A survey from Alchemer, a developer of customer experience and intelligence technology, indicated that more consumers plan to shop in person at brick-and-mortar stores this year than online, as they cope with economic pressures and navigate a retail landscape undergoing change.
Consumers already have an idea about where they want to shop for the holidays, even if their planning is in an early phase, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Report. Key findings from the survey include:
- 35.8% of consumers plan to shop in physical stores.
- 31.1% of consumers intend to shop online via retail sites and apps.
- 19.2% of consumers anticipate shopping online and in-store about evenly.
Looking ahead to the back half of the year, 38.2% of shoppers said tighter budgets will significantly impact their holiday spending, and 27% said rising prices will influence their purchasing decisions. Significant price increases emerged as the leading reason shoppers would abandon a retailer they have favored in the past. Overall, 69% of consumers rank price and value among the most important factors when deciding what to buy.
The upcoming holiday season will be one where AI takes a bigger role in shopping and purchasing, Alchemer pointed out. However, confidence in AI-generated recommendations remains limited even with adoption of the technology. As such, 48.5% of shoppers said they used an AI tool to research a purchase during the past year, but only 35.4% stated that they trust AI-generated shopping recommendations. Skepticism abounds, the report suggested, with 42% of consumers saying they believe online reviews posted today may be faked or influenced by AI.
Although macroeconomic circumstances will affect holiday shopping, consumer choices also are influenced by retailer performance. In the survey, 41% of consumers responding said out-of-stock items are their biggest shopping frustration, followed by hidden fees at checkout (32.3%) and slow checkout experiences (30.6%). Retailers might not be fully aware of how many consumers are frustrated by poor practices, as 47.7% of survey respondents said they never provide feedback after a negative experience, often because they don’t believe it will prompt meaningful change.
“Our research shows that shoppers don’t expect retailers to reinvent the shopping experience; they just want them to get the basics right,” said Brian Henley, Alchemer vice president of research services. “Consumers are spending more carefully, using AI more often and expecting every interaction to be seamless. Retailers that offer a great experience in store and online while delivering good value will have a clear advantage this holiday season.”
