The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution in shopping will accelerate rather than derail Australia’s transformation of retail centers into experiential destinations, according to JLL.
As Australian financial institutions prepare to launch AI-powered shopping platforms as early as June 2026, investors are placing record bets on the country’s shopping centers, with a record A$14 billion ($9.6 billion) in retail property transactions last year.
The seemingly contradictory trends reflect a critical shift in how sophisticated capital views the retail landscape: agentic commerce — where AI assistants handle the entire purchasing journey for commoditized goods — makes experiential retail assets more valuable, not less.
“Shopping centers have repeatedly demonstrated adaptability. The question isn’t whether A-commerce will change retail — it will — but whether our assets can evolve to capture the experiential spending that algorithms cannot replace,”
