{"id":28504,"date":"2026-02-17T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/uncategorized\/2026-retail-consumer-study\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T13:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:07:38","slug":"2026-retail-consumer-study","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/e-books\/2026-retail-consumer-study\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Retail consumer study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-paragraph-intro has-h-3-font-size\">AI is no longer a novelty. It\u2019s shaping how people shop and who they trust.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--1 wp-block-paragraph\">This past holiday season marked a turning point. AI moved from behind-the-scenes technology to a front-row role in the customer journey. Shoppers relied on AI to get ideas, compare prices, validate decisions, and reduce the friction of choice overload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--2 wp-block-paragraph\">But with influence comes expectation. Consumers want AI that\u2019s fast&nbsp;<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;relevant. Helpful&nbsp;<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;trustworthy. And while adoption is rising fast, trust is still cautious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--3 wp-block-paragraph\">Our latest retail consumer study,&nbsp;<strong><em>AI has entered the holiday shopping mainstream<\/em><\/strong>, reveals how AI is reshaping shopping behavior, where it delivers real value, and where retailers risk losing credibility if experiences fall short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--4 wp-block-paragraph\">Based on a survey of&nbsp;<strong>1,000 U.S. consumers<\/strong>, this research explores how shoppers actually use AI during high-stakes moments like holiday shopping and what that means for retail CX strategy in 2026 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-paragraph-article has-h-4-font-size\">What\u2019s inside?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>1 in 3 U.S. shoppers<\/strong>&nbsp;used AI during the holiday season and&nbsp;<strong>60% used it repeatedly<\/strong>, not just once.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>69% of shoppers<\/strong>&nbsp;report satisfaction with AI-powered shopping experiences, signaling strong momentum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>87% use AI primarily for inspiration<\/strong>, not transactions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>58% made a purchase based on an AI recommendation<\/strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>91% say AI influenced or validated a decision<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly&nbsp;<strong>8 in 10 shoppers<\/strong>&nbsp;value AI recommendations as much as\u2014or more than\u2014brand guidance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trust is growing, but guarded: most consumers are&nbsp;<strong>only \u201csomewhat\u201d confident<\/strong>&nbsp;retailers use AI responsibly, citing concerns around privacy, transparency, and bias.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--5 wp-block-paragraph\">This report goes beyond adoption stats to uncover&nbsp;<em>why<\/em>&nbsp;AI works,&nbsp;<em>where<\/em>&nbsp;it breaks down, and&nbsp;<em>how<\/em>&nbsp;retailers can design AI experiences that build confidence instead of eroding trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-article is-style-paragraph-article--6 wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll learn how to align AI with real shopper expectations, optimize for AI-driven discovery, and turn responsible AI use into a competitive advantage; especially in high-consideration moments where trust matters most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-paragraph-intro is-style-paragraph-intro--7 wp-block-paragraph\">Download the whitepaper&nbsp;and see how AI is redefining retail CX and what retail leaders must do next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI is no longer a novelty. It\u2019s shaping how people shop and who they trust. This past holiday season marked a turning point. AI moved from behind-the-scenes technology to a front-row role in the customer journey. Shoppers relied on AI to get ideas, compare prices, validate decisions, and reduce the friction of choice overload. But [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":28505,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"temp_reference":0,"temp_parent":0,"pathfactory_url":"https:\/\/library.forsta.com\/forsta-ebooks\/2026-retail-ai-report?lb-mode=overlay&page=1&business_units=CX","webinar_link":"","webinar_link_text":"","start_date":"","start_time":"","end_date":"","end_time":""},"resource-category":[213,217],"resource-topic":[219],"class_list":["post-28504","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource-category-e-books","resource-category-white-papers","resource-topic-customer-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/28504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/28504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-category?post=28504"},{"taxonomy":"resource-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-topic?post=28504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}