PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Talkdesk®, a leader in customer experience automation (CXA), today released its Post-2025 Holiday Shopping Survey, revealing that AI was deeply embedded across most Americans’ holiday shopping journeys, with 89% of shoppers using AI in some form. As a result, 74% of consumers saved hours shopping because the experience was more efficient.
Specifically, 68% of shoppers used an AI chatbot to find cost-saving deals, up from 60% in 2024, while 66% used it to get gift ideas for a loved one, up from 43%. Shoppers also used AI to find product reviews (61%), get inspiration for personal holiday shopping (50%), purchase gifts (46%), and track holiday shipments (45%). Many reported meaningful time savings, with 43% estimating AI saved them 1-3 hours shopping, 26% saving 4-6 hours, and 7% estimating more than 6 hours saved.
Overall, 57% said AI improved their holiday shopping experience. And for retailers, the data suggests better experiences correlate with higher spending, as 44% of respondents said they increased their holiday spending, despite a turbulent year in personal finances for many consumers.
“AI is reshaping how people experience retail,” said Michael Klein, head of retail, travel & hospitality product marketing at Talkdesk. “When implemented thoughtfully, AI helps shoppers save time and money, feel supported, and shop with more confidence. But as adoption grows, retailers must be as focused on earning trust through responsible AI practices as they are on delivering efficiency.”
Ethics and transparency directly impact brand trust
Consumer trust can be fragile. During the holiday season, 24% of shoppers reported receiving a biased product recommendation from an AI chatbot based on a stereotype. Among those shoppers, 32% lost trust in the brand, 27% wouldn’t recommend it to others, and 19% said they would not shop with that brand again.
This holiday season, 31% of shoppers who spoke with a retail customer service representative were unsure if they were speaking to an AI virtual agent or a human agent. If a brand did not disclose that a shopper was interacting with an AI agent, 40% said they would feel misled.
AI eases holiday shopping stress
Among shoppers who said AI improved their holiday shopping experience, 66% reported it was easier and less stressful to find gifts, while 65% said it was easier to identify deals or savings. Nearly half said AI delivered more personalized and relevant recommendations (48%), and 43% said they received faster support or service. AI also played a meaningful role in gift selection. Only 1% of shoppers said AI made poor gift choices, while nearly one-third said AI selected gifts much better than they would have on their own, reinforcing its ability to boost confidence during one of the most stressful shopping periods of the year.
These findings underscore both the growing impact of AI on holiday shopping and the responsibility retailers face as adoption accelerates. While AI usage continues to grow, with 77% of shoppers saying they are more likely to use AI while shopping throughout 2026 (only 2% are less likely), consumer expectations around ethical, transparent AI are rising just as quickly. Retailers that pair innovation with responsible AI practices will be best positioned to earn trust and drive long-term loyalty.
Methodology: The Talkdesk Post-2025 Holiday Shopping Survey was conducted via the online platform Pollfish on December 31, 2025. It asked 1,000 consumers in the United States who made purchases during the 2025 holiday season about their experiences using AI to assist in the holiday shopping experience.
About Talkdesk
Talkdesk® is leading a new era in customer experience with Customer Experience Automation (CXA)—a new category and platform designed to automate the full complexity of modern customer journeys. CXA replaces fragmented, human-coordinated workflows with autonomous, multi-agent AI orchestration that delivers intelligent, scalable, and outcome-focused service across the entire CX lifecycle.
At the core of CXA is the Talkdesk Data Cloud, which turns transcripts, call recordings, case notes, and customer records from across CRMs and systems of record into real-time, actionable knowledge. This enables AI agents to operate with full context, collaborating seamlessly to resolve complex customer problems with speed, precision, and adaptability.
Talkdesk CXA supports both cross-industry workflows and industry-specialized use cases in sectors like healthcare, financial services, retail, consumer goods, utilities, travel, and government. With prebuilt AI agents, a virtuous automation cycle (Discover, Build, Orchestrate, Measure), and rapid time-to-value, Talkdesk helps enterprises modernize customer experience without the need for a full rip-and-replace.
Trusted by global brands and recognized for continuous innovation, Talkdesk empowers organizations to grow revenue, reduce costs, and transform service delivery through coordinated, AI-driven automation. Companies that love their customers use Talkdesk.
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