AI Shopping Assistants: 60% of Consumers Plan to Adopt in 2024
▼ Summary
– MarTechCharts provides data relevant to marketers and marketing operations professionals.
– Agentic AI is rapidly transforming shopping experiences for both retailers and consumers, according to a Kearney report.
– The report found that 73% of consumers are familiar with AI tools and 60% expect to use agentic AI in the next year.
– Retailers unprepared for this shift face significant risks, especially from cross-platform “super-agents” beyond their control.
– These bots represent a major shift by encouraging shoppers to seek better deals elsewhere, moving beyond traditional customer focus.
The retail landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the swift adoption of AI shopping assistants. A recent analysis from management consultancy Kearney reveals that a significant majority of consumers are now familiar with artificial intelligence tools, with 60% of shoppers actively planning to utilize these agentic AI systems within the next year. This trend signals a major shift in how people discover and purchase products.
For retailers, this evolution presents both a substantial opportunity and a serious challenge. Companies that fail to prepare for this new era of “agentic commerce” could face considerable risks to their market share and customer relationships. A primary concern involves the emergence of cross-platform “super-agents.” These advanced AI systems operate independently of any single retailer’s control, fundamentally altering the traditional dynamic where businesses could focus solely on their own customer base.
In this new environment, AI assistants will actively work on the shopper’s behalf, scanning the entire digital marketplace. They will proactively suggest alternative retailers if they find a superior price, a more suitable product, or a better overall deal elsewhere. This represents a seismic shift from brand-focused loyalty to a model governed by algorithmic logic, where the AI’s primary duty is to the consumer, not the store.
This data arrives as many marketing teams report their own AI initiatives are struggling to progress beyond the initial testing phase, often referred to as ‘pilot purgatory.’ The accelerating consumer adoption of agentic AI underscores the urgency for retailers to move their own AI strategies from experimentation to full-scale, integrated implementation.
(Source: MarTech)
