Consumer Behavior

Young shoppers driving agentic commerce growth

Photo: Generated by AI. Adobe Stock.

September 23, 2025

The younger generation, including Gen Z and millennials, are driving adoption of agentic commerce, according to a Commerce and Future Commerce survey.

One in three, 33%, of Gen Z consumers and 26% of millennials are using AI platforms over other channels when it comes to shopping advice, according to a press release.

The survey polled 1,000 consumers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia/ New Zealand.

"Agentic commerce is no longer a concept on the horizon, it's here, and it's already the first stop in the shopping journey," Al Williams, general manager of B2C at Commerce, the parent company of BigCommerce, Feedonomics and Makeswift, said in the release. "Gen Z and Millennials now trust AI more than search, social or influencers to guide what they buy. The shift is clear: brands that show up inside AI-driven platforms will be the ones earning relevance and loyalty in this new era."

The report, "New Modes: How AI is Shaping New Commerce Contexts and Expectations," revealed Gen Z shoppers are nearly as likely to use AI platforms (33%) for product research as they are search engines (37%). For millennials, the gap widens with 26% choosing AI platforms compared to 40% preferring search engines. Just 13% of Gen X and 3% of Boomers prefer to use AI for product research.

"Consumers are embracing a new omnimodal reality. Shopping is no longer just an activity — it's an identity," Phillip Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Future Commerce, said in the release. "AI platforms aren't just tools; they're becoming trusted companions in the consumer journey. For retailers and brands, the implication is clear: the path to trust and loyalty increasingly runs through AI-driven channels."

Additional findings include:

• 23% of Gen Z and 27% of millennials trust AI product recommendations more than human ones.
• 46% of Gen Z and millennials use AI platforms daily.
• 41% of all respondents use AI platforms daily.
• Gen Z is nearly 3X more likely than Gen X to use AI for product research.
• 63% of consumers abandon carts when forced to create accounts, underscoring ongoing friction in branded e-commerce site experiences.
• 48% of all consumers maintain a "perpetual shopping list," blurring the line between shopping as an activity and shopping as a state of mind.
• 55% of consumers said they would unsubscribe to a brand they like if they receive too many marketing messages from them.