Users Will Shop From Walmart in ChatGPT, This Fall 🛒.

First it was Etsy. Then Shopify. Now… Walmart? At this point, OpenAI’s signing retailers faster than a holiday flash sale ⚡.

Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!

This week, ChatGPT adds Walmart to its Instant Checkout crew, Google’s virtual try-on steps into the shoe game 👟, and Instacart links up with TikTok for shoppable magic.

Plus, we’re dropping a quick strategy guide to help you prep your store for agentic commerce — just in time for peak season.

Let’s begin, shall we?

In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:

🛒 Users will shop from Walmart in ChatGPT, this fall.

🥾 Google lets shoppers virtually try-on shoes, expands access.

🥕 Instacart brings retail media Into TikTok ads.

🚀 Ecom strategies: 5 smart ways to prep your store for agentic commerce.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

🛒 Users will shop from Walmart in ChatGPT, this fall.

Weeks after OpenAI introduced its in-chat Instant Checkout with Etsy and Shopify, Walmart has now joined as the first major retailer to bring its catalog directly into ChatGPT. The partnership lets customers browse, plan, and purchase Walmart products through natural conversation, without leaving the chat.

Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:

🛒 Shop by Chat: Users can link their Walmart accounts to ChatGPT, discover products, and complete purchases using a “Buy” button. The feature will support both Walmart’s core catalog and third-party marketplace sellers when it launches later this fall.

🤖 AI That Anticipates Needs: Rather than responding to searches, the system learns, plans, and predicts, helping shoppers restock essentials, plan meals, or find inspiration before they even ask.

⚙️ Enterprise-Wide AI Rollout: Walmart already uses AI to cut fashion production timelines by 18 weeks, speed up customer care by 40%, and power its in-app AI assistant, Sparky. The retailer has also implemented OpenAI Certifications and ChatGPT Enterprise across teams to promote AI literacy.

💰 Strategic Advantage: OpenAI will collect a small transaction fee, creating a new monetization stream, while Walmart strengthens its grip on AI-driven commerce and omnichannel discovery. The announcement pushed Walmart shares up nearly 5% to a 52-week high.

Why it matters 🤔

The ability to transact directly inside AI tools transforms where purchase intent originates and who controls it. And if other retailers follow Walmart’s lead, we could be witnessing ecommerce shift from platform‑centric to conversation‑centric. With such strategic moves able to move markets, would we be seeing Amazon come on board next?

🥾 Google lets shoppers virtually try-on shoes, expands access.

Google is upgrading its virtual try-on feature with the ability to try on shoes and expanding access to new countries. This comes just a couple months after allowing users to preview clothing on their own bodies using AI.

Here are the deets ⬇️: 

👟 Shoes Now Supported: Shoppers can now try on heels and sneakers by uploading a full-body photo, selecting the “Try It On” button in product listings, and viewing how footwear looks on their image in seconds.

🌏 Global Rollout: The feature, previously limited to the U.S., is expanding to Australia, Canada, and Japan, broadening reach to new audiences ahead of the holiday season.

🧠 AI Depth & Shape Perception: The system uses advanced AI to detect shape and body proportions, allowing for more realistic overlays that preserve the look and fit of the item.

📲 User Engagement Signals: Google reports higher sharing rates for try-on images compared to standard listings, indicating stronger user engagement and purchase intent.

🎥 Try-On Beyond Static Images: The tech also powers Doppl, Google’s experimental style app that lets users build wardrobes and generate AI videos showing how clothing moves on the body.

📊 Retailer Benefits: For advertisers, Try-On opens up personalized shopping moments and offers real-time data on trends, styling preferences, and conversion behavior.

Why it matters 🤨

Virtual try-on is quite a useful tool for shoppers that helps reduce friction in the buying process. Adding shoes to the experience enhances its everyday utility. And with the new markets, this means more shoppers can make faster, more confident decisions, and more brands can meet customers at moments of high intent.

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🥕 Instacart brings retail media Into TikTok ads.

Instacart is now the first retail media network to fully plug into TikTok Ads Manager. The new integration lets select grocery and household brands run targeted, shoppable ads on TikTok using Instacart’s own shopper data. 

