智能机器人、服务组合与用户行为：高意图平台生态系统的崛起

Summer 2026 The Rise of High-Intent Platform Ecosystems IntroducingOur Digital Consumer Platforms Team The Digital Consumer Platforms team, which operates within Houlihan Lokey’s Consumer and Technologygroups, has earned a reputation for providing superior service and achieving outstanding results in M&Aadvisory, capital raising, restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services. The global Consumer Group has approximately 140 dedicated advisors located in 11 offices around the world and has built areputation as a trusted advisor to companies in the consumer industry. We do this by combining our extensive marketcapabilities with our in-depth industry knowledge to help maximise shareholder value for our clients. When our experience iscombined with our comprehensive understanding of the industry’s financial, regulatory, and competitive dynamics, we are ableto more effectively analyse a full range of strategic options, such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, capital raising, and assetsale transactions. Team Members Contact Us Please reach out to us to discuss thismarket update or to explore how wecan serve your business needs. Thomas EgliManaging DirectorThomas.Egli@HL.com+41 43 499 43 41 Alexander GrünwaldGlobal Co-Head of Consumer GroupAlexander.Gruenwald@HL.com+41 43 499 43 47 Eric CrowleyManaging DirectorEric.Crowley@HL.com+1 415.273.3633 Tobias SchultheissEuropean Head of TechnologyTobias.Schultheiss@HL.com+49 69 204346416 Joe SchölerVice PresidentJoe.Schoeler@HL.com+41 43 499 43 42 Matthias NiedermeyerAssociateMatthias.Niedermeyer@HL.com+41 43 499 43 37 BroadThematic Coverage and ExperienceWithin the Digital Consumer Platforms Sector Table of Contents 01 03 02 Houlihan Lokey Insights About Our Firm Case Studies Houlihan Lokey Insights on Recent Trendsand Developments Within the BroaderDigital Consumer Platforms Sector About Houlihan Lokey, Our Offering,and the Digital Consumer Platforms Team Further Information on Recent Deals inthe Digital Consumer Platforms Sector 04 AppendixFurther Information Houlihan Lokey Insights Development Since 2016 in theDigital Consumer PlatformsSpace The recent market correction amplifies the “flight to quality.” THE HOULIHAN LOKEY TAKE Following a period of stabilisation post-COVID-19, thevaluation landscape for digital consumer platformshas come under renewed pressure in recent months,with multiples correcting to levels below historicalpre-pandemic averages. The COVID-19-eraexuberance has fully unwound, giving way to a highlydisciplined and selective investor environment. This recent downward volatility underscores astructural shift in which investors heavily penaliseaverageperformers. We are now seeing a highlybifurcated market: only scarce “diamond assets,”i.e., those demonstrating resilient growth,undisputed market leadership, and strong cashconversion, can defy broader market trends andstill command premium valuations in today’sM&A processes. From AI Companions toIntelligent Infrastructure As AI adoption accelerates, hyper-personalisation built on a direct, trustedcustomer data handshake is fundamentally reshaping e-commerce andsubscription business models. THE HOULIHAN LOKEY TAKE New M&A Moats in E-Commerce and Subscriptions E-commerce’sevolving AImaturity stagesshow companies today sitting ConversationalCommerce Agent-Driven andMCP Integration GenerativeAssistance The consumer landscape is shifting from human-facinginterfaces to agent-ready infrastructure, fundamentallychanging e-commerce and subscription valuations.Personalisation is no longer about cross-web tracking; itrelies on a direct, trusted data handshake. Platformsowning proprietary, zero-party databases of exactcustomer preferences and other data are highlyinsulated from algorithm changes. In M&A, this directdata asset establishes a defensive moat and cancommand a premium valuation. Retail storefronts become“headless” APIs forAI agents. Apps automate complexproduct matching, awaitingmanual checkout. Storefronts require manualcustomer input insideclosed environments. at markedly different pointsalong the same curve, rangingfrom conversational commerceto fully agent-driven, AI-nativeshopping experiences. With Shopify’s MCPinfrastructure, AI agents canbrowse, select, and initiatecheckout on behalf of users. Magalu built an AI-hosted,end-to-end shoppingexperience entirelywithin WhatsApp. Amazon’s Rufusgenerates personalisedrecommendations, driving60% higher purchaselikelihood on Amazon. Simultaneously, the competitive battleground is shiftingfrom front-end user interfaces to back-end modelcontext protocols (MCP). If a platform’s inventory or datacannot be securely queried by autonomous AI agents, itbecomes effectively invisible to the future consumer. ’ssubscriptionmodel AI Direct Connection Workout Summaries Training Suggestions Next to personalisation, AI-interoperability is the newmoat, as demonstrated by early movers paywallingAI-driven