PYMNTS Finds AI Shopping Research Grows While Spend Stays on Amazon

PYMNTS reported that U.S. consumer behavior around AI-assisted shopping shows a widening gap between where research begins and where money is spent. The company surveyed 2,191 consumers in August and found that 23%, or roughly 61 million people, now start retail research with AI tools.

While 59% of these AI shoppers say they use AI to research items they previously searched for on Amazon, the actual transaction has not followed. Data from PYMNTS shows that 60% of purchases facilitated by AI are still completed on Amazon. Big box and department stores account for 20% of these purchases, while brand sites receive only 6%.

The data also highlights the failure of OpenAI’s Instant Checkout, which promised access to more than a million Shopify merchants but saw only about 30 go live alongside Etsy and Walmart. The service was discontinued by March, with those involved telling reporters it did not drive sales.

Walmart noted that purchases made inside ChatGPT converted at 33% of the rate of transactions directed to its own site. Meanwhile, average AI-assisted spend increased from $889 in June to $1,039 in August, a 17% rise in two months. PYMNTS concluded that while the search function has shifted to AI, the purchasing reward remains concentrated on established retail platforms.