Major retailers are testing out new versions of AI-powered shopping assistance tools this holiday season, reported The Associated Press.
“Although AI-powered purchases are in early stages, the shopping assistants and agents rolled out by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and Google can do more than the chatbots of holidays past. The latest versions were designed to provide personalized product recommendations, track prices and to place some orders through unscripted ‘conversations’ with customers,” the outlet wrote.
According to AP, Google recently introduced an AI agent that can be instructed to call local stores to ask if a desired product is in stock. OpenAI upgraded ChatGPT with a shopping research feature that provides personalized buyers’ guides.
Meanwhile at Target, the corporation recently announced that consumers “will be able to discover and shop Target right inside ChatGPT, part of an effort to reimagine AI-powered shopping as a curated, conversational experience.”
Through its app in ChatGPT, customers can purchase multiple items in a single transaction, shop food products and select drive up, pick up or shipping fulfillment options. Shoppers will also “soon be able to request personalized recommendations, browse and build baskets from across Target's full assortment, and purchase seamlessly through their Target account,” Target said.
On Black Friday, U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online, up 9.1% from 2024 on the year's biggest shopping day, according to Adobe Analytics, an increase that was largely driven by AI, reported Reuters. “AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in U.S. online spending on Black Friday, as shoppers bypassed crowded stores and turned to chatbots to compare prices and secure discounts amid concerns about tariff-driven price hikes. … The AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites soared 805% compared to last year, Adobe said, when artificial intelligence tools such as Walmart's Sparky or Amazon's Rufus had not yet been launched,” the outlet wrote.
Despite the advancements, Brad Jashinsky, a senior retail industry analyst at information technology research and consulting firm Gartner, believes AI’s impact on holiday shopping will be “relatively limited” this year since not every shopping site has useful tools and not every shopper is willing to try them.
“The more retailers that launch these tools, the better they get, and the more that consumers get comfortable and start to seek them out,” Jashinsky said. “But customer behavior takes a long time to change.”
In the convenience industry, one of Japan’s largest operators, Lawson, is investing in new AI technology that it hopes will enhance store productivity. The pilot store features AI-powered cameras that track items as customers pick them up and digital shelf displays make personalized product recommendations in real time.