Most Americans use AI for holiday shopping
A new survey by Visa finds that two-thirds of U.S. consumers are open to AI assistance this holiday season, with Gen Z leading the way. The survey, which polled over 1,000 U.S. adults, reveals that 41% of Americans wouldn’t tell someone that AI helped choose their gift, as more shoppers quietly hand AI the job of finding gifts and tracking down deals.
More than half of U.S. adults (54%) have already used AI for at least one shopping task, up from 47% last year. Shoppers are most comfortable handing AI practical tasks such as comparing prices (61%), checking availability (59%), finding discounts (57%), and suggesting gift ideas (54%).
Holiday Shopping Trends
Gen Z is leading the shift towards AI assistance, with more than eight in 10 young consumers open to AI help and 73% willing to let it suggest gift ideas. However, there’s a gap between browsing and buying, with only 23% of U.S. consumers trusting AI to handle payment transactions on their behalf.
The Visa Trust Index found that 61% of consumers trust Visa to secure an AI-powered payment, rising to 68% among 18-34 year-olds and 71% among frequent AI users. Familiar brands may be what bridges the gap between AI as a shopping assistant and AI as a shopping agent.
Cost-Conscious Shopping
The most common actions include hunting for discounts (47%), cutting discretionary spending (35%), and trading down to lower-cost brands (33%).
Experiences top wish lists, with travel (60%) and live-event tickets (55%) being the most desired gifts. However, when it comes to actual purchasing, only 15% of respondents prioritize experiences, while 27% focus on physical items.
Notably, Gen Z is more aligned with their wishes, with 39% splitting spending evenly between experiences and physical items, compared to 26% of all adults.
Read Also: Digital payments outpace healthcare revenue performance
Cross-Border Shopping and Fraud Concerns
Three in 10 Americans expect to buy at least one gift from an overseas seller this season, with Gen Z leading the way. The draw isn’t just price, but also quality (32%) and uniqueness (31%).
Fraud concerns remain top of mind, with three-quarters of Americans taking precautions to safeguard themselves from losses. In response, three-quarters of Americans have changed how they shop, including enabling two-factor authentication (34%), changing passwords more often (34%), declining to save payment details (25%), switching from debit to credit cards (24%), and using digital wallets (21%).
Among Americans who send money abroad, 51% say that after seeing the benefits, they are likely to use stablecoins in the next year. Half of those who send money abroad call crypto a useful way to do so, compared to 26% of adults.
According to Michael Brown, principal U.S.
The survey also found that stablecoins and crypto are gaining traction, particularly among Gen Z and those who send money abroad. More than half (56%) of Americans see a benefit to stablecoins, rising to 77% among Gen Z.
Holiday Spending Shifts
The FIFA World Cup 2026 ™ is leaving its mark on holiday lists, with nearly a third of Americans saying the tournament has boosted their interest in sports-related gifts. This figure climbs to about half among households earning $100,000 or more and adults under 35.
