Shoppers asked AI first. Is your store in the answer?
The 2025 holiday season set a new online record, but the fastest-growing source of shoppers was not search or social. It was generative AI.
By the Xuru Technologies team · 9 January 2026
Key takeaways
- US online holiday spending reached a record $257.8 billion from 1 November to 31 December 2025, up 6.8%.
- Traffic to retail sites from generative AI tools rose 693.4% year on year.
- Smartphones accounted for 56.4% of online transactions, and buy now, pay later reached $20 billion.
Online shopping keeps growing, but how people find stores is changing quickly. Shoppers increasingly ask an AI assistant for gift ideas and comparisons before they click.
What happened
Adobe's season summary, published on 7 January, reported the record total, mobile share and buy now, pay later figures. Adobe's research on AI-driven traffic shows the same shift across travel, banking and retail.
What it means for online stores
- AI is a discovery channel. Being recommended by assistants is the new page one.
- Mobile dominates. More than half of transactions happen on phones.
- Payment choice matters. Pay-later options keep growing with bigger baskets.
How to be found by AI shoppers
| Step | Why |
|---|---|
| Complete product schema | Gives AI tools price, stock and reviews in a readable form. |
| Write helpful buying guides | Assistants quote clear, expert answers. |
| Allow reputable AI crawlers | Blocked sites cannot be recommended. |
| Speed up mobile pages | AI-referred shoppers arrive ready to buy. |
Frequently asked questions
How much did US shoppers spend online in the 2025 holidays?Adobe reported a record $257.8 billion between 1 November and 31 December 2025, up 6.8% year on year.
Adobe reported a record $257.8 billion between 1 November and 31 December 2025, up 6.8% year on year.
How fast is AI traffic to retail sites growing?Adobe measured a 693.4% year-on-year increase in traffic from generative AI tools to US retail sites during the season.
Adobe measured a 693.4% year-on-year increase in traffic from generative AI tools to US retail sites during the season.
What is AI search optimisation?Making your content and product data easy for AI assistants to read, trust and cite, through structure, accuracy and helpful answers.
Making your content and product data easy for AI assistants to read, trust and cite, through structure, accuracy and helpful answers.
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