Getting to Know You: How AI Is Shaping the Future of Shopping

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape retail, consumer demand for smart shopping experiences is growing rapidly. The majority of shoppers now want AI, particularly high-income individuals and the younger consumers who represent the future of commerce.

Retailers are responding by integrating innovative technologies that enhance shopping experiences, from personalized recommendations to virtual try-ons and voice commerce. These advancements are transforming retail, offering consumers more tailored and interactive journeys.

As AI becomes increasingly central to shopping, merchants have an opportunity to engage customers more deeply and build long-term loyalty.

Most Consumers Want AI-Powered Shopping Journeys

AI-powered shopping is not merely in demand by a handful of early adopters. The majority of consumers (51%) want at least one kind of AI-assisted shopping feature.

Moreover, the consumers who want AI-enabled retail journeys the most include merchants’ highest-value customers, and they represent the future. That is, higher-income and younger consumers prove the likeliest to want AI-powered shopping experiences.

Among consumers who make more than $100,000 annually, 59% say they want at least one type of AI-assisted shopping. Meanwhile, 51% of those making $50,000-$100,000 said the same. Lower-income consumers are not particularly interested in this kind of retail innovation. Only 40% of those making less than $50,000 annually said they want any kind of AI shopping experience.

Younger generations disproportionately seek AI in shopping. Generation Z and zillennials — younger millennial and older Gen Z consumers born between 1991 and 1999 — want them most of all. Seventy-three percent of Gen Z and 74% of zillennials reported wanting such experiences. Similarly, two-thirds of millennials said the same. In contrast, only 51% of Generation X consumers and 26% of baby boomers and seniors want AI in shopping.

Merchants, for their part, are integrating AI into consumers’ experiences to meet the demands of their youngest and wealthiest customers. Take, for instance, Walmart, which is enhancing the digital search experience with generative AI to help shoppers find what they want. Best Buy, meanwhile, is beginning to offer AI-powered delivery-tracking functionality for eCommerce purchases. Clothing retailers are turning to AI to improve sizing information online, reducing returns.

AI-Seeking Shoppers Want Targeted Recommendations

The most in-demand AI-powered shopping feature is personalized offers. Twenty-five percent of consumers said they would like to receive personalized promotions or deals, a greater share than those seeking any other smart retail experience. By generation, that share rises to roughly one-third of Gen Z consumers and millennials and 36% of zillennials.

Indeed, retailers are investing in meeting this demand. For instance, grocery giant Kroger attributes the effectiveness of its promotions to its efforts at personalizing deals. Macy’s, for its part, is turning its focus to providing relevant targeted offers in a push to improve the customer experience.

The second-most in-demand AI feature in shopping involves the products themselves. Eighteen percent of consumers said they want AI to offer the ability to customize their purchases, or even to design an entirely new item according to their wishes and budget. Gen Z consumers, known to value self-expression, surpassed all other generations in this wish, with 29% saying they would value such a feature.

Following product customization, the next-most wanted AI shopping capabilities are roughly equal in demand. Fourteen percent of consumers want online stores curated to their preferences, and the same share would like mixed-reality product try-ons. A similar proportion is seeking AI voice assistants for cart-building and fulfillment. A slightly lower share is interested in chatbots for personalized recommendations and real-time customer support.

Merchants tend to see positive results from their mixed-reality try-on offerings. Earlier this year, L’Oréal reported a 150% increase in virtual trials. Retail giants Walmart and Amazon, too, have been expanding their online try-on options.

Least in-demand, conversely, are prompt-based shopping experiences with AI assistants. Only 11% of consumers want these.

Innovations such as personalization and customization not only enhance shopping experiences but also offer merchants opportunities to deepen shopper loyalty. With younger generations and wealthier individuals driving demand, retail’s future is poised to become increasingly targeted and tech-driven.

More Than One-Quarter of Consumers Now Shop Using Voice AI

As AI transforms retail, voice assistants are playing a key role. PYMNTS Intelligence research reveals that 27% of consumers report having performed at least one kind of task related to shopping and paying for retail purchases using voice prompts in the last 12 months.

Further PYMNTS Intelligence research from the “How the World Does Digital” report reveals that the technology is gaining traction globally. This study found that 18% of the overall population utilizes voice technology for shopping at least once a week. Plus, 16% use these capabilities to pay.

Like other kinds of retail AI, voice commerce is more popular among younger and more affluent shoppers. Forty-two percent of Gen Z consumers said they had shopped or paid using voice prompts in the last year. Nearly one-third of consumers making more than $100,000 annually said the same, versus just 21% of those making less than $50,000.

That being said, pure-play generative AI voice commerce without the assistance of other devices remains relatively unusual. Only 6.9% of consumers said they had used voice prompts to fully complete the shopping and payment retail journey. Even the most voice-connected consumers, Gen Z, remain reliant on other connected technologies, with just 11% of Gen Zers having engaged in pure voice commerce.

So, while voice commerce is growing, particularly among younger and wealthier consumers, its adoption as a stand-alone tool remains limited. Full retail journeys powered solely by voice commands are still a niche experience. For now, even these early adopters continue to rely on a combination of voice assistants and other connected technologies.

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For more on AI’s role in retail, dig into PYMNTS Intelligence’s studies and Trackers^®. Check out AI-Enabled Payments Enhance Customer Options and learn What Generative AI Has in Store for the Retail Industry.