Gen Z and Millennials Want AI-Enabled Shopping Experiences

Many consumers may still be hesitant about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in commerce, but PYMNTS Intelligence research has found that young consumers are welcoming of the technology — for the most part.

By the Numbers

For the report “AI-Enabled Payments Enhance Customer Options,” created in collaboration with ACI Worldwide, PYMNTS Intelligence surveyed thousands of consumers to understand their familiarity with and interest in AI technologies, among other matters.

The results reveal that a minority of consumers — 44% — is at least somewhat interested in integrating AI technologies into shopping experiences. Yet, that share rises to include more than half for younger generations, with 69% of Gen Z consumers and 54% of millennials and bridge millennials reporting that they are interested. 

The Data in Context

Brands, retailers and marketplaces alike are tapping AI to drive shopper engagement.

In January, for instance, Etsy launched a hub that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and human curation to help shoppers find gifts for any occasion, Gift Mode, which allows shoppers to enter information about the recipient and then browse items available from Etsy sellers that have been selected by the company’s machine learning (ML) technology. 

Retail giants Amazon and Walmart have also been stepping up their use of AI.

In a recent interview with PYMNTS, Tamara Jarrar, founder and CEO of direct-to-consumer (D2C) children’s sleepwear brand Bellabu Bear, contended that AI can go a long way toward driving sales by helping customers navigate digital platforms more seamlessly. She cited the example of AI-powered chat and recommendations.

The technology can make the platform “really customized to the customer’s experience, where they could really ask almost anything,” Jarrar said. “‘Can you add this to my cart for me?’ ‘I’m looking for this.’ ‘Can you tell me why these pajamas are eczema-friendly?’ … All of the information and knowledge is already inputted into our website, but for the customer sometimes they have a hard time navigating to it.”