新的增长前沿：代理式商务与人工智能如何使天平向挑战者品牌倾斜

The New Growth Frontier: How agentic commerce and AI tilt thescales toward challenger brands Scale is no longer destiny, as share has shifted to nichebrands over the last three years. 1 Challengers are winning in categories built for AI discoveryand innovation. 2 Consumers are increasingly willing to pay more for innovativeproducts—particularly if they save time and money. 3 Agentic commerce and LLM advertising are poised to introducea new wave of innovation explosion, with an advantage tochallenger brands. 4 Innovation capability has become the defining characteristicof growth for brands—and AI is poised to accelerate this. 5 Executivesummary The time to reset playbooks for innovation, search, anddiscovery is now. Scale is no longer destiny,as share has shifted toniche brands over the lastthreeyears US market unit share of large national brands—by category (% of total units sold) Even in an uncertaineconomy,consumers areincreasingly willingto pay more forinnovative products % of consumers willing to pay more for new, exciting products on the market,by age group Innovations drivingconvenience and timesavings areparticularly relevant % of consumers willing to pay more for products that make tasks easier/lesstime consuming, by age group But a new eraof shopping ischanging the wayconsumers searchfor, discover, andpurchase products Illustrative example:Food shopping without an app What is agentic commerce? –AI systems thatact on behalf ofusers to make purchases –Cananticipate needs, compareoptions, andexecutetransactions This morning, my daughter told me shewants to cook tacos tonight. I barely hadtime to think about it between meetings...I just told my agent, ‘Add –Operate autonomously(or semi-autonomously) based onconsumers’ prompts, withlimitedhuman interaction or oversight It instantly pulled a recipe I’ve used before,compared prices for all the ingredients—chicken, tortillas, salsa, lettuce, cheese—across three grocers.It built a list, figured out which –Don’t “browse” products orcontent like a human would—theyextract structured data to makeparameter-based decisions By the time I left for pickup, I got anotification: ‘All items confirmed, driverarriving at 4:45pm.’The whole thing took me maybe 20 seconds. I didn’t open a single app. Most shoppers today are using AI to research products,making discoverability essential The advertisingecosystem is alsoevolving—andthere are afewpossibleoutcomes But, if shopping migrates to agent-controlled environments, advertising willneed to evolve to formats like programmatic bidding. Agentic commerceis poised tointroduce a newwave of innovationexplosion, with anadvantage tosmaller brands Top categories for new launches (2025): Skin Care–3.0K Pet Food–2.9K Snacks–1.8K Chocolate Confectionery–1.7K Expansion driven by: –Reduced cost to test and produce–Lower capital requirements–Low-cost ways to drive demand–Retailers expanding spacefor differentiation Innovation has become the defining characteristicfor brand growth. But M&As are nolonger the obviousroute to success After years of expansion, CPGcompanies are slimming down in theface of slowing consumption … … and startups enable challengerbrands to build large-scalecapabilities in: Sales enablement Marketing and demandgeneration Supply chain optimization Sourcing andprocurement Finance and operationalsupport Companiesthat growinnovationsales are2x more likely Innovations can now be developed and tested in days,with minimal capital for startups Case study:Revamped chocolate peanut butter bar texture enhancement, heat-resistant coating, and packaging redesign—improving product stability, visual accuracy, and delivery experiencein just weeks Multiple inputs via AI agents Productrecommendations Powered by agility: The emerging advantage in an AI-accelerated market The challenger brands we interviewed are already leveraging size to their advantage: moving quickly, leading digitally,taking risks, and mastering growth—channel by channel, market by market. Andriani | Italy Tomorrow’s AI-powered possibilities Today’s agility-driven wins AI-powered research and concept ideation willhelp brands build on their successes and bringnew products to market faster. Growing strong online DTC presence beforeexpansion into retail Leaning into consumer functional trends,centering core portfolio around science-backed benefits AI-driven formula and sensory profile optimization willdeliver better product taste and quality aligned withconsumer preferences—in a fraction of the time. Strong digital presence boosts LLM search relevanceand visibility, augmenting brand discoverability. Driving trial and building consumer basethrough experiential and influencer marketing Recommended activation plan (not exhaustive)We expect consumer behavior to shift rapidly, so it’s important to begin activating now Thank You Contact Us NielsenIQ (NIQ) is a leading consumerintelligence company, deliv