Only about 20% of businesses appear ready for the next phase of shopping, where AI agents may help consumers find, compare and buy products before they ever visit a merchant’s site.
That gap sits at the center of “The Next-Gen Commerce Playbook: Turning Checkout Into a Compounding Customer Loop,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and PayPal report in the Checkout Paradox Tracker Series. The report argues that checkout is no longer just the final step in an online sale. It is becoming the point where merchants can capture intent, complete the purchase and start building the next one.
That shift is growing more urgent as commerce becomes more automated and as consumers expect faster, more personal and more secure buying experiences.
The third key finding may be the most forward-looking one. In the emerging agentic commerce era, merchants are treating checkout as the connective layer across the customer loop. That means the checkout page is not simply where money changes hands. It is where product discovery, payment choice, security, stored credentials, rewards and follow-up engagement can work together.
The report points to several data points that show why merchants are paying closer attention:
- 70% of consumers say the availability of their preferred payment methods influences where they shop. That makes payment choice a direct part of customer acquisition and retention, not merely a back-office function.
- 94% of merchants are very or extremely interested in at least one innovation tied to smoother checkout and payments. The report also finds that 62% show high interest in biometric authentication, while 51% of consumers recently used biometric methods.
- 84% of shoppers say one-click checkout is an important factor when choosing where to shop, while 80% use stored credentials. The report also says 67% of users rely on vaults for faster processing.
The optimistic read is that merchants have a clearer path than they may think. They do not have to predict every change in AI-led shopping. They can start by making checkout more useful, more flexible and easier to repeat.
That starts with payment selection. Consumers want options they already know, including digital wallets, debit and buy now, pay later choices. It also includes personalization, so shoppers see relevant payment methods and offers rather than a crowded screen of choices.
Authentication is another opportunity. Passkeys, app-based verification and biometrics can keep transactions secure without forcing consumers through slow login steps.
The report also highlights a larger readiness gap. PayPal research found that only about 1 in 5 businesses currently maintain 80% or more of their product catalog in structured, machine-readable formats that artificial intelligence agents can interpret and surface to consumers. That is a practical challenge, but also an opening for merchants that move early.
Checkout, in that context, becomes more than a conversion tool. It becomes one of the few places where merchants can still build a direct relationship with customers, even as discovery happens elsewhere. The merchants that connect payment choice, speed, security and follow-up engagement may be better positioned to bring shoppers back after the first transaction is complete.
