As Sourcing Journal has been reporting over the past month, the state of the consumer around spending expectations for the holiday is, well, complicated.
Yes, they are shopping early and looking for deals. Are they concerned about inflation and the higher costs? Yes. Are they going to pull back on spending this year? Yes, and no.
The latest Consumer Behavior Report from Feedvisor backs all of this up, but researchers at the AI-powered optimization and intelligence platform found something else. While shoppers are concerned about prices this holiday season, the level of discomfort varies based on age.
In a survey of more than 1,000 consumers, the authors of the report said for shoppers over 65, “The problem is mostly about how much things cost, with 69 percent citing inflation as a pressure on their spending.” Then there’s Generation Z with 45 percent citing inflation, which was followed by job insecurity (38 percent) and then credit card debt (32 percent).
“However, in one bullish sign for the season, 53 percent of younger shoppers still plan to spend more this year,” the report’s authors said.
The report noted that shoppers are “squeezed but still buying.” Of those polled, 87 percent said economic factors have changed how they shop, while 62 percent cited inflation or price hikes as the single biggest pressure on their spending. “Yet 52 percent still buy online at least weekly, which has held between 51 percent and 57 percent across five years of Feedvisor surveys,” the report noted. “The shopping freeze never came.”
AI is also changing how shoppers shop, but it is not the end-all.
“AI starts the shopping journey, but marketplaces finish it,” the report stated. “ChatGPT is where 16 percent of shoppers start looking for products, but only 9 percent go there to buy. Amazon moves the other way, from 62 percent of search starts to 74 percent of purchases.”
The data showed that when AI recommends a product, only 5 percent buy it on the spot. “The rest check elsewhere first: 24 percent search Google and 18 percent search Amazon,” the report’s authors said. There are also differences by gender.
Sixty-five percent of men have used AI to research products, which compares with 45 percent of women. And of those polled, 74 percent of women said they would never let an AI agent buy for them. This compares to 50 percent of men. “Meanwhile, women lead on every money-saving behavior, including price comparison (49 percent versus 39 percent) and waiting for sales (46 percent versus 36 percent),” the report’s authors said. “The shoppers doing the most work to find value are the ones least served by today’s AI tools.”
The report also noted that consumers won’t hand AI their credit card. Of those polled, 62 percent said they would never let an AI agent order and pay on their behalf. Among the 38 percent who said they would, 76 percent said they would cap a single purchase at $100 or less.
The data also reinforced the notion that the market is in a so-called K-shaped economy. The report noted that nationally, it looks flat as 31 percent of respondents said they expect to spend more than last year, while 33 percent expect to spend less. “Underneath, 43 percent of households earning over $150,000 plan to spend more, while 26 percent of households under $25,000 plan to cut significantly,” the report stated.
Digging down deeper, the data showed that parents (48 percent spending more versus 22 percent of non-parents) and 18 to 29-year-olds (53 percent versus 16 percent of those 65-plus) are driving whatever growth there is.
When it comes to promotions, big sale events are losing their luster while holiday shopping is starting earlier. Forty-three percent of respondents said they are skeptical of events such as Prime Day and Black Friday. Of those polled, 28 percent said “deal quality has declined or feels artificial, and 15 percent ignore them entirely,” the report’s authors said, adding that 60 percent said they will start most of their holiday shopping by the end of October, while only 11 percent will wait until December.
The data also revealed that consumers rely most “on the signal they trust least.” The report’s authors said reviews are the top indicator of value at 49 percent. And fake reviews are tied for the “biggest frustration” with online shopping. “Only 9 percent rank AI as their most trusted source of product advice, compared with 40 percent for friends and family,” the report stated.
These findings show that apparel brands and retailers need to shift toward targeted, value-focused strategies that match clear demographic groups. To win early holiday spending and reach shoppers who are ready to buy, marketers should focus on higher-income households, parents and Gen Z shoppers, who are still willing to spend even with economic challenges.
At the same time, brands should offer clear and accessible pricing for budget-conscious and older customers. Since shoppers use AI mostly to discover products and track prices, not to make automatic purchases, apparel brands should make sure their product data is easy for AI to find and works smoothly with marketplaces like Amazon to help close sales.
As more people become wary of big sale events, apparel companies should highlight affordable treats, provide real early-season deals and encourage honest customer reviews to help turn careful, price-sensitive shoppers into buyers.