AI Chatbots Spark Online Shopping During 2024 Holiday Season

Online holiday shopping in 2024 reached $241 billion, a nearly 9% increase compared to last year. Recent data from Adobe Analytics credits AI chatbots for a substantial boost in traffic to e-commerce sites.

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, Adobe statistics showed a 1,300% rise in shopper clicks to retail sites provided by an AI-powered shopping assistant versus the 2023 holiday season. Cyber Monday saw the most significant upswing, surging 1,950%.

An Adobe survey found one-fifth of shoppers use AI to search for sales and deals. According to FOX Business, of the 5,000 respondents, almost 20% asked AI about a specific product and 15% got brand recommendations from a chatbot. Most telling is the response by 70% of participants who said AI improves the shopping experience.

Shopping via a mobile device also showed a notable increase over the 2023 holiday season. Approximately 54% of online purchases were made via a smartphone.

“The 2024 holiday season showed that e-commerce is being reshaped by a consumer who now prefers to transact on smaller screens and lean on generative AI-powered services to shop more efficiently,” said Adobe Digital Insights Lead Analyst Vivek Pandya, per ABC News. 

AI chatbots played a pivotal role in shaping shoppers’ decisions and will continue to do so. It appears that GenAI did influence the 2024 holiday season as previously anticipated.

Discounts Were Another Online Shopping Motivator

Adobe also noted deep discounts encouraged consumers to spend last year, as reported by CNBC. As prices for essential household items remained high, shoppers often waited for sales and deals, specifically around holiday events, before opening up their wallets. In general, for every 1% price discount, consumer interest rose 1% in lockstep.

Adobe’s data found electronics, apparel, and furniture made up over half of all online spending. It was electronics that led in discounts, as the peak price reduction in this category was 30.1%. Meanwhile, price drops in apparel reached 23.2%. Savvy shoppers could find toys and TVs discounted by as much as 28% and 24.2%, respectively.

“You have a consumer that’s very strategic and thinking a lot about their strategy around where they’re buying, when they’re buying, what’s offering the best deal,” said Pandya.