Observed Signal · Sep 22, 2026 · Market Signal · Source: RTB House · Impact: 3/5
How does Agentic AI impact the holiday path to purchase?
New RTB House research, Who’s Buying? Consumer Trust in the Age of Agentic AI, shows that artificial intelligence tools are reshaping Black Friday consumer behavior, turning rapid impulse buying into a longer, AI-guided evaluation period.
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Consumers Warm to Agentic AI Purchases
A new RTB House survey of more than 1,800 consumers across the U.S., U.K., Japan and France finds growing consumer openness to agentic AI handling purchases, while many still want human oversight. In the U.S., respondents said AI tools broaden options and help discover brands; 42% said AI extends decision time and 59% credited AI with highlighting brands they didn’t know. Some consumers — especially older cohorts — prefer a human to review transactions before an AI agent completes purchases. The article also cites Amazon CEO Andy Jassy saying 350+ million customers used Alexa for Shopping in the past year and notes McKinsey & ICSC project U.S. agentic commerce could reach $1 trillion by 2030.
BCG study: AI becomes top influence on purchases
A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study cited by Retail-News finds artificial intelligence is rapidly gaining importance in consumers' purchase decisions. Roughly 31% of consumers already use AI during some phase of the shopping process, and respondents expect trust in AI to increase by 15 percentage points by 2030. About 19% are identified as “AI-loyalists,” and roughly 70% of those subsequently purchase products recommended by AI. The study also reports that more than half of consumers do not fully trust any single information source, that AI drives discovery of previously unknown brands, and highlights structural retail trends such as the rising share and spending power of single-person households in developed markets.
Research: AI Hesitancy Affects Online Checkout Trust
Reflect Digital's Searchpulse report (UK, n=2,000) finds strong AI usage but persistent mistrust in agentic online shopping: Gen Z are the biggest fact-checkers, with 45% verifying AI outputs, while almost half of respondents said they would be uncomfortable with an AI completing their checkout due to security and accuracy concerns. The report also notes platform shifts among younger users (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok rising; Google usage down 15% year-over-year). Other market studies (Logica Research/PayPal, Mintel, Juniper Research) similarly report consumer hesitation around giving AI full autonomy in purchases, though forecasts anticipate growth in agentic commerce by 2031.
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