RetailMeNot Reports AI Is Influencing How Consumers Shop, Not What They Buy

Adoption has accelerated rapidly. AI usage for shopping assistance has more than doubled, climbing from 13% in May to over 25% this season. Trust has followed, but selectively.

Fifty two percent of consumers report some level of trust in AI to help find deals or gift ideas, signaling meaningful engagement without full delegation. As RetailMeNot’s retail insights expert Stephanie Carls explains, “AI isn’t pushing people to spend more. It’s changing how they decide.

Shoppers use it to compare products, understand differences, and confirm choices they were already leaning toward.” The takeaway for retailers is clear. AI is influencing consideration earlier in the funnel, but it is not closing the sale on its own.

AI Accelerates Research, Not Decisions Consumers are using AI to compress what was once a fragmented, time intensive research process. Price comparisons, feature analysis, deal discovery, and product differentiation now happen inside a single interface. That efficiency has changed the pace of shopping, not the endpoint…