Holiday 2025: AI Shopping on the Rise as 27% of Shoppers Cut Back Spending

56%

According to a User Testing survey, about 1 in 3 shoppers plan to use AI this holiday season, with 56% of Gen Z and 50% of millennials leading the adoption, based on a survey of 4,000 consumers. While concerns over privacy and scams remain, 81% of Gen Z and 70% of millennials believe AI will transform shopping within 3 years, reducing stress and fatigue.

17%

Pinterest is rolling out two new ad formats—Top of Search (29% higher CTR, 32% more new clickers in beta) and local inventory ads (16.5% higher store visits in testing)—along with a new Media Connect tool. With 39% of Gen Z starting shopping searches on Pinterest and the platform reporting a 17% revenue rise globally in Q2 2025, these updates aim to boost brand engagement ahead of holiday shopping.

27%

Only 22% of U.S. consumers plan to spend more this holiday season, while 27% intend to cut back on their spending, according to Experian. Nearly 40% will shop both online and in-store, with 80% still preferring physical retail, though just 12% expect to use AI for purchases. PwC projects a 5% drop in holiday sales, while Deloitte forecasts modest growth of 2.9%–3.4%.

52%

A Sprout Social survey shows 52% of consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia worry about undisclosed AI-generated content, tied with data misuse as their top concern. With 62.7% of marketers already using AI for posts and just 28% of consumers trusting social platforms, brands must prioritize transparency to build trust.

90%

TikTok is boosting creator earnings in the U.S. and Canada, now offering up to 90% of subscription revenue. Eligible creators with 10,000+ subscribers and 1M monthly views can earn a 70% share plus a 20% bonus, marking TikTok’s biggest push yet to retain top talent.

88%

New research shows 88% of mobile ad budgets still go to Google and Meta, yet APAC’s booming independent app ecosystem, reaching 2B daily users—can deliver up to 214% higher returns. With mobile costs rising and 70% of user attention outside Google and Meta, advertisers are diversifying into gaming, finance, and productivity apps to unlock scalable growth.

18

OpenAI has expanded its low-cost ChatGPT Go plan to 18 Asian countries, including India and Indonesia, where it’s priced around $4.50/month—a fraction of the $20 Plus plan. Adoption in lower-income countries is growing 4x faster than in higher-income nations, boosting access to GPT-5 with features like image generation, file uploads, and advanced data analysis.