Holiday shopping looks very different in 2026. Browsing endless retail pages is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Yet all that extra screen time is not driving huge sales. Quartz notes that “online shoppers are looking at far more and buying only slightly more.” In fact, Quartz points out that “more browsing is not turning into more buying.” Instead, consumers are turning to artificial intelligence to do the heavy lifting.
Based on Salesforce forecast data, Quartz explores how automated tools are reshaping the seasonal rush. Shoppers are skipping traditional search engines and starting their gift hunts on chat platforms. According to Quartz, “half of shoppers now use an AI assistant at some stage of buying.” Even more impressive, 74% of buyers actually trust the product suggestions these bots provide.
These digital helpers are about to flood online stores. Quartz reports that “AI chat agents will be the source of 20% of all ecommerce traffic during the 2026 holiday season.” Not all of that activity comes from human gift buyers, however. The traffic mix includes live shopper queries, background bots, and rival price scrapers.
Because bots read raw data rather than pretty web pages, stores must adapt fast. Standard search optimization is no longer enough to catch a bot’s attention. Quartz explains that “agents do not browse websites the way people do.” They pull real-time pricing, exact specs, and live inventory directly from structured data feeds. If a store’s catalog feed lags behind, its products simply get skipped.
Shoppers also split duties between different types of digital helpers. Quartz states that “general-purpose AI assistants and brand-owned AI agents do different jobs for holiday shoppers.” Buyers use general bots early on to build gift lists, compare items, and hunt for promo codes. Once they pick a store, they prefer a brand’s own chatbot to track orders and handle returns.
This digital shift is even reaching physical store aisles. About 12% of in-store buyers use chat tools while standing right in front of retail shelves. At the same time, economic pressure is pushing 35% of holiday buyers toward cheaper alternatives. Whether hunting for bargains online or in stores, smart agents are officially running the 2026 holiday season.
Sources:
- 2026 holiday shopping predictions and the rise of AI agents – Quartz: https://qz.com/2026-holiday-shopping-predictions-ai-agents#predictions-for-the-2026-holiday-shopping-season–and-how-ai-shopping-agents-will-change-it
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