Cordial, the AI marketing platform, just published research on U.S. consumers showing that 43 percent of respondents said they plan to spend about the same this year during the holiday shopping season as they did last year.

This compares to 35 percent who expect to increase their spending during the upcoming holiday season. Digging deeper into the data showed that there are generational differences in terms of how spending intentions will vary from last year.

For example, Generation Z consumers who are younger than 25 intend to increase their holiday spending by 48 percent over last year, while 58 percent of Baby Boomers intend to decrease their holiday spending to levels seen in the prior year. When it comes to what influences holiday shoppers most in their decisions, cost-saving incentives at retail topped the list and were followed by free shipping online.

Researchers also found that about 60 percent of those polled said that discounts will matter most this holiday, followed by free shipping at 27 percent. Free in-store pickup, holiday pricing, price matching online, price matching in-store and curbside pickup each were cited by fewer than 10 percent of respondents.

And similar to other consumer surveys, shoppers are spreading out their purchases over time to find the best deals and promotions. In response, retailers are adjusting their marketing approaches to target the value-conscious early holiday shopper as opposed to expecting to capture the consumer during a few peak shopping days throughout the holiday season.

The vast majority of these consumers (72 percent) said they are beginning their holiday shopping in early November, with 26 percent starting on the first Friday after Halloween.

Interestingly, the use of technology is becoming more normal for the holiday shopper. While only 6 percent of respondents said they plan to use AI to search for holiday deals online, 14 percent said they expect to use AI to compare prices between similar products online. A total of 42 percent of those polled said that they are either somewhat likely to use AI to aid in their holiday shopping or very likely to use it.

Regarding specific uses of AI during the holiday shopping season, 34 percent of respondents said they would be willing to let AI complete purchases for them online. Thirteen percent of those polled said they would be willing to complete purchases online using AI without manually reviewing them.

The report’s authors said consumers “remain most comfortable using AI during the research and comparison stages of shopping. The top AI use cases include comparing prices and finding deals (43 percent) and comparing products or brands (38 percent).” The report also noted that when AI recommends an unfamiliar product or brand, consumers remain cautious but open. Thirty-nine percent of respondents remain neutral about purchasing an AI-recommended product, “but also 39 percent say they are at least somewhat likely to make the purchase.”