By Jill Standish • Accenture

Pass the eggnog—and the rum; holiday shoppers are feeling the pressure. And shoppers under pressure may forgo purchases. Retailers and brands must serve personalized and relevant information to inform buying decisions or they risk lost revenue through abandoned gift purchases this holiday season. That’s the result of phase one of Accenture’s Holiday Survey of 3,000 consumers across 10 countries conducted in August 2025.

At the start of 2024, Accenture’s Consumer Pulse Survey found that just under three quarters (74%) of consumers reported walking away from purchases because they felt overwhelmed. Phase one of Accenture’s annual Holiday Shopping Survey conducted in August 2025 involved 3,000 consumers across 10 countries. Respondents participated from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, UK and US. The survey provides insights into consumer behaviors and buying patterns during the holiday season. It provides an indication of retail performance expectations both online and in-store at a key time for the retail sector.

Gen Z & Millennials Could Walk Away from Purchases

With the Holiday season fast approaching, “shopper stress,” is very much being felt. In some cases, it is intensifying, according to Accenture. More than eight in 10 (84%) of consumers report that purchasing holiday gifts can be so overwhelming and frustrating that they abandoned their shopping carts. That figure rises among younger generations, with 89% Gen Z and 91% Millennials reporting they are likely to walk away from holiday gift purchases.

While holiday season is known to be a time for joy and celebration, it can also be a time of heightened stress. Add the pressure of finding the perfect gift for friends and loved ones, and it can all feel overwhelming. For retailers, that overwhelm could harm holiday sales, with shoppers prepared to abandon their shopping basket completely. This is when many retailers and brands double down on advertising and promotional campaigns to win share of the festive spend. But they must pay even closer attention to customer data and use the insights to lighten the decision-making workload of the holiday shopper.

The Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

The rise of artificial intelligence has workers around the world on edge. Pundits insist that AI may make many jobs obsolete. But for now, AI may buoy holiday spirits for some.

AI-driven technologies such as generative AI can help ease “shopper stress” by acting as a concierge, guiding and curating every step of the purchasing journey. The technology helps deliver experiences that feel personal, relevant and timely by recommending options, comparing features and even narrowing choices. For retailers and brands, it opens the door to deeper customer relationships and greater revenue streams.

It’s equally important not to overlook the impact generative AI can have within in-store experience.

Armed with AI tools, retail associates can have instant access to product knowledge, customer preferences and contextual prompts. It means they can spend less time on repetitive tasks—inventory checks, stocking shelves—and more time engaging customers with curated, consultative recommendations.

Why All the Stress?

Concern over not buying the perfect holiday gift is a contributing factor to “shopper stress.” Three quarters (75%) of shoppers say they are stressed about making the right decision and a similar number (73%) are worried they will regret their choice later.

At a time of year when major advertising and promotional campaigns are launched to promote gift giving – a cornerstone of the holiday shopping experience – the survey highlights a need for retailers and brands to take a highly targeted, data-driven approach to win a share of the festive spend. This comes as 82% of shoppers feel bombarded by advertising, up from 78% in Accenture’s Consumer Pulse Survey 2024, and 77% are overwhelmed by too many options (vs 74% in 2024).

Retailers with physical stores could stand to gain this season as 45% of consumers say they will visit a store to see and assess products firsthand when faced with too much information while holiday shopping. Roughly half (48%) seek recommendations from friends and family, One in five plan to use conversational assistants such as ChatGPT or Claude. One third (34%) will search on social media to combat information overload.

Accenture’s Own AI Tools

Capitalizing on advances in AI is reflected in the demand Accenture is seeing in its own work across the consumer space. That includes AI-powered multi-brand beauty startup, Noli, founded and backed by the L’Oréal Groupe. Noli stands for “No One Like I.” It is on a mission to empower every beauty consumer with their own intelligent and trusted advisor.

“Beauty is full of choice, opinions, claims, noise, making it the perfect category for personalization and expert guidance. AI is delivering real value anywhere there is decision complexity, emotional stakes and a need for trust — and beauty embodies all three,” said Co-Founder & CEO Amos Susskind. “At Noli, we’re using tech and AI to solve the number one pain point in beauty: helping people find the right product for them. Our goal is to bring clarity to a chaotic space, trust to a skeptical audience and unmatched intelligence to a deeply personal experience.”

According to Accenture, Noli is reinventing how people discover and shop beauty products by addressing the No. 1 pain point for beauty customers—too many options, and lack of unbiased, often conflicting, advice in the market.

Noli cuts through the beauty noise with AI diagnostics trained on 1 million + skin data points and thousands of product formulations. It decodes each user’s beauty profile and delivers confident product picks to their door, according to Accenture.

That kind of intelligence can make the holidays happy for even the most stressed-out shoppers.

About the Author
Jill Standish is global retail lead at Accenture. More info: Accenture.