Consumer Pulse Research from business services firm Accenture reveals 74% of participating consumers said they would let an AI agent handle routine tasks for them, while 32% said they are ready to hand over purchase decisions, and 9% are open to fully autonomous shopping.
As retail tech continues to develop, Accenture maintains that AI agents are poised to rewrite the rules of brand value and shape what consumers purchase, redefining consumer, brand and retailer relationships.
In the multinational study, 85% of consumers were open to at least some form of collaborative interaction with AI agents. How open consumers are to delegating functions to AI agents varies, with the highest hurdle being relinquishing purchasing decisions to the technology. Only 12% of study participants said they are open to such transactions, according to Accenture. Consumers are most open to delegating at least some autonomy to AI agents for recurring services, such as insurance and utility payments.
Already, 71% of consumers expect GenAI to influence some of their shopping decisions over the next year, even if they aren’t ready to delegate decision-making to artificial intelligence.
At least some consumers see AI as a means to make lifestyle improvements, as 63% want agents to shop for their idealized selves by, for example, making healthier choices and sticking to a budget. When they consider shopping, 87% of consumers said AI will impact the role of the store in some way. Yet, many consumers still see brick-and-mortar stores as fulfilling needs. A significant proportion of study participants, 31%, related that stores would become more important as locations where they can have and share joyous shopping moments.
