AI1000 Rankings Reshuffle in Q2, but Retail Challengers Hold the Lead

ReFiBuy’s AI shoppi g be chma k, co-developed with Digital Comme ce 360, fi ds 972 of 1,000 etaile s cha ged a k; Nixo , No. 722 by o li e sales, took No. 1; a d ChatGPT was the leadi g AI efe al sou ce fo fewe etaile s.

RALEIGH, NC / ACCESS Newswi e / August 18, 2026 / ReFiBuy, the compa y that coi ed Age tic Comme ce Optimizatio (ACO), today published the Q2 2026 editio of the AI1000, the fi st qua te ly update to the catego y-defi i g be chma k it co-developed with Digital Comme ce 360. The i dex uses catalog, t affic a d mome tum sig als to sco e the Top 1000 etaile s by o li e sales fo age tic comme ce eadi ess, showi g whethe each etaile ‘s catalog is accessible, visible, gai i g mome tum a d positio ed to compete as AI shoppi g evolves.

Of the 1,000 etaile s a ked, 972 cha ged positio i Q2. The media etaile moved 35 spots, a d 641 moved at least 25 positio s. T aditio al ecomme ce leade ship compou ds ove yea s. I AI shoppi g, ea ly the e ti e boa d eshuffled i a si gle qua te .

Th ee fi di gs defi e the Q2 editio

1. Retail challe ge s held the lead, eve as No. 1 cha ged ha ds. Nixo , a watch a d accesso ies b a d a ked No. 722 by o li e sales, ove took O li e Labels, a ked No. 814, by 0.03 poi ts. Fou of Q1’s top five emai ed i the top five, a d all five Q2 leade s a k outside the 100 la gest o li e etaile s. The patte exte ds dow the a ki gs: fo the seco d co secutive qua te , o ly 10 of the 100 la gest o li e etaile s place i the AI1000 top 100, while half of the AI1000 top 100 sits outside the sales top 500. Scale alo e does ot dete mi e leade ship i AI shoppi g. Fast-movi g etaile s a e jumpi g the li e ahead of la ge b a ds that have bee slowe to make thei p oduct data accessible to AI shoppi g age ts.

2. AI t affic leade ship is sp eadi g beyo d ChatGPT. I Q1, ChatGPT was the la gest sou ce of AI- efe ed t affic fo 844 of the 1,000 etaile s. I Q2, that umbe fell to 722. Ove the same qua te , the umbe of etaile s whose la gest AI t affic sou ce was Gemi i doubled f om 16 to 32. Pe plexity-led etaile s g ew f om eight to 21, while Claude-led etaile s i c eased f om o e to 15. ChatGPT emai s the la gest sou ce fo fa mo e etaile s tha a y othe e gi e, but a catalog tu ed fo o e e gi e ow has to pe fo m ac oss a g owi g umbe of AI su faces.

3. The eadi ess ba is isi g faste tha etaile s a e clea i g it. The AI1000 I dex Ave age was 39.7 i Q2, compa ed with 42.0 i Q1, eflecti g a mo e dema di g e vi o me t as t affic sp eads ac oss mo e e gi es a d selli g su faces. The Q2 esults show the g owi g challe ge of keepi g p oduct catalogs eady fo AI shoppi g.

“We built the AI1000 as a qua te ly i dex because AI shoppi g moves o a diffe e t clock f om t aditio al ecomme ce,” said Scot Wi go, CEO a d co-fou de of ReFiBuy. “Q2 showed how much the ma ket ca shift i a si gle qua te a d why etaile s ca ‘t t eat Age tic Comme ce Optimizatio as a o e-time p oject. Retaile s p epa i g thei catalogs ow will e te Q4 with a eal head sta t as holiday shoppe s i c easi gly tu to AI age ts to esea ch, fi d a d buy p oducts.”

The Q2 Leade boa d: A New No. 1, the Same Top 25

No etaile moved i to o out of the top 25 this qua te . The same 25 etaile s t aded positio s amo g themselves while the est of the field moved a ou d them. Eight of the Q1 top 10 emai ed i the Q2 top 10.

Catego ies A e Movi g at Diffe e t Speeds

Ra k moveme t va ied sha ply by catego y. Automotive Pa ts & Accesso ies climbed a ave age of 20.1 positio s, while Flowe s & Gifts fell 17.8, a sp ead of ea ly 38 positio s.

At the subcatego y level, the split is eve clea e : law a d ga de , tools, a d fishi g a d hu ti g etaile s posted some of the qua te ‘s biggest climbs, while bee , wi e a d spi its, books, a d musical i st ume t selle s we e amo g its la gest decli e s. The p oject-a d-pa ts side of etail is climbi g the a ki gs faste tha the lifestyle aisles. Fou tee of the 15 catego y leade s emai ed at the top of thei catego ies, a d six a k outside the sales top 500.

The AI Holiday Shelf Is Bei g Stocked Now

The Q2 editio a ives as etaile s e te the fi al st etch befo e peak holiday shoppi g. Salesfo ce fo ecasts that 20% of 2026 holiday ecomme ce t affic will o igi ate f om AI chat age ts, acco di g to its 2026 holiday p edictio s. Yet o ly 225 of the Top 1000 etaile s have a detectable U ive sal Comme ce P otocol (UCP) e dpoi t, pa t of a eme gi g sta da d that allows AI age ts to co ect di ectly with me cha t catalogs. Readi ess is ot a switch etaile s ca flip i Novembe . The catalogs AI age ts will use to compa e a d ecomme d p oducts this holiday a e bei g p epa ed ow.

New This Qua te : The AI1000 Retaile Po tal

The AI1000 Retaile Po tal gives a ked etaile s a di ect view of thei sta di g: cu e t positio , qua te -ove -qua te moveme t, a d the sig als behi d thei sco e. The po tal, alo g with the full Q2 fi di gs a d catego y a alysis, is live at efibuy.ai/ai1000.

The AI1000 is published qua te ly. Its methodology is efi ed as measu eme t ac oss AI shoppi g su faces matu es; a ki gs a d i dex values eflect the methodology published fo each editio .

Digital Comme ce 360’s 2026 Top 1000, the etaile u ive se sco ed by the AI1000, is available at digitalcomme ce360.com/p oduct/top-1000-database.

About ReFiBuy

ReFiBuy coi ed Age tic Comme ce Optimizatio i 2025, defi i g the ope ati g discipli e b a ds a d etaile s use to p epa e p oduct catalogs fo AI-powe ed shoppi g. Its Comme ce I tellige ce E gi e is a closed-loop platfo m that helps comme ce teams evaluate, optimize, dist ibute, a d mo ito p oduct data, tu i g live age t a d shoppe sig als i to co ti uous catalog imp oveme ts ac oss eve y selli g su face. Fou ded by ecomme ce vete a s f om Cha elAdviso ( ow Rithum), Walma t, a d MikMak, ReFiBuy is buildi g the comme ce i tellige ce laye fo the age tic e a. Lea mo e at efibuy.ai.

Media Co tactB ia Chapma VP, G owthReFiBuy[email p otected]

SOURCE: ReFiBuy