Data privacy concerns limit the role of AI in e-commerce.
In an Omnisend survey of 1,026 US respondents, AI-powered assistants are becoming more common, but most shoppers still prefer to make their own purchase decisions.
The survey found that around 34% of consumers allow AI tools to buy on their behalf, which means that 2/3 of shoppers aren’t. This unwilling highlights the gap between AI’s e-commerce presence and the trusted consumers placed within it.
Despite their hesitation, consumers acknowledge AI’s ability to improve the shopping experience, with 38% saying that personalized product recommendations are helpful and 31% saying it speeds up the process.
However, concerns about data security have shaped consumer attitudes towards AI shopping assistants, with over half worried about data incorrect, with 28% expressing complete distrust of corporate data practices.
Beyond data privacy concerns, doubts about the effectiveness of AI in shopping persist. 39% of consumers abandon their purchases due to frustrating interactions such as inaccurate recommendations and poor AI chatbots for business experiences.
Additionally, 40% of shoppers are dissatisfied with the lack of human support in AI-driven customer service, while 21% find unreliable AI recommendations, reinforcing the need for the best live chat software and the human presence.
Almost half of respondents supported improved service quality over automation, believing that AI should prioritize supporting customer support over aggressive sales recommendations and purchasing decisions.
“AI can improve your shopping experience, but there’s a huge difference between receiving personalized recommendations and handing over full purchasing control,” says EcommerceSr from Omnisend. says Greg Zakowicz, an expert at Ecommerce.
“The massive adoption of AI-driven purchasing requires a fundamental change in consumer behavior, which doesn’t happen anytime soon,” they said. “Shoppers want to know exactly what they’re buying, whether it’s size, color, or brand. Trusting AI to make these decisions autonomous is a tough selling point.”
Retailers need to bridge the trust gap between AI technology and consumer expectations by prioritizing transparency by providing clear information about data processing and allowing customers to maintain some degree of control.
Using the best email marketing services and the best social media management tools can help brands communicate the benefits of AI while ensuring a more personalized, consumer-friendly approach.
“AI is just as good a tool as the problem it solves,” Zakowicz said. “As businesses compete to integrate AI into their customer shopping experience, they need to focus more on problem-solving qualities and their potential. If you provide a poor experience, whether AI or human, you lose sales.”
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