Nearly 3 in 4 Shoppers Now Lean on AI to Discover Products
Consumers are increasingly turning to new technologies to navigate a more complex shopping landscape. Nearly three-quarters of shoppers now use AI for product discovery, while retail media has grown into a $184 billion global market. Together, these shifts are reshaping how products are discovered, evaluated, and ultimately purchased.
NIQ has released A Tale of Two Consumers: The Polarized Mindsets Reshaping Global Consumption, a new global report produced in collaboration with World Data Lab. The study shows how artificial intelligence, retail media networks, and social commerce are transforming the path to purchase and influencing which products consumers ultimately buy.
As consumers become increasingly selective about where they trade up and where they seek value, AI and retail media are helping brands identify which consumers are most likely to respond to premium messaging, promotions, and personalized offers. — NIQ & World Data Lab, A Tale of Two Consumers
What the New Data Reveals About the Purchase Journey
The findings build on NIQ's recently released The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West, which identified the convergence of Eastern commerce innovation and Western retail media monetization as a defining force reshaping global retail. Taken together, the reports point to a future in which commerce intelligence becomes essential for growth.
- Nearly 75% of shoppers use AI during product discovery.
- 20% of consumers already use AI as part of the shopping process.
- Nearly one-third of Western consumers have purchased a product after discovering it on a social platform.
- Nearly 60% of APAC consumers shop through social and quick-commerce channels.
- 68% of North American consumers have never purchased through social media.
Consumers are making purchasing decisions earlier and through more channels than ever before. AI-powered recommendations, retail media, and social commerce are increasingly influencing which products consumers discover, consider, and ultimately purchase, creating entirely new opportunities—and challenges—for brands. — Troy Treangen, Chief AI & Product Officer, NIQ
Discoverability Becomes the New Growth Battleground
According to the report, AI-powered tools are increasingly helping consumers decide where to trade up, where to save, and which brands deserve consideration. That marks a meaningful shift: consumers have long relied on search, reviews, and word-of-mouth recommendations to guide purchases, and AI is now emerging as one of the most influential forces in modern commerce.
The change creates both opportunities and challenges for manufacturers and retailers. As AI-powered recommendations grow more personalized, discoverability is becoming a critical growth factor. Brands that fail to optimize product content, digital shelf presence, and visibility risk fading from view as AI agents and recommendation engines take on a larger role in shopping journeys.
Why Marketers Should Pay Attention
With nearly 75% of shoppers already using AI to discover products and retail media now a $184 billion market, the moment of influence is moving upstream to discovery, where AI agents and recommendation engines increasingly decide which brands even make the consideration set. Marketers who invest now in optimized product content, digital shelf strength, and machine-readable visibility will be the ones AI surfaces; those who don't risk becoming invisible in the very journeys where purchase decisions are now being formed.
About the Research
A Tale of Two Consumers: The Polarized Mindsets Reshaping Global Consumption is a global report from NIQ, developed in collaboration with World Data Lab. It examines how AI, retail media networks, and social commerce are transforming the consumer path to purchase. The report follows NIQ's earlier study, The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West, which explored the convergence of Eastern commerce innovation and Western retail media monetization.
Background: NIQ
NIQ is a global consumer intelligence company that measures what people buy and how they engage across markets, delivering insight into consumer behavior and the forces shaping the path to purchase. Its research increasingly focuses on how AI, retail media, and social commerce are redrawing the modern purchase journey for brands and retailers worldwide.
Key Takeaways
- AI owns discovery. Nearly 75% of shoppers now use AI during product discovery, with 20% already using AI as part of the shopping process.
- Retail media is now massive. Retail media has grown into a $184 billion global market, reshaping how products get surfaced and promoted.
- Social commerce splits by region. Nearly 60% of APAC consumers shop through social and quick-commerce channels, while 68% of North American consumers have never purchased through social media.
- The West is warming up. Nearly one-third of Western consumers have already bought a product after discovering it on a social platform.
- Discoverability drives growth. As personalized AI recommendations expand, brands that neglect product content, digital shelf presence, and visibility risk being left out of AI-driven shopping journeys.
- Commerce intelligence is essential. NIQ's paired reports point to a future where AI, retail media, and social commerce make commerce intelligence a core requirement for growth.