Hidden AI agents could become the new gatekeepers of commerce, warns new Fintech 2040 paper

A new Fintech 2040 paper from Professor Roland Frank explores how AI agents are moving from passive assistants to autonomous actors capable of searching, selecting and purchasing products on behalf of consumers, fundamentally reshaping the future of ecommerce and payments.

The paper, Agentic Commerce: China’s Lead, Europe’s Choice, argues that the next battleground in digital commerce will no longer be consumer attention alone, but the hidden "trust and protocol layer" behind AI-driven transactions.

While companies once competed for clicks, rankings and conversions, the rise of agentic commerce shifts competitive advantage toward machine-readability, payment authority, trusted execution and interoperability between AI systems.

China already offers an early glimpse of this future. Ecosystems such as Alibaba's Qwen and ByteDance's Douyin show how AI agents can seamlessly combine commerce, payments, recommendation systems and digital services into highly integrated consumer environments.

Yet consumers are not ready to hand over the keys completely. A recent representative consumer survey conducted by Riverty and Adyen found that while many consumers are open to AI-assisted shopping, 93% want the ability to review or stop AI purchasing decisions at any time. 

Most respondents would only allow AI agents limited spending authority and expect full transparency around how decisions are made.

These findings reinforce one of the paper's central conclusions: the future of agentic commerce will be determined as much by trust as by technology.

For Europe, this creates a strategic choice. Rather than copying highly integrated platform models from China or the US, the paper argues that Europe could build a different model of agentic commerce, one based on interoperability, transparent permissions, trusted payments and consumer accountability.

The paper is part of Riverty's Fintech 2040 series exploring the long-term transformation of financial services, digital commerce and consumer behaviour.

Download the full paper here: https://www.riverty.com/en/business/company/fintech-2040/

The Death of the Department Store: A Retail Warning That Came True

Back in 2016, when home delivery specialist Parcelhero published its report 2030: The Death of the High Street, many people viewed its predictions as overly pessimistic. 

After all, Britain's department stores had been a fixture of town centres for generations.

Fast forward ten years, and the report now looks remarkably accurate.

According to Parcelhero's latest follow-up report, 2030: The High Street Fights Back?, over 83% of the UK's department store space has disappeared since 2016. 

What was once one of Britain's most recognisable retail sectors has been dramatically reshaped by changing consumer habits, online shopping and the lasting impact of the pandemic.

In 2016, there were still 467 large department chain stores operating across the UK. By 2021, that number had fallen to just 79.

The list of casualties reads like a history of British retail. Familiar names such as BHS, Debenhams, Beales, Allders and House of Fraser have either disappeared entirely or been reduced to a fraction of their former size.

Perhaps the most significant loss was Debenhams. Founded in 1778, the retailer survived for more than two centuries before its final stores closed in 2021. Today, the brand survives only online.

Parcelhero's original report highlighted warning signs that were already visible a decade ago. Many department store businesses were struggling financially, while others were carrying significant losses. The report argued that traditional department stores were facing pressure from two directions.

First came the rise of supermarkets expanding into clothing, electronics and homeware. Then came the game-changer: e-commerce.

Online retailers offered consumers convenience, competitive pricing and an almost unlimited range of products without requiring a trip into town. For many department stores, adapting quickly enough proved impossible.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated trends that were already well underway, pushing some struggling retailers beyond the point of recovery.

There are, however, important lessons for today's businesses. The retailers that have survived have generally embraced digital transformation rather than resisted it. Successful brands have invested in seamless online experiences while using physical stores to complement their digital offering.

The decline of the department store is about far more than retail nostalgia. It serves as a powerful reminder that no business model is immune to disruption.

For companies in every sector, the message is clear: adapt to changing customer behaviour or risk becoming part of business history.

The full Parcelhero reports offer a fascinating insight into one of the most dramatic transformations in modern British retail. https://www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/resources/ebooks/

Corporate purpose set up to fail in most businesses without structural reform, report warns

There's a growing gap between what organisations say about their purpose and what established business structures allow them to do, according to a major new report published today by leading business management consultancy Clarasys.

The report, Purpose by Design: Ownership, Governance and the Future of Business, produced in collaboration with independent charity A Blueprint for Better Business, warns that purpose statements are “structurally set up to fail” in many organisations because ownership, governance and legal frameworks still overwhelmingly prioritise short‑term financial returns.

The report finds that many listed companies remain highly vulnerable to short‑term market sentiment and anti‑ESG backlash, in part because of who owns them. Almost 60% of all UK equity is now foreign‑owned, much of it held by large passive investment houses, leaving boards acutely sensitive to short‑term performance signals.

Clarasys CEO, Matt Cheung, told That's Business: “Many leaders we spoke to are deeply committed to purpose, but they're operating in systems that keep pulling them back to a very narrow definition of success. 

"Our research shows this isn’t about better storytelling or smarter KPIs, it’s about redesigning the underlying machinery of business. 

"The good news is that the levers for change are already here; from alternative ownership models to practical governance interventions that any board can start using today. Purpose by Design is about giving leaders a realistic roadmap to move from good intentions to structures that can withstand leadership changes and market pressures.”

The report is based on a substantial body of research and in-depth interviews with over 50 business leaders from organisations including John Lewis Partnership, Anglian Water, Ingka Group, and Jupiter Asset Management. 

It examines the UK’s legal landscape, including Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, and explores options for reform, such as the proposed Better Business Act and the introduction of UK‑specific purpose‑led legal forms, building on benefit corporations and similar models internationally.

Five ownership models are analysed in the report; public companies, investor‑owned private firms, family/founder‑owned businesses, member and collective owned organisations, and foundation‑owned enterprises. The report finds that each model has different implications for purpose potential, and outlines practical governance interventions they can take. These interventions include redesigned incentives, enhanced board representation, clearer purpose‑led decision‑making frameworks, and strengthened accountability mechanisms.

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0rw6gR0