A Shopify says that 65% of consumers intend to use artificial intelligence in at least one stage of the 2026 holiday shopping, indicating that the technology is starting to advance from product discovery to tasks closer to the transaction. The figure is part of the Global Holiday Retail Report released by the company this Tuesday (6).
The survey polled 18,000 adult consumers in nine markets, in addition to 7,500 owners and decision-makers of small and medium-sized businesses.
Among the main expected uses are searching for deals, inspiration and product discovery. AI agents are also starting to take on roles such as recommending items, comparing alternatives and assembling carts from natural language commands.
Autonomous purchasing, however, still faces a trust barrier. Only about a third of consumers say they trust an agent to actually complete a purchase on their behalf.
Brands already record sales originating from AI
The shift is starting to show up in the results of some companies. Stanley 1913 recorded in the United States five times more orders originating from AI traffic year over year, while ILIA's sales attributed to those sources nearly tripled.
Cottonique reported growth of 276% in sales originating from AI in one year, against an increase of 52% in total sales. The result indicates how conversational searches can expand the discovery of products aimed at specific needs.
The survey also shows greater openness to smaller brands: 71% of frequent AI users said they were more likely to choose an independent or niche brand this year.
For retailers, the advance increases the importance of structured and up-to-date product data. Prices, inventory, descriptions, reviews and delivery conditions need to be understandable also by agents capable of selecting and comparing products automatically.
