Adyen Index 2026: Australian Retailers Race Ahead on AI, but Consumer Trust Lags at Checkout

Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, unveiled today in a survey that Australian enterprise retailers are moving quickly to embed artificial intelligence across the shopping journey, with all surveyed (100%) now investing in AI‑driven tools to automate discovery, decision‑making and checkout experiences. However, consumers are drawing clear boundaries around how much control they are willing to hand over - particularly at the checkout.

The Adyen Index 2026 Australia Retail Report reveals retailers are increasingly focused on automation and AI-enabled shopping experiences, with 95% of retailers now familiar with agentic commerce. However, consumer trust has not kept pace: nearly two‑thirds (64%) of Australians say they feel uncomfortable allowing AI to complete a purchase on their behalf. 

The findings suggest Australians are willing to engage with AI throughout the shopping journey but remain hesitant when automation moves from recommendation to action.

“AI is becoming embedded across retail, but consumer trust has not advanced at the same pace,” said Hayley Fisher, Country Manager Australia and New Zealand at Adyen. “When AI moves from assisting to acting, payments, identity and security become the real conditions for adoption.”

Consumers accept AI as an advisor, but not as a buyer 

AI is already influencing how Australians shop. Nearly two‑thirds (64%) have used AI assistants to help browse, compare or discover products, reflecting how embedded AI‑led discovery has become in everyday retail experiences.

But confidence drops significantly when AI shifts from supporting decisions to making them. While Australians are increasingly comfortable using AI to browse and compare products, that comfort narrows quickly at checkout with one in five (26%) are comfortable with AI completing a purchase, and just 5% are fully comfortable letting AI buy independently.

This points to a clear trust boundary for emerging agentic commerce models: consumers may accept AI as an advisor, but not yet as a buyer.

Payments remain the trust test

As AI introduces greater automation into the purchase journey, the reliability of payments becomes even more critical. 

Almost two‑thirds (62%) of Australians say payment errors damage their perception of a retailer. The consequences are immediate: nearly one in four Australians (24%) say they actively avoid a retailer after a failed transaction, while 15% switch to a competitor altogether.

“At machine speed, even small payment failures can quickly become larger trust issues,” Fisher said. “Payment reliability is no longer just an operational concern – it’s a reputational issue.”

For retailers, this means visible safeguards – particularly at checkout – play a critical role in maintaining trust as automation increases.

Security is becoming a feature, not friction 

Australians are also signalling they are willing to trade speed for reassurance at checkout. 

In fact, nine in ten Australians (91%) say they prioritise security checks over speed at checkout, suggesting verification is increasingly viewed as a trust signal rather than friction.

That preference is already reflected in behaviour. More than a third (36%) of Australians use biometric authentication such as fingerprint or facial recognition to secure transactions, while 35% say verifying identity in multiple ways increases their sense of protection.

As AI takes on a greater role in commerce, these findings suggest that identity verification and security are becoming foundational to trust and building consumer confidence.

Retailers are recalibrating for the next phase of commerce

As retailers invest in automation, they are also reassessing how to protect customer relationships in an increasingly AI-driven environment. 

The research shows retailers are prioritising protecting the direct customer relationship (63%), responding to competitive pressure (55%) and pursuing automation and cost reduction (51%).

These priorities reflect the foundations required for agentic commerce to scale – where retailers must balance automation with control, resilience and accountability at checkout. 

“Agentic commerce has the potential to transform retail, but adoption will depend on whether retailers can build trust into every transaction,” Fisher said. “The retailers that succeed will be those that match intelligence with resilience – building payment experiences that perform reliably, protect customers when things go wrong, and earn trust at scale.”

About Adyen

Adyen (ADYEN:AMS) is the financial technology platform of choice for leading companies. By providing end-to-end payments capabilities, data-driven insights, and financial products in a single global solution, Adyen helps businesses achieve their ambitions faster. With offices around the world, Adyen works with the likes of Meta, Uber, H&M, eBay, and Microsoft.

About the report 

The Adyen Index Australia Retail 2026 Report was commissioned by Adyen and conducted by YouGov Plc online from March to April 2026. The sample comprises 2,012 Australian consumers aged 18 years and older, and 518 Australian retail employees at the senior manager level or higher working for retailers with an annual turnover of at least AUD 25 million.