Dive Brief:
- Consumers are leveraging tech to shop this holiday season, according to a Klaviyo report released Tuesday. More than half of shoppers plan to use AI to compare prices, find products and get personalized recommendations during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend.
- Four in 10 consumers plan to shop during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend. But 20% of consumers have already kick-started their holiday shopping, making their first purchases between June and August.
- Within North America, 24% of shoppers expect to make their first holiday purchase in October, followed by November (21%) and September (15%), the global survey of 7,000 consumers found.
Dive Insight:
Consumers are starting early and utilizing AI tools this holiday shopping season, according to Klaviyo’s report.
“Our data shows that consumers aren’t just shopping earlier, they're shopping smarter,” Jake Cohen, head of industry and insights at Klaviyo, said in a statement. “They expect brands to meet them with timely offers, personalized recommendations, and seamless experiences no matter the month or channel.”
Thirty-percent of consumers say they will use AI tools to find deals and compare prices, while 20% will use it to search for products and 11% will use it to check reviews.
The findings support other research that signals some consumers are willing to use AI for their shopping journey. A PwC survey published in June found that one-fifth of back-to-school shoppers anticipated using AI to look for online discounts. But AI adoption is still in its early days: A YouGov poll released last month found that 43% of Americans had heard of AI shopping assistants, but only 14% had ever used one.
Other research suggests that AI tools may have played a role in increasing holiday season sales last year. In its analysis released last December, Salesforce predicted that AI would lead to more than $200 billion in holiday sales, up 12% from 2023.
Klaviyo’s findings came out as many consumers approach a holiday season clouded with economic uncertainty. The majority (82%) of respondents to Inmar Intelligence’s 2025 Holiday Commerce Forecast survey said they planned to save on groceries and other essentials to pay for their holiday expenses.
