With all the discussion about AI this year, and there was a lot of it, it was easy to forget that the vast majority of shopping still happens in stores — to the tune of around 80%. This isn’t a surprise to anyone in retail. That number has held steady for decades, ever since the early ’80s when the advent of “Ecommerce 1.0” prompted predictions about the death of the store. This new era of AI commerce will ultimately prove to be no different, for one simple reason — joy.
In nearly 30 years of evolution, ecommerce has made huge advances in scale and convenience, but it still hasn’t come close to replicating the fun of browsing a local shop or strolling through the mall.
In fact, another big story this year was Gen Z’s “rediscovery” of that kind of fun. Among the headlines: Gen Z’s Surprising Love Affair with the Mall (Advertising Week), Gen Z and the Post-Mall Mall (Observer), Malls’ New Success Strategy: Attracting Gen Zers Hungry for Social Contact (Retail TouchPoints). But is this really that surprising? I don’t hail from that generation, and despite the many intriguing stories I covered this year about AI and ecommerce innovations, some of the most fun I had happened in stores, both as a reporter and as a regular old consumer.
No One Waits in Line for a Website Launch
I will never forget the pleasure of visiting the confection of a store that is Printemps — the experience alone was so magical that I wasn’t even bothered by the inaccessibility (for someone on a journalist’s salary at least) of the products. I am counting the days until Primark opens its Herald Square flagship after getting a glimpse at what’s in store there from the company’s U.S. President Kevin Tulip. And one of the most satisfying shopping experiences I had this year involved hunting for a gift at a local store, Jafajems, and finding out I was talking to the owner at the register.
Advertisement
These kinds of things just don’t happen online. There are certainly no champagne bars from which to sit and observe beautiful creations and people, as at Printemps; nor are there lines out the door for the launch of a new website, as there almost certainly will be when Primark Herald Square opens next spring. And there’s a reason for that, which I think we often forget (or at least forget to talk about) in our excitement over new technology — humans are social creatures. Even the most introverted among us need to engage and interact, and the importance of that innate aspect of our biology simply cannot be discounted.
Humans are Hard-Wired for the Real World
We may have become trained to appreciate the effectiveness of algorithms, but we are hard-wired to seek out physical connection, originality and stimulation. A digital “endless aisle” of products or content determined based on our previous actions doesn’t provide any of that.
And while I’m the first to enthusiastically cover how AI is reshaping commerce, the fact is that AI very well might make this particular aspect of ecommerce even worse. We’ve all experienced the “echo chambers” and “seas of sameness” that are the result of digital algorithms. Now, as noted in a recent column by MediaPost’s Leah Brier Bienstock and Jess Manganelli, AI is ushering in a new era when ecommerce will not even be shaped by shoppers, but by systems. As they point out, “ChatGPT doesn’t display a carousel. It makes a choice. AI isn’t just surfacing options anymore; it’s shaping decisions.”
The Convenience of Ecommerce is Hard to Resist
Here’s a confession: I say all this having done the bulk of my Christmas shopping online this year, and even having used an AI engine to help zero in on the right version of several products I was looking for. (I also no longer know how to live without Amazon.)
It was efficient, I found what I needed in record time and received it even faster, but, it wasn’t fun. There was no joy in my holiday shopping this year; it was pure efficiency and convenience.
Efficiency and convenience have their place in our modern world; some would argue they are essential. But so is pleasure, and that is a large part of the reason why shoppers will, I believe, always go to stores. Even the AI-native generations that follow Gen Z will learn to love the mall, as we millennials did and our parents before us. Much of the shopping we do is transactional, filling a need, but a certain segment of our shopping will also always be about experience.
And if that joyful experience of walking into a store without a specific mission, simply to see and touch and discover, wasn’t part of your holiday shopping this year, as it wasn’t really part of mine, never fear, because stores don’t disappear at the end of December. There is infinite opportunity in all of our futures to thrill in the simple pleasure of shopping. In fact, perhaps we should all resolve to seek out that pleasure in 2026. In this world of remote work and social media and streaming TV and algorithmically designed connection, maybe what we all need is a little more of in-person shopping, where nothing narrows or limits our experience except our own senses and inclinations and choices.
Wishing all of you a year of joy and discovery, both online and off, and looking forward to being along with you for the ride in 2026.
