The event honours outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), innovators, and business leaders in Oxfordshire.

Entries are now being accepted following an extension to the deadline, now set for Monday, August 10.

Sarah Beal, business support service manager at Enterprise Oxfordshire Business, said: “Our track record of impact, combined with opportunities such as the Marketplace and Celebration Event, showcases the real value of engaging with Enterprise Oxfordshire Business.

“These platforms give businesses and entrepreneurs the chance to connect, showcase what they do and access the support that can help them take their next step with confidence.”

Held at Oxford Town Hall the marketplace and awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, November 4.

The event brings together the county’s business community for an evening of networking, knowledge-sharing, and celebration.

It includes an exhibition marketplace and an awards ceremony.

The awards recognise achievements across categories such as Business Leader of the Year, Start-Up of the Year, and Growth Business of the Year.

Businesses or individuals who have engaged with Enterprise Oxfordshire Business since April 2022 are eligible to participate.

Entry is free across all award categories.

The annual event is part of Enterprise Oxfordshire Business’ ongoing efforts to support the county’s business community and promote commercial success.

Last year’s ceremony, also held at Oxford Town Hall, highlighted the value of connecting entrepreneurs, showcasing services, and celebrating business achievement.

The marketplace format gives businesses a space to present their services and connect with peers.

Earlier this year, the Growth Hub Cluster Impact Report highlighted the contributions of Enterprise Oxfordshire Business and similar hubs in neighbouring regions between April 2020 and March 2025.

During this period, the hubs collectively supported 92,719 businesses, delivered 178,563 hours of business support, and helped launch 3,934 new businesses.

They also helped to create 6,970 jobs and safeguard 6,093 positions.

For every £1 of core government funding, the cluster generated an additional £24 to support SME growth and delivered £35 in economic and social value.

Ms Beal said: “Events like this, alongside our wider Growth Hub support, demonstrate the real impact that targeted, accessible business support can have.

“Whether a business is just starting out or looking to scale, we want to encourage people across the county to engage with us, access support and be part of Oxfordshire’s growing business community.”

Enterprise Oxfordshire became the new trading name of OxLEP in April last year.

This followed a two-year transition and now operates under a Teckal company model with Oxfordshire County Council as its sole shareholder.

Details about award categories, sponsors, and exhibiting opportunities are available at www.enterpriseoxfordshirebusiness.com/marketplace-and-celebration-2026.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Only 12% of the UK’s 100 biggest eCommerce brands are ready for AI systems to complete purchases directly on shoppers’ behalf, according to Varn Search Marketing. The findings suggest broad gaps in preparedness for so-called agentic commerce.

The agency reviewed the country’s largest eCommerce sites to assess whether they were configured to let generative AI platforms carry out transactions. Its research found that most retailers examined were not set up for this form of automated shopping.

Among the brands identified as unprepared were M&S, Currys and Barbour. The smaller group classed as prepared included Ted Baker, Gymshark and Castore.

The study focuses on an emerging retail model in which AI tools do more than help consumers search for products. In this model, AI agents move through the purchase journey and complete checkout directly, with little or no manual input from the shopper.

That shift is not yet fully available to the public in the UK, but testing and phased rollouts are already under way in some markets. Varn said the timetable for wider access remains uncertain, even as work on autonomous checkout and agent-initiated payments continues.

US signals

The report points to signs from the US market that consumer behaviour may already be starting to change. It cites a Morgan Stanley survey from December 2025, which found that 23% of Americans had made a purchase via AI.

Morgan Stanley also estimated that AI-assisted shopping could account for USD $385 billion in US eCommerce spending by 2030. While that figure relates to the American market, it indicates the commercial expectations building around the technology.

For retailers, the issue is not only whether customers want to use AI shopping tools, but whether websites are technically open to them. Product feeds, site architecture and permission settings are likely to determine whether AI systems can identify items and complete transactions without being blocked.

Retailers that fail to adapt could face reduced visibility if shopping journeys increasingly move away from conventional search and browsing. If transactions begin inside AI interfaces rather than on traditional storefronts, access to those systems may become an important route to sale.

Readiness gap

Andy Mollison, Head of Search and Innovation at Varn Search Marketing, said: “Agentic commerce isn’t a distant retail trend; it’s an immediate paradigm shift that will catch unprepared brands completely off guard. Our research shows a staggering disconnect between the speed of AI development and UK retail readiness. At Varn, we are actively auditing and restructuring eCommerce sites to bridge this gap, ensuring their data architecture, technical SEO, and product feeds are seamlessly readable by autonomous AI bots. The American market has already given us a blueprint for how fast consumer behaviour shifts when AI handles the checkout. If UK brands don’t start optimising for machine-to-machine commerce right now, they will lose both search visibility and become entirely invisible to the next generation of shoppers.”

The findings add to a wider debate in retail and digital marketing over how AI will affect discovery, conversion and brand control. Ecommerce businesses have spent years refining websites for human visitors and conventional search engines, but agent-based shopping introduces a different set of technical and commercial questions.

One question is whether established retailers can adapt quickly enough if AI-led shopping gains traction. Another is how brands will manage pricing, merchandising and customer relationships if the shopper’s main interaction takes place through a third-party AI assistant rather than on the retailer’s own site.

Varn said its assessment covered the UK’s top 100 eCommerce brands. On its measure, only a small minority currently appear configured to permit direct purchases by generative AI platforms.

Nit Happens, based in Kingham, Oxfordshire, was launched by Ewelina Szulc-Barnsley, who turned her experience of helping friends and family with head lice into a fully-fledged business.

The service offers in-home lice removal using natural products and has gained a loyal customer base across the North Cotswolds.

Ms Szulc-Barnsley said: “It’s definitely not a glamorous business, and probably not a job many people would choose at first glance, but that’s exactly why there’s such a need for it.

“Families are often stressed, overwhelmed and embarrassed when dealing with head lice, and I wanted to create a service that genuinely helps people without harsh chemicals or shame.

“What started as helping friends and family has turned into a business I’m incredibly proud of.

“Now I want to help other women create the same opportunity for themselves.”

With growing demand for her services, she is now developing a franchise model to support other women in building flexible, family-friendly businesses of their own.

The business focuses on a calm, judgement-free approach and uses only chemical-free products, essential oils, and specialist lice-removal equipment.

Ms Szulc-Barnsley believes franchising could offer a path to business ownership without the uncertainty of starting alone.

She said: “I want to create a franchise model that gives women the training, support and encouragement to build something for themselves.”