Summary of this article
77 per cent shoppers using AI for purchases.
Retailers lag behind in AI readiness efforts.
Employees see AI simplifying customer interactions.
According to Accenture's 19th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey, 77 per cent of consumers said they intend to use generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to streamline their buying choices. However, only 5 per cent of retailers anticipate they will be completely prepared to deal with AI-powered customer interactions by 2026, underscoring a growing gap between consumer behaviour and retailer readiness.
Shoppers Want Smarter Shopping, Not Quicker
Holiday shopping has become almost as much about algorithms as it is about stores or sites. The majority of shoppers are turning to AI for assistance through the sea of offers, discounts, and product offers, both online and offline. Accenture's survey discovered that 85 per cent of customers are likely to leave their carts behind because they are either frustrated or undecided, indicating just how decision fatigue has seeped into holiday buying.
The highest AI-driven expectations from consumers are straightforward but revealing: they demand AI to highlight deals with recommendations, make the language of shopping tool (AI chatbots) sound more conversational, and provide improved product comparisons with summarised benefits and drawbacks. People desire technology to be intelligent like a clever friend rather than a sales robot.
Retailers Are Still Playing Catch-Up
While consumers are relying on AI to influence buying decisions, most retailers remain in the dark about this fast-track behaviour change. Just 5 per cent of retailers indicated that they would be completely optimised for AI-enabled customer engagement by 2026. The disconnect can be expensive, as customers now demand quicker, more tailored, and emotionally intelligent feedback across digital and physical platforms.
The squeeze is not just on technology teams but also on store employees. The study discovered that 67 per cent of frontline employees are equipped with only basic digital tools such as scheduling software and inventory apps, while 38 per cent do not have advanced tech like AI-powered assistants or automated shelf scanners. Consequently, most workers point to impatient customers as their biggest stress factor during the holiday period.
The Ray Of Optimism
Among these difficulties, however, there shines optimism. Around 9 out of 10 frontline employees have said that generative AI can simplify their work, particularly when responding to customer inquiries or verifying stock levels. MediaMarktSaturn, for instance, is a European retailer that created a voice-based AI agent prototype supporting store employees to access product information in real-time while helping customers.
Around 70 per cent of store staff stated that they find it simpler to help shoppers already using AI-powered shopping tools.
Three Steps For Improvement
The report recommends three major steps for retailers to stay ahead of the changing consumer demands: simplify, recommend, and connect.
Simplifying means reducing the noise in the user experience through carefully curated and AI-driven shopping experiences. Recommending is crafting AI platforms that are human-like, relatable, and contextual to brand identity. Connecting is upskilling human employees with improved training to harness these technologies.
For retailers, the challenge is obvious: they need to humanise their digital touchpoints. With more and more people using chatbots and recommendation engines for purchase suggestions, the experience needs to be personal, intuitive, and empathetic. Otherwise, the promise of AI-driven convenience will soon become yet another source of frustration.
With almost eight out of 10 consumers going to generative AI for assistance this holiday season, it's not an option for retailers to view it as a science fiction. The technology is already impacting purchasing decisions, shaping brand loyalty, and transforming the meaning of good service.
