Most consumers will make a majority of holiday purchases online
More than half of holiday shoppers plan to focus on e-commerce, with mobile and artificial intelligence (AI)-based services a strong draw.
According to a new survey of 2,625 consumers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia from AI-based messaging platform LivePerson, 57% of respondents plan to conduct the majority of their holiday shopping online. Three-quarters of respondents said they would purchase more from a website that allowed them to message with an expert to ask questions and get help making purchases, and 62% said they would trust an online retailer more if associates were readily available on messaging.
In addition, 63% of respondents said they would purchase more from a website that offered an AI-based virtual assistant to help. Four in five (80%) respondents said they would message from their phone while in a store if in-store associates were busy or unavailable.
[Read more: Survey: Back-to-school shoppers cross channels]
Respondents overwhelmingly reported trusting conversational AI with a variety of specific online shopping tasks, especially when informed that they could be transferred to human associates as needed. When online shopping, consumers report they would trust a virtual assistant to help with the following common e-commerce activities:
• Give updates on shipping and delivery — 87%
• Answer frequently asked questions — 85%
• Take down name and shipping address — 80%
• Help reorder regularly purchased products — 78%
• Help choose a product — 75%
• Help renew a contract — 74%
• Schedule an appointment 72%
• Remind to order presents for upcoming holidays — 72%
• Handle credit card info through a secure form — 71%
Finally, the survey findings also noted the percentage of respondents interested in the following virtual experiences this holiday season:
• Virtual showrooms — 45%
• Viewing products in augmented/virtual reality — 44%
• Shopping while watching a livestream — 34%
• Video consultations with personal shoppers — 29%
"Between unpredictable e-commerce surges and the ongoing labor shortage, this year's holiday season will be full of challenges for retailers," said Rob LoCascio, founder and CEO of LivePerson. "The good news is that consumers are excited to connect with brands via messaging, which can be scaled quickly with a strategic blend of conversational AI and human agents. These AI-powered experiences will play a critical role as brands seek to deliver convenient, customized care and commerce experiences for everything from inventory inquiries and online purchases to curbside delivery and in-store support."