With more help from AI, consumers were active in the digital marketplace as 2025 closed out, with online holiday spending increasing 4% in the United States versus seasonal sales in 2024, reaching $294 billion, according to Salesforce.
The customer relationship management firm reported that its research showed global online sales rose 7% to $1.29 trillion during the holiday season. Shopping remained brisk throughout the holiday period, with sales during the last two weeks of December up 9% in the U.S. and 12% worldwide year over year, outpacing earlier in the season, Salesforce observed.
The average selling price in the holiday season increased 7% year over year worldwide and in the U.S. Order volumes this season increased more modestly: up 3% globally and 1% in the U.S. compared with the year before. Yet that rate provided evidence that holiday shoppers were not overly price-sensitive.
Stores remained a fixture of the shopping season despite growth in online sales. Consumers completed purchases of about one in five orders as buy online, pick up in store during the holidays. The rate climbed to one in three during the final five days before Christmas as shoppers rushed to finish their last-minute gifting, Salesforce noted. Still, consumers browsed heavily before purchasing, with online traffic growing 13% globally and 12% in the U.S. year over year, and Salesforce pointed out that it eclipsed last year’s growth rates of 1% and 2%, respectively.
At the same time, return rates rose. Consumers returned more than $181 billion in global online purchases between November 1 and December 31, accounting for 14% of all purchases and representing a 10% increase in returns from last year. Items purchased in-store during the final four days before Christmas had the highest likelihood of a return by early January, Salesforce indicated.
As technology plays a larger role in retail, Salesforce credits artificial intelligence and digital agents for shopper support, which drive 20% of all retail sales and generate $262 billion in global revenue through personalized recommendations and deeper customer engagement. The share of global and U.S. retail traffic from third-party AI search channels such as ChatGPT and Perplexity doubled versus the year before. AI search channels, although still in an early growth phase, delivered high-intent shoppers. Salesforce reported that shoppers referred to retailer websites via AI-powered search channels converted nine times more often than those referred via social media.
Retailers that deployed AI agents, such as those provided by Salesforce clients SharkNinja, Pandora and Funko, generated a 6.2% year over year sales increase versus 3.9% for those that did not, Salesforce asserted. Consumers used retailer AI and agents for customer service 126% more often during the holiday peak period than in the two months prior. December saw a 66% increase in agentic AI-powered service conversations compared with November, while interactions during the week of Christmas and Boxing Day grew 12% year over year. Beyond answering questions, AI agents increasingly took direct action on behalf of customers, handling 142% more tasks, including updating delivery addresses and initiating returns, than they had in the prior two months.
In announcing the research results, Caila Schwartz, Salesforce director, consumer insights, said, “The 2025 holiday season marked a definitive shift to a new era of ‘agentic’ shopping. While shoppers remained resilient amid higher prices, the real story was how retailers leveraged AI and agents to navigate the holiday rush. Agents didn’t just drive $262 billion in sales through high-intent discovery; they became the operational heroes of the season, handling a 142% surge in tasks like returns and shipping updates. This wasn’t just a bigger holiday season than last year; it was a more efficient, intelligent one.”
