Cimulate and Future Commerce Release new AI Shopping Report, Signaling the Rise of the Concierge Economy

New two-phase consumer study reveals how generative AI is reshaping discovery, shopping behavior, and the future of commerce

BOSTON, Jan. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cimulate, the company pioneering Agentic Commerce through its CommerceGPT platform, today announced the availability of it's new research report, The Concierge Economy: Understanding AI's True Role in The Shopping Experience, conducted in partnership with Future Commerce.

Based on two separate surveys of 1,000 U.S. consumers each, the report examines how Gen AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are changing where shopping begins, how decisions are formed, and what consumers now expect from brands and retailers once intent is established.

The findings point to a clear shift: Gen AI has become a front door to commerce, acting as a personal concierge that helps consumers discover, compare, and validate products, while driving high-intent traffic to brand and retailer sites for conversion.

Key insights from the report include:

• Gen AI has moved from experimentation to habit formation. Awareness of AI platforms exceeds 80% across Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X, with nearly 70% using Gen AI regularly. While 49% of consumers planned to consult AI first when shopping, actual behavior surpassed expectations with 80% of AI users reportedly asking AI first when researching holiday gifts.
• Deal-hunting fatigue is accelerating AI adoption. In Phase 1, 57% of consumers said they wanted AI to handle price comparisons. In Phase 2, 59% of AI shoppers used AI at least sometimes to find the best price. Economic efficiency is becoming AI's killer feature.
• Expectations are rising once consumers shop with AI. Leading to the "Concierge Economy" shift, the Phase 2 AI shoppers are starting to rely on AI platforms for multiple steps of the journey including product comparison (57%), researching specific products from brands (55%), and getting product ideas and inspiration for a specific need (55%). As Gen AI starts to operate like a personalized concierge, getting to know its users' preferences and interests, it continues to deliver even more value which sets new expectations for retailer & brand experiences.
• While AI is reshaping the top of the funnel – brands & retailers still own conversion. Across both Phase 1 and Phase 2 surveys, 77% of consumers said that when AI makes a recommendation, they would click through to a brand or retailer site for further research and purchase. This is compared to 23% who are willing to check out directly within AI platforms. While AI is supporting product discovery & research, the referral traffic is now extremely qualified, and brands + retailers need to be ready to convert.
• Physical retail discovery is disproportionately impacted. AI effects store visits more than branded eCommerce. In Phase 1 for consumers leveraging AI for holiday planning, 30% intended to visit stores less vs. 10% would visit branded eCommerce sites less. In Phase 2, that figure rose to 40% of consumers intending to visit stores less, an 11% visiting branded eCommerce sites less. This reinforces the role of eCommerce for confirmation and conversion and will force retailers to rethink what makes a store worth the trip.

For more information:

Download the full report for more insights, including where the findings differ across Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.

Register for the webinar (February 19, 2pm EST): Join Cimulate, Future Commerce, and Tilly's for a deep dive into the research & implications.

Meet Cimulate at NRF 2026 in the Innovation Showcase – Booth #8007 – to see how brands can earn & convert AI referral traffic.

About Cimulate

Cimulate is the AI-native commerce platform that redefines how shoppers and agents discover products. At its core is CommerceGPT - a purpose-built large language model platform that simulates millions of shopping journeys and learns from product, behavioral, and synthetic data to deliver real-time, context-aware results. Through its product suite, Cimulate fixes core search & product discovery, advances browse & recommendations and offers customers new capabilities like natural language AI shopping assistants and Commerce AEO. Trusted by retailers like Tilly's, PACSUN, and West Marine, Cimulate solves the search problem while helping our customers usher in the new era of agentic commerce. For additional information: www.cimulate.ai.

MC: Jess Iandiorio
jess.iandiorio@cimulate.ai

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SOURCE Cimulate, Inc.