• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 30, 2023

Retail will generate around 20% of its annual sales between October and the last day of December, according to a recent study, but how will artificial intelligence (AI) influence what and when consumers buy this holiday season?

Consumers will spend about $1.3 trillion this holiday season -- up 9.5% since 2021, according to the National Retail Federation.  

About 47% of shoppers expect to spend more than $500 on holiday gifts this year, with 15% spending up to $150 and 38% of spending to fall between $150 and $500, according to Aki Technologies.

The top four gifts that shoppers plan to give run the gamut, with about 72.7% of consumers surveyed citing apparel or jewelry, while 66.7% cited cash or gift cards, 45.5% cited beauty products, and 45.5% cited personalized products. Some shoppers said they will turn to AI to ask for assistance on what to buy.

Melody Lin, director of strategy and insights at Aki Technologies, said leveraging AI enables brands to create more innovative and efficient interactions with customers -- which is extremely important, particularly leading up to and during the holiday season. “There are many ways AI will impact the customer’s shopping experience over the holiday season, including product recommendations, personalized interactions, consumer shopping experiences, and more,” she said.

To understand this impact, Aki launched a national survey of 1,000 respondents to determine how they will be influenced by AI this holiday season. 

Aki discovered that awareness of AI use daily is high, and many are receptive to using the technology for their holiday shopping.

Eighty percent of consumers are aware that they interact with AI on a daily basis, and 69% are aware that shopping platforms use AI to provide personalized product recommendations.

When looking at the group of people who are “very familiar” with AI, that number increases to 87%.

Some 34% of shoppers say that are uncomfortable with using AI for holiday product recommendations, but 90% said they will use it to research and compare products online during the holiday season.

“There is an opportunity to educate those who are currently uncomfortable with the notion of using AI specifically for holiday shopping, especially given the acceptance of AI in their daily lives,” Lin said.