AI

Retailers and consumers are out of sync. Why? In a word, it’s words

Retailers and brands that embrace AI can significantly impact performance across ads, search results, and customer experiences, making online shopping the revenue driver it should be.

Photo: Adobe Stock

April 25, 2025 by Purva Gupta — Co-Founder & CEO, Lily AI

Retailers have spent years trying to optimize the customer experience. From curated product selections to inspiring upsell recommendations, consumer engagement is paramount. But, in a world where "personalization" is everything, it is still too difficult for online shoppers to find what they want.

Every industry, including retail, is being transformed by artificial intelligence, and retailers are in a prime position to harness its potential. Today, many retailers are missing one of the most basic tenets of marketing — lose the jargon and connect with consumers in a language they understand. Retailers must bridge the gap between "merchant speak" (e.g. industry jargon) and "consumer speak."

Evolving needs and expectations of shoppers is apparent

Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a "sonic boom" for online shopping. While e-commerce has been around for decades, online shopping skyrocketed when consumers could only, for the most part, do their non-essential shopping online. What this has subsequently uncovered is an enduring desire from consumers to be able to find and purchase what they want quickly, effectively, and online. A new report found two-thirds of consumers prefer shopping online versus in-store. But, the experience is still far from perfect.

Consumers prefer online shopping mainly because of its convenience (80%), but also because they can access retailers, brands, and products that aren't available nearby (62%) and because it's easier to discover new brands and the latest products (52%).

What's more, the report uncovered that each generation uses different channels to discover new products. Across all generations, respondents said they prefer to start the discovery process using Amazon, but from there Gen Zers prefer using social media for discovery (56%); Millennials prefer to browse big box retail sites like Walmart, Target, etc. (46%); and Gen Xers (41%) prefer using traditional search engines like Google.

However, the research also found 84% of consumers said it can take up to six searches to find what they are looking for and 80% said they've given up on an online search because they couldn't find what they wanted. How can this possibly be, especially after decades of technological innovation in the realms of digital advertising and commerce?

Retailers and brands need to improve the search and discovery process by optimizing their PDPs (product description pages) and harmonizing consumer-centric product content across every possible channel, using language that connects with what shoppers are actually looking for. When done correctly, and continuously, the "midnight french terry athleisure top" from Brand A should come up in a Gen Zer's search for a "blue hoodie" on TikTok, as well as a Gen Xer's search for a "navy sweatshirt" on Google. If buyers can't find what they want, retailers not only face the loss of a sale, but also the potential of losing a loyal customer.

Addressing the needs of today's online shoppers

According to the aforementioned report, 66% of surveyed consumers believe that retailers use product language and descriptions that make it difficult for them to find what they want. For example, a "cardinal luxe crew" describes a red cashmere sweater instead of simply using "red cashmere sweater." Additionally, nearly nine out of ten people said they found an item online, but ultimately bought it in-store because they had unanswered questions regarding details like quality, fit, color, or size. For retailers with stores that are few and far between, this can be an issue, not to mention it creates a major inconvenience for the consumer who wanted to make the purchase online and now is forced to go into a physical store. This type of frustration and inconvenience is definitely not what customer-centricity is all about.

The discrepancy between how consumers describe what they want and how retailers position their products is problematic because it creates doubt and undermines the ease and convenience that online shopping is supposed to provide. In fact, 85% of shoppers said they'd purchase a similar item from another brand or retailer if they weren't able to find what they are looking for from their initial brand or retailer of choice. Clear, concise, and informative product descriptions are essential to honoring the customer's time, expectations, and experience. In short, words matter. They really matter.

The research found that the content used most to help with purchase decisions included product images (74%), reviews (60%), and short product descriptions (52%). These were followed by long product descriptions (44%) and videos (31%). While retailers don't have control over consumer reviews, it's a miss if they don't spend time ensuring their product details — both on the front and back ends — are both comprehensive and written in accessible, relevant language.

When retailers get it right, they are rewarded. The data reveals that 71% of consumers will spend more money per visit with retailers or brands where they have a good search experience.

AI's role in providing an improved shopping experience

Today's consumers are starting to use the next generation of AI to shop — 40% said they have used a new generative-AI powered search engine (e.g., Chat GPT, Perplexity, etc.) to assist them in online shopping. This level of experimentation and speed to adoption is unprecedented. Given this, it's critical that retailers optimize their product content to be read by these search engines. Without product content designed to be understood by machines — "machine friendly" — and optimized for AI and AI agents, retailers and brands risk declines in organic and paid web traffic and sales, as well as reduced brand visibility and market share — all because their products aren't showing up as they should.

The retail industry has reached a point where embracing the full potential of AI is critical, including AI for product content optimization. Retailers and brands that embrace AI can significantly impact performance across ads, search results, and customer experiences, making online shopping the revenue driver it should be.

About Purva Gupta

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