Shoppers turn to AI tools in hunt for better retail deals

Consumers are increasingly using artificial intelligence tools to search for discounts, according to a new shopper study from XCCommerce, conducted in partnership with the National Retail Federation and SmartBrief.

More than 70% of respondents said they are exploring AI tools when looking for better deals, and a third said they already use AI for deal-seeking. The results add to signs that product discovery and price comparison are shifting beyond search engines and retailer websites.

The study drew on responses from more than 300 SmartBrief readers. It focused on the role promotions and incentives play in shopping decisions and how consumers want retailers to deliver offers across physical and digital channels.

Personalised offers

Most respondents said they expect offers to match their preferences. In the survey, 75% said personalisation is important, and deal quality appeared to matter more than the absolute lowest price.

Four in five consumers said they care more about getting a quality deal than simply the lowest price, while 58% prioritised the lowest price. The results suggest that discounts, rewards, and other incentives continue to influence purchasing, even when shoppers are not seeking the lowest available price.

Loyalty also appears tied to the perceived value of promotions. In the survey, 83% said valuable savings or rewards keep them loyal to a retailer, and nearly half said they buy more than planned or try new brands when redeeming an offer.

Omnichannel pressure

Consumers appear less concerned about where an offer arrives than whether it works everywhere. Half of respondents said they do not care whether they receive offers in-store, online, or on mobile, but they still expect promotions to work consistently across channels.

Pricing and offer consistency also affect retention. Sixty per cent said they would abandon a retailer entirely if they encountered inconsistent pricing across channels, underscoring operational risk for retailers that run separate promotion systems for stores, eCommerce, and apps.

How shoppers notice deals remains tied to established channels. Nearly 40% said they most often notice offers via email or text, while another 23% pointed to online ads or social media.

The study also highlighted the continued pull of major promotional periods. A quarter of respondents said they plan their spending around tentpole events such as Amazon Prime Day and Walmart Deal Days, suggesting shoppers still schedule purchases around time-limited campaigns even as they use AI tools to compare offers.

AI deal hunting

AI-driven deal-seeking is emerging alongside traditional channels. More than seven in 10 consumers said they are exploring AI tools when seeking better deals, and a third said they already use AI in that process.

Retailers have invested heavily in personalised marketing over the past decade. The findings suggest shoppers now expect that targeting to be paired with reliable execution. Consumers may also use AI tools as a shortcut to compare offers, read reviews, and check whether promotions apply across channels.

For retailers, the shift raises questions about how product data, promotions, and loyalty mechanics are presented in AI-generated responses. It also increases the need for accurate pricing and clear terms that can be interpreted consistently across touchpoints.

XCCommerce positions its platform around managing incentives across channels, selling what it describes as a unified incentives engine for retailers. It says the system replaces fragmented promotion tools and supports execution across store and digital channels.

XCCommerce also made performance claims about its technology, saying retailers can increase promotional ROI by up to 15% and improve operational efficiency by more than 75% when using its platform.

Danny Rosenoff, CEO of XCCommerce, said the survey shows shoppers are changing how they approach promotions, while their expectations remain focused on relevance and consistency.

"Indisputably, shoppers are changing how they engage with promotions, looking to ChatGPT and open-sourced AI tools to accelerate the search. However, more than anything, our research is clear that consumers aren't looking for more promotions; rather, personalized and consistent incentives wherever and however they shop," Rosenoff said.

XCCommerce said the findings point to growing pressure on retailers to deliver consistent incentives across channels as consumers expand their use of AI tools for deal discovery.