#13 Tom Maryniarczyk x Girls who Prompt: AI Is Doing the Shopping Now? Agentic Commerce & the Future of Retail

Happy 2026 for all the listeners of "Girls who prompt!" 🥳In this conversation, we sit down with Tom Maryniarczyk, a seasoned AI and data platform leader with deep roots in global retail and e-commerce. From leading data and digital transformation initiatives at Walmart Canada and The Home Depot to his current work at Pet Valu, Tom has been building and scaling data-driven systems long before AI became a buzzword.We talk about what actually makes AI work in retail (spoiler: it’s not just fancy tools), why data quality remains the biggest blocker, and how AI is evolving from a helpful “assistant” into something much bigger- agentic commerce, where AI agents may soon shop, decide, and act on our behalf.This episode is practical, honest, and grounded in real experience, including what fails, what scales, and what retailers need to get right before jumping on the AI hype train.In this episode, we cover:Why data foundations matter more than AI modelsHow AI tools are becoming usable for non-technical teamsWhat agentic commerce really means for consumers and brandsHow AI reduces friction across the shopping journeyWhy failure is part of building meaningful AI systemsIf you’re curious about the future of shopping, AI in retail, or how data turns into real business impact, this one’s for you.Meet the guest:Tom Maryniarczyk — LinkedIn.Meet the hosts:Karin Nemec— LinkedIn — the finance brain and founder exploring the fine line between human emotion and machine response.Ave Annuk — LinkedIn — marketer and experimenter wondering what happens when AI stops being just a tool and starts acting like a companion.Meet the team: 🎵 Post-production, editing & music by Vincent Roy📧 Write us: [email protected]💬 Join the discussion and suggest guests in our WhatsApp channel.