Adobe forecasts AI traffic to U.S. retail sites will more than double this holiday season. AI-referred shoppers add items to carts 32% more often than others. They also generate 43% more revenue per visit. This reverses Adobe’s 18-month-old finding that non-AI traffic was more valuable. Over 75% of AI shoppers feel more confident in their purchases. Two-thirds are less likely to return AI-assisted buys. Adobe’s survey covered 5,000 U.S. consumers. Meta’s Muse AI agent reached 2.8 million downloads in its first 12 days. Apple’s new Siri AI may further shift consumer behavior. Brands now face designing for both human shoppers and their AI agents.
What changed
Non-AI traffic was worth 128% more than AI-referred visits 18 months ago.
What it unlocks
Brands can now appeal to AI assistants as a discovery and referral channel.
- AI traffic to retail sites up 130% YoY
- 32% higher cart-add rate for AI-referred shoppers
- 43% more revenue per AI visit
- 2.8M Meta Muse downloads in 12 days
Sources