Sales Strategy
AI Steps Into the Holiday Aisle: What Shoppers Plan This Season October 20, 2025 (0 comments)
Gurnee, IL--Retailers are preparing for a holiday season where artificial intelligence meaningfully influences online buying. As per the article by Digital Commerce 360, new Deloitte data and retailer announcements indicate that shoppers will increasingly rely on AI to compare prices, interpret reviews, and plan purchases.
[Image via iStock.com/mustafaU]
The article highlights that at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference, brands including Williams-Sonoma, Pandora, and SharkNinja detailed new AI features aimed at improving discovery and support. These launches preview how AI will shape the months ahead for e-commerce.
Survey Data: AI Use Rises, Especially Among Gen Z
According to Digital Commerce 360, citing Deloitte's survey of 4,270 U.S. consumers, 33% plan to use AI for holiday shopping in 2025, while 43% of Gen Z intend to do so. The article notes that 26% report higher comfort with generative AI than they did six months ago.
- 56% will use AI to compare prices and find deals.
- 47% will use it to summarize product reviews.
- 33% will use it to generate shopping lists.
As per the article, growing trust coincides with agentic AI and checkout features from OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, and others becoming more visible to mainstream shoppers.
Retailers Bring AI to E-commerce Platforms
The article states that Salesforce clients showcased practical AI deployments at Dreamforce:
- Williams-Sonoma is developing interior design agents to advise on furnishings within room-layout context.
- Pandora presented Gemma, a shopper-facing agent built with Salesforce's Agentforce Commerce (formerly Commerce Cloud).
- SharkNinja relaunched its DTC site with Salesforce-built AI agents for customer support.
The Takeaway
AI is transitioning from hype to shopper-facing utilities. With a third of U.S. consumers—and an even larger share of Gen Z—planning to use AI this season, retailers are using the holidays to test and refine agents that improve convenience, trust, and conversion.
Learn more in this article by Digital Commerce 360.