Bunnings is set to be one of the first Australian retailers to sell to customers through Google AI Mode, with the capability to be switched on in the next fortnight.
Managing director Michael Schneider revealed the retailer’s participation at a strategy day last week.
It builds on Bunnings’ broader embrace of AI and agentic commerce, which includes a Google Gemini-powered agentic assistant called ‘Buddy’.
Retailers generally have spent this year establishing a presence in large language models and the chat interfaces that enable easy user access and interaction.
The imminent launch of shopping through Google AI Mode opens a new front in that trend.
“We know customers are increasingly searching their products directly through generative AI platforms,” Schneider said.
“In the next two weeks we will be among the first retailers in Australia to launch a shoppable range through Google AI Mode.
“Customers will be able to research products, select recommended items from our catalogue, and complete transactions directly through AI Mode across Google search, Chrome and the Google app.”
Agentic commerce expansion
Schneider made the comments as part of parent group Wesfarmers’ annual strategy day.
A key topic at a whole-of-organisation level was the rollout of agentic commerce, after Wesfarmers indicated back in February that it would back the technology, with assistance from Microsoft and Google Cloud.
Executive general manager of OneDigital – and one-time Bunnings CIO – Leah Balter said that the organisation’s embrace of agentic technology was being driven by shifts in customer behaviour.
“[Customers have] shifting from traditional search … to LLMs. It’s also changing in terms of how our customers are searching on our websites, so where you might have searched for a hammer, customers are now searching for, say, 20 words on average in terms of the product,” Balter said.
Through its technology partnerships, Wesfarmers has launched the Buddy agentic assistant at Bunnings, and more recently a second assistant called ‘Joy’ at Kmart.
Balter said that agentic commerce would also be implemented for OfficeWorks and for OnePass, Wesfarmers’ subscription-based membership program that covers multiple retail brands.
One of the reasons that retailers are so keen on AI technology is that the customers using it tend to be very engaged or further along in their research, with higher conversion rates and sales compared to other digital channels.
This appears to be true for Wesfarmers as well.
“We’re seeing that customers that use agentic search actually have a higher conversion and are spending more per shop,” Balter said.
Schneider provided more context for this, saying that Bunnings’ Buddy assistant drove larger basket size by helping customers scope and manage DIY projects.
“Buddy is already delivering strong engagement outcomes including more than doubling online conversion rates and increasing basket size through projects-based shopping behaviour,” he said.
“Buddy helps our customers take on DIY projects with confidence by bringing expert advice into the home through a more personalised experience across browsing, planning and purchasing online.”
Leaders for Kmart and OfficeWorks indicated they were chasing some of the same outcomes.
Interestingly, OfficeWorks’ managing director John Gualtieri said his business is preparing for agent-to-agent commerce interactions.
“Supported by partners like Google, we are preparing for a future of agent-to-agent commerce, where the customer’s agent interacts with OfficeWorks’ agents to fulfil shopping needs,” he said.
