Leading retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Gap, and Levi Strauss are rapidly deploying AI solutions across their operations. A new survey of 1,081 online shoppers conducted during the first half of 2026 reveals a significant disconnect: while shoppers are growing comfortable with AI use cases such as recommendations, chatbots, and automated assistants, they remain confused about data collection and usage practices (Digital Commerce 360 - AI).
When asked about their comfort with retailers' AI use, 23.3% of shoppers said they were very comfortable and 32.5% said they were somewhat comfortable. However, when asked how clear retailers were about personal data use, only 17.3% said merchants were "very clear," and 29.3% said data treatment was "somewhat clear." More than 46% of respondents indicated that data treatment was "not very clear" or "not clear at all" (Digital Commerce 360 - AI). This transparency gap represents a significant opportunity for merchants to build trust and differentiate themselves through clearer communication and policies.
Shoppers also revealed which data types concerned them most in AI-driven shopping: 67.0% flagged payment and financial information, 63.8% cited location data, and 61.0% mentioned personal details such as names and contact information (Digital Commerce 360 - AI). Browsing behavior and purchase history ranked lower as concerns, suggesting that merchants can strategically address the data categories that matter most to consumers.