According to a report done by Clutch, over three-quarters of consumers are open to certain agentic commerce features. However, they still have preferences, such as using AI to help with research rather than complete entire purchases.
The report also touches on several other useful insights about AI in ecommerce for brands to keep in mind, including how people are using it, which products consumers are comfortable using AI for, and the features they actually want.
77% of Consumers Are Open to Certain Agentic Features
The Clutch report found that the shift to agentic commerce isn’t only a theory or prediction, it’s actively happening today. In fact, around 70% of consumers are already using AI to help them shop online in some way.
Beyond that, 77% of those surveyed by Clutch are open to using certain agentic features. However, while there’s certainly interest in agentic features, most respondents (95%) are also concerned about AI-assisted purchasing, showing that there’s still some AI hesitation in the market.
People Prefer AI for Supportive Tasks, Not Full Purchase Control
According to the research, most people prefer AI for certain supportive tasks, and aren’t quite ready to give it complete and total control of purchases yet. For example, 65% of people have used AI to help research products before deciding which to purchase, with 32% of them using it weekly.
Many people are also open to AI helping with finding the best prices (54% of respondents), comparing specs (42%), and summarizing reviews (41%). People are less excited when it comes to fully handing control to AI, as only 4% of respondents would let AI complete a purchase itself.
However, the results also show that some people are showing concerns about AI-assisted shopping. 63% are concerned about data privacy, 53% are worried about brand bias towards certain products, and 52% are worried about the misuse of their personal information.
Also, only 17% of respondents trust AI recommendations outright, and 49% only trust them sometimes, or after they’ve done additional research.
The Ways Consumers Are Using AI Today
So while there are some real concerns about AI amongst shoppers, millions of people already use it, and it’ll likely only grow more popular over time. However, the way these people use it today varies.
The most popular reasons that people use AI in their shopping journeys are:
- To save time during product research (43% of respondents)
- To compare options more easily (43%)
- To get better and more accurate recommendations (35%)
- To stay updated on deals or price drops (27%)
- To find new products (26%)
- To make decisions easier and reduce mental load (19%)
Also, the number of people who haven’t used AI for shopping research is incredibly low. 14% of people haven’t used it but are open to it, while 21% haven’t used it and aren’t interested in using it.
Consumer Comfort Varies Depending on the Product Category
Interestingly enough, how comfortable consumers are with AI tends to vary depending on the type of product they’re researching or buying. In general, people are more willing to use AI to help with the purchase of everyday items or things that are easily replaceable.
Housing essentials top the list, as 40% of respondents said they would be comfortable using AI to shop for items in this category. Next, 37% of respondents say they would use AI to help them make the right purchase for electronics and technology.
Other categories people are open to using AI for include:
- Beauty and personal care products (27% of respondents)
- Clothing and accessories (27%)
- Groceries (25%)
- Hobby or craft supplies (22%)
- Home goods or furniture (21%)
- Big ticket items (20%)
- Health and wellness products (16%)
- Pet supplies (11%)
The AI Shopping Features People Want
The report also takes a close look at the AI shopping features that consumers actually want. First, 54% of customers desire price-drop notifications to help them keep track of an item’s cost over time. Next, 36% want suggestions for better deals and similar products, and another 36% want alerts when they’re low on items they frequently purchase.
Another 24% of respondents want help managing active subscriptions, and 22% are looking for reminders for time-sensitive and seasonal purchases, such as for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and more.
As a result, you can see that customers desire features that give them more information and guidance in the shopping experience, but don’t remove control. They see AI more as an assistant than a buyer who can purchase things automatically for them.
But as more and more people become comfortable with agentic commerce, and once AI becomes more effective and accurate, I feel that trust rates will skyrocket and lead to many more people being open to using AI for a variety of different shopping tasks.
