Saurabh Vijayvergia & Brian McCarthy from Deloitte on Trust, Catalogs, and the Real Agentic Commerce Stack

There’s a fundamental difference between adding AI to today’s ecommerce workflows and re-architecting commerce for an agent-driven world.In this episode, we start with Deloitte’s Agentic Commerce paper and quickly fan out into what’s changed since its release. If you’re trying to separate signal from noise in the rush toward AI-powered shopping, this conversation grounds Agentic Commerce in real systems, real economics, and real decisions retailers need to make now.Highlights Why Agentic Commerce is a paradigm shift, not a bundle of AI featuresThe evolution from SEO → GEO → ACO, and why GEO is just a waypointThe two biggest misconceptions Deloitte is hearing from retailers and brandsWhy structured product + data catalogs are the no-regret investmentThe real question execs keep asking: Where do we start? (and what’s measurable)The “Acommerce ecosystem”: orchestrators + specialized “nano agents”Trust, security, returns, customer service, and why this can’t be a side projectForecasts for how big agentic commerce gets, and why the point is: it moves the needleAgentic commerce is becoming a new channel with new unit economics, and the brands and retailers that get their product truth, governance, and trust foundations right now will be the ones that win when agents become the default interface.Timestamps:01:54 — Meet Deloitte02:10 — The paper: Agentic Commerce: Redefining Retail Economics03:55 — ACO + the SEO/GEO conversation04:11 — VJ’s background: SAP → Deloitte, retail AI intersection05:50 — Brian’s background: supply chain → strategy → consulting07:49 — “Traditional AI” vs GenAI in retail09:38 — Why Deloitte wrote the paper (and why GEO isn’t the endpoint)11:49 — Deloitte’s definition: why it’s a journey, not a switch13:33 — NRF vibe check + what’s changed since December14:27 — Common misconceptions (and what leaders miss end-to-end)16:14 — The questions execs are asking: where to start + ROI18:03 — Why this could be a golden age of storytelling + loyalty21:06 — The no-regret starting point: catalogs + structured data21:34 — Org design + governance + democratizing AI usage23:15 — CFO-ready thinking: measuring value by channel26:12 — Zero-click pressure + “what are you doing about it?”28:31 — Balanced portfolio: fast wins vs complex upside30:32 — The core distinction, again: AI add-ons vs agentic redesign31:18 — Do we still need websites? (channels vs replacement)33:17 — Deloitte’s role: advise, build, operate37:29 — “Acommerce” + ecosystems of nano agents41:31 — Protocols + UCP + what changes next42:50 — Meta, OpenAI, Google: where this is headed46:58 — 2030 forecasts: conservative vs aggressive cases50:02 — Where to follow Saurabh's podcast: The Retail Tales👉 Connect with Saurabh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svijayvergia/👉 Connect with Brian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briancmccarthy/👉 Learn more about Deloitte: https://www.deloitte.com/us/en.htmlCheck out the materials we discuss: 🔗 Agentic Commerce: Redefining Retail Economic🧠 Want to stay ahead in AI commerce? Subscribe and follow along:📰 Subscribe to the free Substack: retailgentic.ai 📺 Watch episodes on YouTube & Subscribe for updates: https://www.youtube.com/@Retailgentic