AI is changing how people shop. However, it isn’t changing where they buy nearly as much as you’d think. A recent Forbes piece argues that artificial intelligence may actually make physical stores more valuable this holiday season.
Shoppers trust AI, but they still want the real thing
Three in 10 consumers now say they trust AI more than their own judgment when they shop for the holidays. That sounds like bad news for brick and mortar. It isn’t.
Accenture’s Holiday Shopping Survey found that shoppers still expect to split their holiday spending evenly between stores and digital channels. Capital One Shopping reports that U.S. mall traffic is up 2.71% from last year. Even Gen Z and heavy generative AI users are putting a big share of their holiday budgets into physical stores.
The pattern is simple. AI helps people start the search. Stores help them finish it.
Confidence is the new currency
Nearly half of consumers expect generative AI to shape what they buy this year. Yet 32% plan to visit stores specifically for gift ideas, and close to half want to see, touch or try a product before they buy. Stores are still the top source of recommendations and advice, ahead of AI tools, online marketplaces and search engines.
Almost one in five shoppers say gift giving is tougher than it was five years ago, and 28% wish they had a better sense of what people actually want. With household budgets still stretched, nobody wants to get it wrong. A store visit gives them the reassurance they’re after.
Associates are becoming advisors
Today’s shoppers often walk in already well informed. They’ve asked an AI assistant, compared options and read the reviews. But being informed doesn’t always mean feeling confident. That’s where store staff come in. Their job is shifting from reciting product specs to helping customers weigh their options and commit.
The bigger point is that shoppers don’t think in channels. A search that starts with a chatbot, moves to a retailer’s website and ends at the register is one journey to them. Every clunky handoff along the way adds friction right when they’re trying to decide.
Value retailers are winning
Nearly half of U.S. consumers plan to buy gifts at mass merchants and warehouse clubs this year, up from 38% in 2025. The economy explains a lot of that. Accenture’s Macro Foresight analysis shows real household incomes are still 5% below pre-pandemic levels, and consumer confidence is hovering near record lows.
Price matters, but so does simplicity. These stores let shoppers knock out several gifts in one trip, compare items side by side and find things they wouldn’t have spotted online. Making it easier to buy can be worth as much as offering more choices.
At the moment, it appears that the store’s role is moving from discovery to decision, and that keeps well-located retail space relevant even as AI takes over more of the research phase.
AI may help shoppers figure out what to buy. The store is still where they decide they’re ready to buy it.
