Summer Deal Days: Why AI personalization is crucial
The weather isn’t the only thing heating up this time of year. Summer deal days are in full swing, and consumers are burning to participate with 1 in 4 (26%) planning to spend more on seasonal shopping events this year as compared to 2023.
We surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based adult consumers to gauge their sentiments about retailer deal days. We wanted to understand their preferred events, which categories they intend to shop and whether deal days are still effective avenues for securing the best prices. Follow along below as we unpack the key findings.
Tech Takes All: 44% of consumers plan to shop for technology during Prime Day
By far, most consumers plan to scour for the best tech deals during Amazon’s Prime Day. However, homeware/cookware (38%), cleaning supplies (35%) and pet supplies (34%) finish out the top four, confirming that consumers are focused on practical, everyday purchases for the best prices.
Back-to-school looks get an “F” as only 23% of respondents plan to shop for school fashion. Yet, both Millennials (43%) and Gen Z (36%) intend to cross off school supply shopping lists – whether for themselves or their children.
Beauty is another favored category for Millennial (42%), Gen Z (34%) and Gen X (34%) shoppers. This checks out nicely when taking into account the top social media trends people are shopping for this summer:
Clear skin, colorful make-up and glitter are key elements of the above trends. Retailers are taking note!
When to shop for the best deals? Consumers vote Black Friday
Nearly half of respondents (49%) wait for summer sales to shop for something that they are already planning on buying to get a better deal or price. However, consumers identified Black Friday as their favorite deal day followed by Amazon’s Prime Day, Cyber Monday, Walmart+ Week and Target’s Circle Days. If you think that’s a long list of sales days, you’re not alone. Nearly half of respondents (45%) think Prime Day is less enticing now that there are several days offered by different retailers around the same time.
Even so, many still believe summer deal days are uncontested, as 58% of shoppers say these sales provide the best discounts possible. But inflation continues to be pesky , pressuring 31% of that group to still budget carefully and use their credit card to finance purchases in order to afford them.
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Personalization is Missing
23% of all respondents say summer deal days offer good, affordable deals, but the deals aren’t personalized to anything they want to buy
Taking a closer look at generational responses reveals a more telling picture:
AI for the win – 50% are on board with AI-driven Amazon shopping
Though, when exploring AI-driven shopping, an appetite for personalization emerged once more. When comparing AI use cases for shopping on the retail giant’s site, behind-the-scenes AI (like AI-driven personalized recommendations) pulls ahead slightly. 26% are interested in using this tech as compared to the 24% of consumers who would like to use Amazon’s Gen AI chatbot Rufus.
Algolia’s consumer surveys have consistently found younger generations, especially Millennials, to be the most pro-AI group. This is evident by this cohort’s hunger for AI-driven Amazon shopping experiences, as 62% of Millennials and 57% of Gen Z are interested in leveraging AI for shopping on Amazon compared to 51% of Gen X and 31% of Baby Boomers.
There are tremendous opportunities for retailers to tap into AI to personalize discounts, search results and recommendations for their loyal, targeted audience and capitalize on the event hype even further. I mean, what’s the point of offering markdowns on items your customer base isn’t interested in buying?
Looking for a solution?
Our survey is clear: consumers are willing to spend and participate in blockbuster deal days, but they want to see retailers using more personalization and behind-the-scenes AI like personalized recommendations and search results.
Algolia’s AI Personalization tool is one solution that can help retailers prioritize consumer preferences while empowering them with control over what information is disclosed. Consumers can align their search and shopping experiences with their preferences and needs with an extra layer of privacy protection.
While summer deal days are seasonal, AI Personalization shouldn’t be. Algolia can help retailers deliver tailored search results and shopping experiences year-round.