AI shopping adoption explodes ahead of festive season – new research reveals
New UK research from leading payments consultancy, PSE Consulting, highlights the rapid adoption of AI-driven shopping tools and growing consumer trust in agentic AI ahead of Black Friday and Christmas this year, signalling a transformative moment for payments infrastructure and fintech.
Nearly half of UK adults surveyed (49%) now use AI tools regularly, and almost a quarter (22%) plan to use them for Black Friday and Christmas shopping. Among 18-34-year-olds, 42% intend to use AI, illustrating strong uptake among younger, urban, and more affluent consumers.
Significantly, 85% of those planning to use AI for shopping this festive season would trust it to place orders and execute payments on their behalf. This marks a significant shift in consumer behaviour, demonstrating how agentic AI is moving beyond recommendations to handle full transactional flows.
Analysts predict that by the end of the decade, AI-powered shopping could reshape global retail which has prompted the payments consultancy to commission this research. In the US alone, automated “agentic” shopping tools may influence up to $1tn in online spending by 2030, with worldwide estimates running into several trillion dollars. The shift signals how quickly AI could become a routine part of how people find, compare, and buy everyday products.
The research follows the launch of OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol in partnership with fintech giant Stripe earlier this year. While the service is expected to reach Europe in 6–9 months due to issues with Strong Customer Authentication, the findings demonstrate strong latent demand for agentic AI-powered commerce.
Despite the rapid adoption, UK consumers remain cautious. Privacy, fraud, and accuracy concerns are significant barriers, with 49% worried about data handling, 46% about fraud, and 41% fearing AI might select the wrong item. Only 9% report no concerns, indicating that trust and transparency remain critical for widespread adoption.
PSE Consulting’s research also identifies an emerging “AI shopping confidence divide.” Early UK adopters – typically 18-34, affluent, and urban use AI daily or several times a week. They are almost twice as likely as the general population to plan AI-assisted holiday shopping, though they remain cautious about practical issues such as returns, incorrect items, and opaque checkout flows. At the other end, UK traditionalists, typically 55+, with lower digital exposure, remain hesitant. Over half never use AI tools, and 80% will not rely on them for festive shopping.
Chris Jones, managing director at PSE Consulting, said: “What’s remarkable is how quickly AI has moved from novelty to an integral part of shopping.”
“AI is now becoming an active participant in the payment process. Systems designed for human-paced transactions are now under pressure to support high-frequency, autonomous agent-initiated flows. This has major implications for fintechs, merchants, and payment processors, especially around real-time authorisations, fraud detection, and liability management.”
He added: “The emerging ‘AI confidence divide’ is quietly reshaping shopping behaviour. Early adopters are already turning to AI daily to hunt for deals and select gifts, while more traditional shoppers are taking a wait-and-see approach. Businesses that want to stay relevant will need to rethink how they engage customers, whether through integrated AI tools, personalised assistants, or new ways of presenting products that appeal to both early adopters and more hesitant consumers.”
As agentic AI becomes more embedded in everyday shopping, PSE Consulting expects usage to continue rising but emphasises that widespread trust will only come when consumers feel protected and in control.