AI Transforms Black Friday Shopping: Boosting Online Sales and Enhancing Customer Experience

AI Revolutionizes Black Friday Shopping As Online Sales Reach New Heights

Generative AI's pivotal role in retail boosts traffic by 1,800%, conversion rates by 9%. Black Friday in the U.S. saw unprecedented online sales this year, with generative AI chatbots being a key driver in boosting retail website traffic. What Happened: The online expenditure during the shopping festival hit $10.8 billion, a 10.2% jump from 2023. According to a report by Barron's, AI chatbots, engineered to simulate human interactions to aid shoppers, played a crucial role in this year's online shopping surge, leading to an 1,800% explosion in retail website traffic compared to the previous year. Caila Schwartz, the director of consumer insights at Salesforce, told the outlet, "Digital retailers who are using generative AI and agents in their customer service experiences saw a nine percent higher conversion rate compared to those who are not." Moreover, Salesforce's data revealed a 31% annual growth in the utilization of AI-powered online chat services on Black Friday. The firm's data also showed U.S. Black Friday online sales at $17.5 billion, a 7% year-over-year increase. Also Read: Shoppers Spent $11.3M Per Minute Online on Black Friday In contrast, traditional Black Friday shopping continued its downward trend, with in-store traffic falling 3.2% nationwide compared to 2023. Mobile sales made up 55% of all online sales, amounting to $5.9 billion, a 12.1% year-over-year increase, reports Barron's. With Cyber Monday around the corner, both Adobe and Salesforce anticipate sustained online shopping growth, with Adobe predicting a 7% rise in online spending during Cyber Week compared to last year. Why It Matters: The record-breaking online sales on Black Friday 2024 underscore the transformative impact of AI technology on the retail industry. The significant role of AI chatbots in driving online traffic and conversion rates highlights the growing importance of digital customer service experiences in boosting sales. The continued decline in physical store shopping and the rise in mobile sales further emphasize the shifting consumer shopping habits towards online platforms. As the retail industry adapts to these changes, the use of AI and other digital tools will likely become increasingly critical in enhancing customer experiences and driving sales growth. Read Next US Consumers Plan To Spend $1,000 or More on Holiday Gifts This Year This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Shoppers are turning to AI to win at Black Friday - and you could, too

AI assistants are becoming helpful shopping guides for the holidays Black Friday 2024 is looking a little different this year, and it's all thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence. Forget aimlessly scrolling through endless deals or juggling ten tabs to find the best price when you can turn to AI tools to make shopping more effective and less stressful. Many people are embracing tools like ChatGPT and other AI assistants to streamline the chaos and score serious savings. A report from Boston Consulting Group found that 38% of people either have used or plan to use AI for Black Friday shopping this year. And 44% of shoppers will rely on AI assistants for their holiday shopping, according to a survey by Attest. The appeal is obvious. Instead of spending hours comparing prices or digging through reviews, you can let AI handle the heavy lifting. Need to find the lowest price on a new laptop? AI can scan dozens of retailers in seconds. Wondering if that fancy espresso machine is worth it? AI can summarize reviews and highlight what people love - or hate - about it. It's like having a super-savvy shopping buddy who never gets tired. This year, more shoppers than ever are leaning into AI for their Black Friday strategies. A growing number of people are using AI tools specifically to navigate holiday deals, especially those familiar with the technology. The Attest report found that 56% of AI users leverage the tools to find bargains. AI is also helpful in getting personalized recommendations for gifts and finding items on sale for yourself that you might have missed. Retailers are certain to be as happy about AI as the customers if it can boost sales. And, so far, people seem to like using AI tools this way, with 70% of consumers reporting that generative AI tools enhance their shopping experience, according to a WHOP report. Some already have internal AI shopping helpers. Both Amazon and Google use AI to aid shoppers (and encourage more sales) within their own shopping ecosystems, and you'll likely see a growing number of retailers implement AI directly in a similar fashion. Of course, AI's failings don't vanish at the holidays, so there are plenty of scams that either use AI or that your AI shopping companion might fall for. Watch out for any fake deal site your AI pal directs you towards. With that caveat, you can mostly rely on AI to at least direct you to some good products and bargains. And maybe you won't have to deal with any holiday FOMO over an amazing sale you missed amid the flurry.

Shoppers Embrace AI Tools in Search for Black Friday Bargains | PYMNTS.com

Shoppers are reportedly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital tools as they search for Black Friday bargains. OpenAI's ChatGPT, PayPal's Honey app, Perplexity AI's search and shopping features, and Weever.AI's product recommendations site are among the resources mentioned by shoppers interviewed by Bloomberg for a report posted Wednesday (Nov. 27). At the same time, the report said that shoppers find that generative AI tools can provide information that is inaccurate or outdated. For example, one suggested a Black Friday lunch at a destination that has been closed for years, and another that doesn't have a reservation available for the next month. AI tools have also uncovered deals that were years old and no longer available. Shoppers should double-check important information suggested by these tools, the report said. Retailers expect to see more shoppers than ever during this Thanksgiving weekend, as many consumers have held out on making purchases until then in anticipation of big sales events, according to the report. One-third of consumers said they feel like they are being "bombarded" by sales promotions, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report, "Intrigue or Fatigue? Amid Crowded Deals Landscape, Financial Lifestyle Drives Consumers' Black Friday Interest." The report found that 39% of consumers said they are somewhat or much more likely to wait this year than last to buy a product they immediately need, and a roughly equal share reported being more likely to wait this year to buy products they want but do not urgently need. The Black Friday to Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend is projected to set a new record, with U.S. retail sales anticipated to surpass $75 billion, PYMNTS reported Oct. 25. Bain & Company forecast a 5% year-over-year growth for this period, outpacing the overall holiday season growth estimate of 3%. Personalization powered by data and the decision engines to apply it will be a critical retail strategy, Aaron Cheris, partner in Bain's Retail practice, told PYMNTS in an interview posted Oct. 25. "Retailers can no longer think of online as fully separable," Cheris said. "They need omnichannel offerings and strategy throughout the season versus being able to run a discrete online promo calendar." Consumers are more positive than they have been in months as we head into Black Friday, PYMNTS reported Tuesday (Nov. 26). The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index released Tuesday came in at the top of the range recorded through the past two years.

A Very ChatGPT Christmas: Savvy Black Friday Shoppers Use AI to Find Deals

Getting the best deals on Black Friday used to require camping out for hours outside a Best Buy or Walmart and then stampeding into a store at the crack of dawn. Now, the savviest bargain hunters are turning to ChatGPT and other AI tools to get the job done. Jim Malervy, 46, who lives in Philadelphia, is for the second year in a row using ChatGPT and other AI tools for his Christmas shopping. Last year, an AI-powered pricing app ultimately helped the marketing executive get a $50 discount on an iPad for his older daughter.