Dive Brief:
- It’s becoming the norm for consumers to use generative AI tools and social media when deciding what to buy, a survey by Capgemini of 12,000 global shoppers found.
- Nearly 3 in 5 consumers have replaced traditional search engines with generative AI and over two-thirds of shoppers want the tech to aggregate search results from online search engines, social media platforms and retailers’ websites.
- Roughly two-thirds of millennials and Gen Z, closely followed by Gen X, have replaced traditional search engines with generative AI tools such as ChatGPT for product recommendations, the survey found. Just 44% of baby boomers use generative AI when shopping.
Dive Insight:
Consumers are growing reliant on social media as a primary source across the entire shopping experience, from discovering products to making purchase decisions and engaging with retailers.
Nearly one-third of shoppers used social media to buy products and identify new brands last year, up from one-quarter in 2023. That number is even higher for Gen Z shoppers, where more than two-thirds have discovered a new product or brand on social media.
“Social commerce is the retailer’s route to Gen Z,” Capgemini found. Over half of Gen Z have bought products through a social media platform.
Beyond recommendations, consumers are also looking to social media for answers to questions about products, for reviews and to reach the retailers they purchase from. Over half of consumers occasionally use social media to search for product information and reviews. Two in five shoppers use social media for customer service.
Other reports have shown that Gen Z looks to social media the most for making purchase decisions. Over half of Gen Z have made an online purchase while browsing social media, a survey by Walmart and Morning Consult found.
Research from the ICSC found the vast majority, 85%, of Gen Z says social media impacts their purchase decisions, particularly TikTok and Instagram as the top platforms.
Generative AI has made similar strides, but across all generations of consumers. Nearly 3 in 5 respondents to an Adobe survey last year said generative AI has already improved their online shopping experience. Two-thirds of survey respondents want brands to analyze previous purchases and customer information to personalize the shopping experience.
