AI can generate a holiday shopping list in seconds, but that does not mean consumers want it choosing their presents. A new Mall of America survey suggests shoppers are more interested in using the technology to compare products and find deals than making it their first stop for gift inspiration.
Among 1,775 consumers surveyed online ahead of the 2026 holiday season, 45 percent identified at least one way they expect to use AI for holiday shopping. However, fewer than 1 percent ranked AI tools as their preferred source of gift ideas.
Friends and family led that ranking, with 50 percent selecting them first, followed by shopping in stores at 28 percent. Within this sample, personal recommendations and browsing shelves appear to have considerably more appeal than asking a chatbot what to buy.
That makes sense to me. Someone close to you might know that your spouse has been eyeing a particular gadget or that your nephew has already lost interest in something he loved six months ago. An AI assistant needs that context supplied before it can do much with it.
Where respondents do anticipate using AI, the tasks are more practical. Comparing products or prices was among the most frequently selected uses at 22 percent, while finding deals or promotions came in at 18 percent. Once you have an idea of what someone wants, help sorting through competing products and prices could be useful.
Those findings are compatible with the low ranking for gift inspiration. A shopper can ask a family member for a suggestion and then use AI to research the purchase. The survey does not show that 99 percent of respondents reject AI, and it does not tell us whether the tools actually deliver accurate comparisons or worthwhile savings.
Price consciousness runs through the broader results. Sixty-one percent of respondents plan to seek more deals, promotions, or rewards this holiday season, compared with 53 percent in Mall of America’s 2025 survey. That provides a plausible reason for interest in AI shopping assistance, although the release does not establish a direct connection between those responses.
Fewer respondents anticipate cutting their spending this time around. Twenty-seven percent expect to spend less than last year, compared with 34 percent in the previous survey, while 44 percent expect to spend about the same and 16 percent plan to spend more. The release does not account for the remaining responses in that breakdown.
Technology and electronics ranked first among the categories respondents expect to spend the most on, at 26 percent. Clothing and footwear followed closely at 25 percent, with toys and games third at 18 percent. Electronics moved ahead of both categories from its third-place position in the 2025 survey, though its current lead is just one percentage point.
Most respondents also expect to combine online and physical shopping. Sixty-eight percent plan to do most of their holiday shopping through a mix of those channels, compared with 66 percent in the previous survey. That suggests room for digital assistance alongside store visits, rather than an exclusively online holiday.
Of course, Mall of America has a commercial interest in highlighting the appeal of shopping in person. Its announcement pairs the findings with promotion of its stores, restaurants, entertainment, and holiday activities. That does not make the survey worthless, but the source deserves consideration.
More consequential is how little we know about the sample. The methodology says 1,775 consumers participated online, without providing recruitment details, demographics, weighting, or exact survey dates. We therefore cannot assume these results represent American shoppers as a whole.
The annual comparisons require similar care. Without knowing whether the questions and participant profiles were comparable, the differences should be described as changes between the mall’s surveys, rather than proof of a nationwide shift in consumer behavior.
Still, there is a useful distinction here between outsourcing shopping research and outsourcing thoughtfulness. I can see the appeal of getting help comparing headphones or checking promotions, particularly during an expensive season. Deciding whether headphones are the right gift in the first place is where knowing the recipient matters.
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