Back-to-school shoppers to utilize AI tools to find best deals, value
Summer hasn’t fully arrived yet, but consumers are already eyeing back-to-school shopping in an effort to save money.
According to new survey data from Minty, the first cash back and rewards app integrated on ChatGPT, four-in-10 consumers are already shopping for the season, and nearly two-thirds plan to have started before July. The majority of these early purchases are expected to be completed online and via mobile.
Despite rising prices, Minty found that shoppers are confident in their ability to find the best value, with nearly 90% of respondents spending the same or more during back-to-school season this year compared to last year. A third (34%) of consumers are shopping for themselves, and a quarter (25%) are shopping for non-children members of their family.
A large portion of back-to-school shoppers plan to use artificial intelligence to find the best deals this year. More than three-quarters (77%) intend to use AI to shop, citing ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Meta AI as their top-preferred platforms.
Minty’s survey found that the top ways people use AI include comparing products for the better value (66%), optimizing product searches (65%), discovering deals (65%), educating themselves on smarter shopping strategies (61%) and curating personal product options (60%). More than half (54%) have already used a cashback app as part of an AI-assisted search, and 77% said they would in the future.
AI tools are also moving from assistants to decision-makers for consumers, according to the survey. Nearly half of respondents have had an AI tool like a bot, voice assistant or “buy again” automation make a purchase decision on their behalf and expect an AI agent to complete a purchase for them within the next six months. Two-thirds of respondents would also let a cashback or savings app make a purchase on their behalf.
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“This is the first major shopping event where AI will have a profound impact and serves as a watershed moment that is playing out in real time for brand marketers,” said Rodney Mason, chief marketing officer at Minty. “The shopping journey has compressed into conversations with AI that reason through consumers’ intent and goals, analyze their options and offer an optimized outcome. That new process is heavily influencing what people buy and changes where and how brands need to show up.”
