Retail in 2086: Will retailers become the supply infrastructure for autonomous AI shoppers?

Mr. Himmelreich, is there a current trend or technology that you believe will fundamentally reshape retail over the coming decades?

Achim Himmelreich: Predicting that far into the future is, of course, full of uncertainty. But some fundamental truths remain: the purpose of retail is to satisfy people’s needs for products. Right now, brick-and-mortar stores and online shops are the most efficient ways we know to do that. But if a predictive AI – a kind of “AI butler” – can proactively anticipate and fulfill our needs, then we can imagine a world without retail as we know it today.

Perhaps we’ll experience a transitional phase over the next 60 years: AI agents might handle our everyday shopping, while we still visit city-center stores for human connection or the experience itself.

Eventually, though, if all our needs are anticipated and met by AI, what role will retailers still play? Maybe they’ll become “backend merchants” – providers of goods and logistics for the AI agents that manage our lives. That’s how I imagine it.

That would truly revolutionize retail!

Himmelreich: Absolutely. Once today’s advanced AI systems combine – as Silicon Valley futurists predict – to form super-intelligences at or beyond human capability, we’ll have “super agents.” My personal agent would book physiotherapy appointments, remind me about contract renewals, restock my pantry automatically, and come up with the perfect Christmas gifts – because it can process far more information than I ever could.

All this would integrate seamlessly with smart-home technologies. My refrigerator could order more yogurt when it notices the last one will expire soon – and more fruit and vegetables to keep my health insurance premium from rising.

What does this level of data intelligence mean for the products themselves?

Himmelreich: We can expect far greater product personalization. Take the food sector: my AI agent will know my exact preferences and allergies. With advances in medical research, food might even be tailored to my genetic profile – true individualization

For higher-value products like furniture, retailers could produce custom pieces via 3D printing, based on my preferred dimensions and colors.

Efficient management of such personalized supply chains – fulfilling unique needs and producing locally – could become the key differentiator for the remaining physical retailers.

What other changes do you foresee for production and logistics?

Himmelreich: The supply chain will have to transform radically. With a growing urban population and the climate-driven need for sustainable energy, production itself will adapt. Vertical farming already exists, though it’s still energy-intensive – but we’ll find solutions, perhaps through clean, inexhaustible energy sources. Production facilities will move closer to cities, where most consumers live, resulting in much shorter supply chains.

Will the “last mile” be automated by 2086?

Himmelreich: Right now, last-mile delivery is still a cost burden. But we’re seeing rapid advances in low-cost drone technology – unfortunately accelerated by the war in Ukraine. While currently used for military purposes, civilian applications will follow soon. Whether it’s drones or small autonomous delivery vehicles, I’m convinced that last-mile logistics will eventually become fully automated.

With generative AI and large language models, are we finally ready for true conversational commerce?

Himmelreich: Yes, and it’s already beginning. About ten years ago, we had an initial hype around conversational interfaces like Alexa and Siri, but it faded. The new generation of chatbots and AI assistants, however, can now communicate in truly natural language – I can just “speak the way I speak,” and the AI understands me. That makes conversational commerce the most powerful medium of the future. Of course, its use depends on context: at home it’s ideal, but in a supermarket or on the subway, when twenty people around me are all talking to their AIs, it becomes less practical.

Augmented reality has been around for a while but hasn’t really caught on in retail. How much potential do you see in AR?

Himmelreich: Tremendous potential! The big question is: what will come after the smartphone? Some think it will be wearables like smartwatches; others – including Meta, Apple, and Google – are betting on mixed-reality glasses. Once AR glasses become comfortable and suitable for everyday use, their visual interface could become a natural, integrated tool in our daily lives – an automatic information assistant.

Looking even further ahead, neurotechnology could be next: imagine a brain implant projecting data directly onto your retina – an even more efficient interface between the external world, information flow, and human perception.

How will customer experience and communication evolve by the end of the century?

Himmelreich: We’ve been talking about personalization for years, but with generative AI we’re now seeing the shift toward true individualization – or hyperpersonalization. In 60 years, personalization could reach 100 percent. My AI won’t just know what’s missing from my fridge or my favorite music; it will understand my needs better than I do. It will source products I didn’t even realize I’d love.

The entire media and shopping experience will change, too. Apps, websites, and online stores will be dynamically generated in real time for each individual user. Two people might use the same retailer’s app but see entirely different versions – making shared experiences almost impossible to compare.

Technological change is accelerating rapidly. What does that mean for today’s retailers?

Achim Himmelreich: For all the futuristic ideas we’re discussing, many retailers still face long-standing, internal challenges that must be solved now. Both things are happening simultaneously: retailers must create a vision for the next ten years and deal with legacy issues from the past decades. Many companies are still struggling with outdated IT systems. Migrating a complex retail organization with multiple departments to the cloud doesn’t happen overnight.

So, despite all the visionary momentum and fast-paced technological progress, the reality is: retail still has to solve some problems from the last millennium. Managing both the future and the past at the same time – that’s the real challenge.