infrastructure can begin to function less like a cost center and more like a customer-acquisition channel because it may directly influence which retailer an agent recommends,\u201d Solanki said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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