There may well be a Secret Sant-AI orchestrating your holiday gift exchange this year. According to fresh research released by Visa, nearly two in five Americans—amounting to 41% of consumers—admit they would keep quiet about whether artificial intelligence played a role in choosing a gift for a friend or family member. As the holiday season approaches, shoppers are increasingly and discreetly handing off the tedious groundwork of finding the right presents and hunting down competitive deals to smart algorithms.
The data highlights a broader behavioral shift: more than half of U.S. adults, specifically 54%, have already utilized artificial intelligence for at least one holiday shopping task. This represents a noticeable upward tick from 47% during the previous holiday season, signaling that generative tools and automated assistants are rapidly transitioning from experimental novelties to mainstream retail companions.
These findings stem from Visa’s 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey, which gathered insights from more than 1,000 U.S. adults during late September. Commissioned by Visa and conducted in partnership with Morning Consult, the survey paints a comprehensive picture of contemporary consumers. Today’s holiday shoppers are actively juggling persistent cost pressures, rapidly evolving technology, and heightened concerns regarding digital fraud, yet they are still finding strategic ways to check every single item off their gift lists.
Michael Brown, principal U.S. economist at Visa, notes that consumers are stepping into the holiday season with a dual focus on economic value and robust security. According to Brown, modern shoppers are actively seeking out discounts, experimenting with emerging tools like artificial intelligence, and fundamentally changing how they navigate retail in response to ongoing fraud concerns. It is a portrait of a consumer base that is continually adapting as the overarching shopping experience transforms around them.
AI Becomes a Holiday Helper
When it comes to delegating tasks to artificial intelligence, shoppers demonstrate the highest level of comfort with practical, analytical chores rather than final execution. The survey indicates that consumers are most willing to use AI for comparing prices across different platforms, which was cited by 61% of respondents, checking product availability at 59%, discovering relevant discounts at 57%, and generating creative gift ideas at 54%. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of surveyed adults report that they feel noticeably more comfortable relying on AI for their shopping needs than they did just a year prior.
This technological adoption is being heavily driven by younger generations. Generation Z is firmly leading the shift toward automated assistance, with more than eight out of ten young consumers expressing openness to AI support. Impressively, 73% of Gen Z respondents would welcome AI suggestions for gift ideas, a figure that sits 19 percentage points higher than the average for adults overall.
However, a distinct psychological and practical gap remains between browsing for inspiration and completing a financial transaction. While consumers show a growing comfort with AI assistants acting as research and decision-making partners, trusting an algorithm to independently execute a purchase is a significantly larger hurdle. According to data from the broader Visa Trust Index, only 23% of U.S. consumers currently trust generative artificial intelligence to handle payment transactions on their behalf.
This hesitation follows a familiar historical pattern where advanced technology arrives in the consumer marketplace long before complete trust is established. Similar cautious adoption periods occurred when retail payments first moved online and, later, when commerce migrated toward mobile devices and smartphones.
What ultimately shifts the equation to build that necessary trust? Familiar brands and established financial institutions. The Visa Trust Index revealed that 61% of consumers place their trust in Visa to secure an AI-powered payment. That confidence climbs even higher among specific demographics, rising to 68% for adults aged 18 to 34 and reaching 71% among frequent users of artificial intelligence tools. As agentic commerce—where AI systems act autonomously on behalf of users—continues to mature, this foundational confidence may serve as the vital bridge that transforms artificial intelligence from a mere shopping assistant into a trusted transactional agent.
Shoppers Stretch Budgets as Costs Stay Top of Mind
Despite technological innovations, cost-conscious shopping remains an overarching priority for households across the nation. An overwhelming 84% of consumers report taking at least one deliberate action to manage higher everyday costs over the past year. The most common strategies employed by budget-weary shoppers include actively hunting for discounts and promotional codes, cited by 47% of respondents, cutting back significantly on discretionary spending at 35%, and trading down to lower-cost store brands or generic alternatives at 33%.
Experiences Top Wish Lists, But Physical Gifts Win Wallets
Beyond traditional requests for cash, Americans are increasingly dreaming of experiences when asked what they hope to give or receive. Travel, favored by 60% of respondents, and live-event tickets at 55% sit comfortably at the top of the holiday wish list.
However, the reality of actual gift-purchasing behavior tells a distinctly different financial story. Only 15% of survey respondents are actively prioritizing experiences with their holiday budgets, whereas 27% remain firmly focused on purchasing traditional physical items. Generation Z comes closest to bridging the gap between their stated wishes and their actual wallets, with 39% splitting their holiday spending evenly between experiences and physical goods, compared to just 26% of all adults.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Fever Shapes Gift-Giving
Cultural events are also leaving a notable imprint on holiday shopping lists this season. Nearly a third of Americans indicate that the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 has noticeably boosted their interest in purchasing sports-related gifts for friends and family. This enthusiasm is even more pronounced among higher-earning households, climbing to roughly half of households with an annual income of $100,000 or more, as well as among adults under the age of 35.
Cross-Border Shopping Goes Mainstream
Geographical boundaries are mattering less to modern holiday shoppers, with three in ten Americans expecting to purchase at least one gift from an overseas seller this season. Among Gen Z consumers, that figure jumps to more than half, highlighting a borderless approach to retail.
Intriguingly, cost savings are not the primary driver for international purchases. While better deals motivate 25% of cross-border shoppers, superior product quality at 32% and unique product offerings at 31% rank as the top reasons consumers are looking beyond U.S. borders for their holiday needs.
Gen Z and Cross-Border Senders Warm to Stablecoins and Crypto
As cross-border shopping expands, alternative financial rails are gaining traction among specific consumer segments. Stablecoins remain relatively new to a large portion of the American public, yet more than half of respondents, or 56%, recognize their potential benefits. That openness surges to 77% among Gen Z participants. Furthermore, among Americans who regularly send money across international borders, 51% state that after understanding the operational benefits, they are likely to utilize stablecoins within the coming year.
Cryptocurrency resonates similarly with these same tech-forward groups. Half of those who regularly send money abroad describe crypto as a genuinely useful mechanism for doing so, a stark contrast to the 26% approval rate among the general adult population. Additionally, Gen Z demonstrates a higher baseline comfort level when shopping with online retailers that accept cryptocurrency, with 34% expressing ease compared to 25% of all adults.
Fraud Concerns Drive Behavior Change
The undeniable convenience of digital shopping continues to be accompanied by a palpable unease regarding online scams and malicious actors. Nearly three in ten shoppers report that they were directly targeted by fraud during the previous holiday season, a troubling statistic that increases to 39% among Gen Z.
In response to these pervasive threats, three-quarters of Americans have actively altered their daily shopping habits. Common protective measures include enabling two-factor authentication, practiced by 34% of respondents, changing online account passwords more frequently at 34%, declining to save payment card details on retail websites at 25%, consciously switching from debit cards to credit cards for added protection at 24%, and relying more heavily on dedicated digital wallets at 21%.
Reflecting on the complex landscape of the current retail season, Michael Brown emphasizes the adaptability of the modern consumer. Shoppers are successfully navigating a multitude of challenges, ranging from elevated everyday costs and brand-new technological tools to legitimate concerns regarding fraud. By hunting for deals, shopping with heightened intelligence, and maintaining everyday vigilance, consumers are proving that resilience remains the defining story of the holiday season.
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