An analysis of shopping trends among 1,000 consumers across the US and UK by e-commerce platform developer Rithum has revealed a sharp generational divide in the use of artificial intelligence. The poll found that 64% of Gen Z shoppers simply followed the suggestion of an AI tool without verifying the source of the recommendations.
More than one in four millennials (29%) aged between 28- to 43-year-old said they would feel a real loss if AI were removed from their shopping experience. The picture was even more stark with over-60s, of which only 9% said their choices were informd by AI.
More than 80% of shoppers under 44 had used an LLM in the past three months when shopping – usually to look up product information and compare prices. Next came choosing a retailer, for which more than half of AI users turned to the technology. Popular categories were electronics (45%), clothing and accessories (37%) and groceries (36%).
With a smart shopping assistant at their side, a third of shoppers said they can make decisions more quickly. Strikingly, 19% now buy brands they did not know before, purely on the basis of an AI recommendation. At the same time, 32% spend less time browsing, which marketers long regarded as an inevitable discovery process.
Almost half of the so-called AI power users said they were willing to let AI make purchasing decisions for them.
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