ATLANTA — For the first time, shoppers are expected to spend more than $1 trillion this holiday season. A major shift, however, is the influence of artificial intelligence on everything from advertising to the shopping experience.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna was live in Buckhead, outside of Lenox Square, during Channel 2 Action News at 5:00 p.m..
This holiday season is expected to generate record spending.
The projections follow an uptick in spending we’ve seen over the past decade.
But as more people search for deals and sales, more stores and shoppers are turning to AI.
“You know, I think it’s exciting,” customer Brett Conway said of AI’s influence on shopping.
“I’m actually surprised,” Azionne Vorrice said.
“AI is going to play a pretty big role compared to all the holidays we’ve seen so far,” said Denish Shah, a marketing professor at Georgia State University.
He claims that AI is embedded almost everywhere. Companies like Amazon and Google are now offering small retailers their own AI agents.
The promise is that AI will act as your own personal shopper, scouring stores to find you the best products at the best prices.
“So I think we’re looking at a world straight out of a science fiction movie,” Shah said.
He says it’s unclear who the robot actually works for. Is it really about finding the best deals for you, or the best deal for businesses?
“Am I confident enough or do I trust this AI tool to provide me with products that are in my best interest? » Shah said.
Shoppers this holiday season want every dollar to count and are wondering how AI will impact the holiday shopping season.
“It’s just that AI is so new that there’s a lot of uncharted territory,” Vorrice said.
“I think it’s the tip of the iceberg, actually. And I think we have a long way to go and there’s going to be a lot of adjustments along the way,” Conway said.
And Shah says that even if you try not to use a robot to help you shop, AI is still involved.
He says many ads that target us are created or targeted to you via AI.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
