The trend: The influence of AI was felt more acutely this holiday season, as shoppers leaned on generative AI (genAI) tools to research products and deals and turned to AI-powered customer service for assistance.
The numbers: Globally, AI and agents influenced 20% of all retail sales, or $262 billion in revenues, according to Salesforce’s final holiday tally. Both Salesforce and Adobe pointed to the rising sway of platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity on consumer purchasing decisions.
However, while AI’s influence is growing, the number of people who use AI as a shopping assistant remains small. Just 2% of US digital buyers report starting their online product searches with an AI assistant or chatbot, according to a September survey by CivicScience and EMARKETER.
Shoppers were far more likely to use AI in a customer service capacity.
Why it matters: Despite the hype around AI shopping assistants and agents, they account for a small fraction of AI’s overall influence on retail sales.
Still, companies with their own AI agents saw an average growth rate that was 59% higher than those without, per Salesforce. At the same time, shoppers who land on retailers’ sites from genAI sources spend more time and are more engaged than visitors coming from paid search, social media, and other non-AI channels.
But rather than focus on AI’s revenue-driving ability, retailers should direct their attention to areas where the technology can reduce friction in the customer experience—such as by making it easier to initiate returns—and deliver more immediate benefit to shoppers.