Currently, 65% of young Poles use artificial intelligence when making purchasing decisions. However, most do so only very rarely or occasionally, while just 12.2% regularly turn to AI for such support.
Meanwhile, 30% of respondents do not use AI when planning purchases. This includes 23.2% who see no need to do so and 6.8% who intend to start using the technology.
The findings do not yet point to a mass transformation of the retail sector. At the same time, they show that AI is gradually becoming an additional tool supporting the choices of young consumers. For now, respondents place the greatest value on functions that help them save time and reduce information overload.
A recently published report, co-authored by Shopfully Poland, shows that young Poles use artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot when making purchasing decisions.
A total of 65.5% of respondents aged between 18 and 35 said they used such solutions. Within this group, 28.6% used them very rarely, 24.7% did so occasionally and 12.2% used them regularly.
“More than 65% of young Poles declaring that they use AI in purchasing decisions shows that the technology has already moved beyond the stage of curiosity and experimentation. AI is becoming part of the everyday decision-making process, particularly when consumers search for information, compare products, check reviews and try to reduce the risk of making the wrong choice,” said Dr Jolanta Tkaczyk, Professor at Kozminski University and Director of the university’s Centre for Marketing Analysis.
“This does not yet mean that the retail sector is undergoing a complete mass transformation. What we are seeing is the widespread adoption of AI as an advisory tool, while deeper changes in consumer behaviour are still at an early stage,” she added.
According to Robert Biegaj of Shopfully Poland, AI can already be considered part of the consumer mainstream. This is particularly visible among young people, who naturally tend to adopt digital innovations more quickly.
However, the expert stressed that this does not yet amount to mass adoption understood as the regular and conscious use of AI at every stage of the purchasing process. The findings instead suggest that consumers are currently in a transitional phase between experimentation and the permanent establishment of new habits.
“At the current stage of artificial intelligence development, we are primarily talking about optimising the customer journey rather than fundamentally changing the shopping model,” said Andrzej Wojciechowicz of the consultancy FMCG Business Consulting.
“AI-based tools make it easier to search for products, compare offers and filter information, allowing consumers to make decisions more quickly and conveniently. At the same time, retailers are using the same technologies to personalise offers and recommend complementary products, increasing the effectiveness of their sales activities,” he explained.
Retailers must optimise product information for AI
Robert Biegaj argues that the findings send an important signal to the retail sector. Traditional methods of presenting products may gradually become less significant.
As consumers increasingly use AI as an intermediary when searching for information, stores must ensure that their offers are attractive not only to people but also understandable to the algorithms processing product data.
“Marketing communication will increasingly have to be designed not only for people but also for algorithms analysing products and offers,” Wojciechowicz said.
“This will increase the importance of high-quality product data, transparent descriptions, credible customer reviews and the consistent presentation of offers across digital channels. Retail companies will effectively be creating communications simultaneously for customers and their digital shopping assistants. This may become one of the most important changes in retail marketing over the coming years,” he added.
Nearly one in four young consumers sees no need for AI
A total of 30% of respondents said they did not use AI when making purchasing decisions. Some 23.2% saw no need to use it, while 6.8% did not currently use AI but planned to start.
Another 2.3% were unable to give a clear answer, while 2.2% could not remember whether they had used AI in this context.
“The approximately 23% of young respondents who see no need to use AI when shopping should not necessarily be regarded as a permanent group of technology opponents,” Tkaczyk said.
“It is more likely to be a mixed segment. Some people will genuinely remain sceptical, but others simply do not yet recognise a practical benefit from using AI for this purpose.”
She added that the lack of perceived need may result from the routine nature of many purchases, confidence in consumers’ existing methods of finding information, reliance on recommendations from friends or the relatively low risk associated with a particular decision.
“AI becomes attractive only when it genuinely reduces effort, shortens the decision-making process or helps consumers avoid an unsuitable purchase,” Tkaczyk explained.
AI could evolve into a fully fledged shopping assistant
The findings also raise the question of how the role of artificial intelligence in retail could evolve over the next few years.
According to the Kozminski University expert, AI is likely to move gradually from being a supporting tool to becoming a shopping assistant.
However, this is unlikely to be a sudden shift in which consumers hand complete control over their purchases to technology. A hybrid model is more probable.
AI is also expected to play a growing role during the earlier stages of the customer journey. Consumers may be more willing to accept greater automation for routine purchases, including frequently bought products, subscriptions, basic household equipment and straightforward services.
“Over the next two to three years, we can expect a gradual transition from simple functions supporting information searches to more advanced shopping assistants,” Wojciechowicz said.
“AI solutions will become increasingly effective at understanding users’ preferences, previous choices, budget limitations and expectations regarding product quality.”
As a result, consumers will receive increasingly relevant recommendations, while the purchasing process itself will become more automated and personalised.
“This does not mean that algorithms will completely take over purchasing decisions. Consumer trust in AI recommendations will remain the key factor,” Wojciechowicz concluded.
Source: Managerplus.pl
