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Something subtle but significant happened last holiday season — and most brands missed it.
Before heading to Amazon or a retailer’s website, millions of consumers turned to tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini to research what to buy. It wasn’t a novelty. It was a behavioral shift — one that could redefine how commerce works over the next decade.
The data makes that clear. As many as 30% to 45% of U.S. consumers used AI during their holiday shopping journey. At the same time, Adobe reported a 1,200% year-over-year surge in traffic from generative AI tools to retail sites, making it one of the fastest-growing referral channels in e-commerce history — outpacing both mobile and social commerce in their early days.
This isn’t just about people using better tools. It signals something deeper: the role of the human shopper is beginning to compress.
From browsing to deciding
For years, e-commerce has revolved around discovery — getting consumers to browse, compare and ultimately convert. That model is starting to shift.
We are moving toward an economy of decision-making, where choices are made earlier and with far more guidance — increasingly by AI systems acting on the consumer’s behalf.
McKinsey estimates that “agentic commerce,” where AI agents can autonomously shop for consumers, could represent a $1 trillion-plus opportunity by 2030. That’s not a niche trend. It’s a structural transformation of how products are discovered, evaluated and purchased.
The new shelf space is algorithmic
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