A Mastercard survey of 26,000 parents and teens reveals a stark generational divide in AI adoption for shopping. According to the report released Tuesday, 27% of teenage respondents said they are likely to use a fully AI-run shopping assistant that provides product recommendations, selects items, and makes purchases based on their criteria (Retail Dive - Technology). This compares to just 16% of their parents. Additionally, 31% of teenagers said they trust AI-generated product recommendations over a friend's advice, while 23% would trust an AI tool's guidance over their parents' (Retail Dive - Technology).
The data underscores a fundamental shift in how younger consumers approach purchasing decisions. While 49% of parents said they turn to AI at least once a month to research products, 62% of teenagers surveyed said the same (Retail Dive - Technology). Two-thirds of parents anticipate AI shopping will define their children's generation, but only 5% expect the same shift for their own cohort (Retail Dive - Technology). For commerce practitioners, this signals that AI-powered personalization and autonomous purchasing agents are no longer futuristic—they are becoming the baseline expectation for Gen Z shoppers.
Major retailers are already responding to this trend. The Home Depot integrated local store information into its Magic Apron AI assistant, Williams-Sonoma deployed AI for product discovery and checkout refinement, and Target launched AI-powered photo search and review insights features (Retail Dive - Technology). Over half of retailers spend $50 million or more annually on digital technology, though 48% cite technical debt as a barrier to further innovation (Retail Dive - Technology).