Consumers seem more ready for AI-assisted holiday shopping than many retailers are prepared to meet expectations set by artificial intelligence, according to new research from Narvar, a post-purchase support platform.
Retailers and consumers are on the same page about some holiday-season intentions but not others, according to the Narvar study.
Narvar fielded a survey for consumers and one for retail decision-makers. In reviewing the data, the company concluded that 65% of consumers plan to use AI for at least part of their holiday shopping this year, but only 8% of retailers describe themselves as very confident in using AI to improve the customer experience.
One area where shoppers and retailers concur is on delivery satisfaction. Reliable delivery dates influence 49% of consumers’ purchase decisions, a figure in line with the 51% of retailers who cite delivery-date accuracy as a top conversion strategy, Narvar maintained.
There is less alignment on early holiday shopping: 58% of consumers say they intend to start their holiday shopping sooner than last year, yet 77% of retailers have no plans to incentivize early shopping. Despite affordability concerns, 63% of consumers are accepting the realities of inflation and expect to spend more this holiday season than in 2025.
For their part, consumers described several intentions as they considered how to get the most from AI:
- 43% will bring AI to bear in gift discovery
- 33% plan to compare products and summarize reviews using AI before buying
- 29% intend to employ AI in budgeting and planning their holiday spending
- 15% aim to apply AI functions after checkout to, for example, track packages and create return reminders
In addition, 78% of consumers said they would use AI-powered tools if doing so made their shopping experience feel more personalized.
Meanwhile, Narvar stated that just 14% of retailers expect greater use of AI shopping assistants to be the biggest behavioral change this season. Narvar noted that most retailers still are concentrating their attention on shipping costs, discounts and operational execution.
More generally, Narvar found that 45% of shoppers are worried about having enough money for gifts, even though 66% said they have access to extra cash for unplanned purchases most or all of the time.
As they try to balance personal finances and spending, shoppers are being careful about prospects for purchase satisfaction. As such, 56% of consumers said they have delayed or avoided a purchase because they were uncertain how long a refund might take.
Returns remain an issue, with 46% of consumers saying they steer clear of retailers that charge for such. Some 51% of consumers said that avoiding delivery issues, offering a hassle-free return experience, and providing a discount would, in each case, make them want to shop with a retailer again after the holidays.
When it comes to getting the goods, 76% of consumers said they would accept slower delivery in exchange for free shipping. But when asked directly what timeframe felt acceptable for a free-shipping order, almost 11% said same-day and 18% next-day.
“Consumers aren’t waiting for retailers to catch up,” said Anisa Kumar, Narvar CEO. “They’ve already brought AI into how they discover gifts, compare prices and decide what to buy. The retailers who win this season will be the ones who meet that shift with a purchase and fulfillment experience that actually lives up to what AI has trained shoppers to expect.”
