Black Friday is almost here — and if you're struggling to keep up with all the deals already, AI might be able to help.
Thirty-eight percent of consumers say they have already used generative AI in their shopping journey or are planning to use it to shop during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to a new survey by Boston Consulting Group.
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"It differs a bit by age," said Aaron Wilson, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group. "What we found actually is younger consumers use it or plan to use it a bit more… And what's important about that is that millennials now are the biggest spenders during the Black Friday season."
And more than 80% of people who used generative AI as part of the shopping experience found it very helpful, according to the survey.
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"We can expect this will grow over time as more people adopt it and try it out and people find that it is helpful — you can imagine the usage will only grow," Wilson said.
Over the past few years, retailers have been adapting to this new technology, said Purvi Shah, a professor of marketing at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
"The retail landscape of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has undergone substantial transformation. And this is basically driven by shifting consumer preferences through technological advancements and innovations," Shah said.
So, how can shoppers use generative AI to their advantage this holiday shopping season?
"It can help shoppers create shopping lists … help them get inspiration for buying gifts for families and friends, finding deals and best prices," Shah said. "AI can help you compare products and prices across stores. It can also give you review summaries that can help you evaluate various product options based on those review summaries. And all of this is done very efficiently."
Other tools, like virtual styling, can also help improve the overall shopping experience for shoppers.
"But then it also increases the average order amount and amplifies cross-selling opportunities for the retailers. So, again, it is helping in this win-win situation where it benefits not only retailers, but also shoppers at the same time," Shah said.
Accessing this technology is easier than you think. Shah notes that generative AI is now weaved into many e-commerce apps. For example, Walmart and Amazon have virtual shopping assistants on their app.
"Amazon has also weaved in their AI model for recommendations and for reviews from customers. So, what it does is, if you go through all the reviews for products received and gives you a short summary of what are the positives and negatives that people are talking about. So, you don't have to waste your time looking for those 56 reviews," Shah explained.
While AI can be helpful, Shah recommends sharing as little personal information with models to protect your privacy: "As long as consumers understand the tradeoff they are making, the information they are giving out and the benefits that are coming in return, then they can be able to make the right informed decision about whether we want to give away this information."
You can also use AI to avoid online shopping scams. Websites like scamadviser.com can give you a complete report on whether the website is legit based on various guidelines. You should also do your own vetting as well.