It also connects ad performance directly to real purchases, so brands can track what’s working, all without leaving TikTok’s dashboard.

Here’s the scoop 🍨:

🎯 Audience Targeting with Real Purchase Data: Advertisers can now target TikTok users based on Instacart’s first-party segments, reaching consumers with high purchase intent.

🛒 Shoppable Ad Formats: Instacart’s grocery catalog data feeds directly into TikTok’s Smart+ ad units, enabling seamless product discovery and checkout paths within the app.

📊 Conversion Tracking Inside TikTok: Brands can view daily performance metrics from Instacart, including purchases, directly in TikTok Ads Manager for real-time optimization.

🔁 End-to-End Execution: From targeting to creative to measurement, CPG brands can now manage full-funnel campaigns entirely within TikTok’s native tools using Instacart data.

🌐 Part of a Bigger Push: Instacart’s media platform now spans 240+ retailer websites, Caper Carts, and partner platforms like streaming and social. TikTok, meanwhile, continues to scale its retail footprint after its U.S. operations were cleared to continue under a new ownership structure.

Why it matters 🤷‍♂️

Retail media is getting smarter and more connected. By merging Instacart’s purchase data with TikTok’s discovery engine, ads become less of a guess and more of a guide. For ecommerce brands, it’s a step closer to seeing not just who’s watching, but who’s actually buying, and adjusting in real time.

🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider

Ecom Fact: AI shopping agents could drive as many as 2.5 to 10 million online orders per day, depending on how effectively they convert. At just a 5% conversion rate, that’s 2.5 million daily transactions. At 20% — a realistic figure for high-intent queries — it could surpass 10 million. (Source: Scot Wingo via Digital Commerce 360)

💡 Takeaway: The volume is a signal. As AI agents become more embedded in how people shop, what matters most is how well your products answer specific needs in real time. Brands need to rethink product visibility by conversational relevance and formats that AI can easily interpret and present as solutions.

🚀 Ecom strategies: 5 smart ways to prep your store for agentic commerce.

 With ChatGPT checkout going live and AI shopping agents popping up everywhere, we’re officially entering the era of agentic commerce. Shoppers are literally letting bots do the work. So how do you make sure your products are the ones being picked?

Here are five practical strategies to help your store stay relevant, and recommended this holiday season:

🤖 1. Add an AI Chatbot That Actually Helps: Chatbots like Rufus or tools like Typebot can guide customers with tailored product picks, side-by-side comparisons, and even checkout support. During peak holiday surges, they’ve been shown to boost conversion rates by nearly 9%.

🏷️ 2. Make Product Data Machine-Readable: Update listings with clear attributes (like size, material, use case), clean visuals, and problem-solving descriptions. The more AI agents can understand your products, the more likely they are to recommend them.

🔄 3. Sync Your Inventory in Real Time: Keep product availability, pricing, and listings synced across channels. AI agents depend on accurate data to make purchase decisions, and mismatches or out-of-stock items can mean lost sales.

🧠 4. Shift Your SEO to AEO: Agentic SEO is real. Use schema markup, keep data consistent, and write for intent, not just keywords. Think “what problem does this solve?” rather than “best red mug.”

🛍️ 5. Personalize Discovery with AI: Lean into tools that deliver personalized recommendations and offers. Shoppers, especially Gen Z and millennials, are shifting from search to smart discovery, so you want to meet them there.

That’s your playbook for staying shoppable in the age of AI. It’s not about chasing trends but about making your store agent-ready before the bots pass you by.

⚡️Worthy Mentions

• India tests AI chatbot shopping using ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude models.

• Square launches AI voice ordering and Bitcoin solution.

• Ulta Beauty launches online brand-exclusive marketplace.

• Agentic AI commerce could exceed $180 billion annually.

• Salesforce integrates ChatGPT’s instant checkout.

Wrapping up…

So… who’s next on OpenAI’s shopping spree? With each partnership, AI is reshaping ecommerce in many ways 🤖.

Imagine trying those Jordans before you even lace them up — all thanks to Google’s virtual magic 👟✨

We’ll keep tracking the stories as they unfold. In the meantime, stay sharp, hit subscribe if you haven’t, and share the juice with a friend or two 🧃💌.

Until next week 👋.