It's about to be
the busiest time of
the year for retailers,
also the most
lucrative and the
most competitive.
This year, the
brands getting our
attention are using AI
to move faster, feel
smarter, and
actually get us. I'm
Monica Bowie. Joining
me to unwrap the
biggest trends to
finding this holiday
retail season is Kayla
Schwartz, Director
of Customer Insights
at Salesforce.
Hi, Kayla. Hi, Monica.
Thanks for having
me. Excited to talk
to you today because
I love shopping and our
season is approaching.
So every year,
Salesforce delivers
predictions for the
upcoming holiday season
based off of shopper
data from one and
a half billion shoppers.
That's a lot of
shoppers. It is. And
there's a lot of data
that comes out of
this. So give us a
short summary of some
of the big takeaways.
Yeah, well, you
know, it's going to
be another record
-breaking season.
But I say that with
the caveat that it's
been a hard year for
retailers and consumers.
between tariffs and
interest rates and
still persistent
inflation, consumers are
feeling the pinch of
the economy. But there
is good news. We are
seeing a shift in consumer
optimism as we head
into the back half
of the year. And this
is happening worldwide.
So consumers are
feeling like they want
to go back to spending.
And so that is good
news for retailers.
As we head into the
holiday shopping season,
we're going to see
a lot more spending,
a lot more activity.
Consumers are looking
for deals. They're still
very deal sensitive,
but it's going to be
a year marked by some
old behavior, some of
those penny pinching
activities they did
last year, looking for
deals and discounts, as
well as some new
behavior, particularly how
AI and LLMs are
changing the shopping
experience. Yeah, which
let's talk about AI, right?
So that has to change
things. What is going
to be different this
year compared to other
years? Well, we're
seeing a significant
shift in the consumer
using these third-party
LLM tools like ChatGPT,
Perplexity, even
TikTok and Instagram
are all powered with an
LLM search. And consumers
are leaning into
these tools, not only
for everyday life type of
activities, but also
to aid them in their
shopping. And it's
because they think they're
getting the best
personalized product
recommendations for
them. And so we're seeing
massive adoption of these
tools from the get-go,
which is very exciting.
And it's going to
transform the way
shopping happens, the way
shoppers learn about
different brands, find
new products. We're
seeing that happen right
now. And it is going
to have an impact on
this holiday season,
but as well as the years
to come. And in fact,
we're anticipating that
about $263 billion
will be influenced by
AI this holiday season.
That's impressive.
Wow. So earlier you
talked a little bit about
the uncertainty that
we've experienced and
how it's impacting the
economic uncertainty.
So do you see that
having an impact on
consumers this season?
It will. We are still
in a period of high
price sensitivity and
consumers are looking
for deals. And one of
the ways that they're
doing that is they're
actually using these
LLMs to help them
find the best deal, to
help them spread their
budget out by helping
them build shopping
lists. So that's one
way. The other impact
that we're seeing is
because of tariffs.
Availability and
pricing is certainly
something that the
consumer is really worried
about. And so what
they're doing is
they're stocking up,
they're focusing on
essentials. And so
those two behaviors are
definitely going to
play a factor into what
consumers look to buy
this holiday season
and their overall
ability to purchase.
I love that. So a
little positive news
coming out of this.
So if consumers remain
cautious, What is the
mark that retailers
want to hear that's
going to be a good,
successful outcome
in this environment?
Well, you know, there's
a lot of noise out
there in the market,
especially during
holidays. Holidays seem
to start earlier and
earlier every single
year. You know, I think I
walk through my local
store and Christmas
is already on the
shelf, which is just
incredible. And so how
you cut through that noise
and get to your loyal
shoppers is really
going to be the opportunity
and the win this
year. So thinking
about how, whether it's
through a loyalty
program or just with your
overall marketing
efforts, curating that
experience for those
loyal shoppers, keeping
your repeat customers
coming back to you.
There's a ton of value
in there. And then
leaning in on the
experience, showing up where
your shoppers are,
whether that isn't an
LLM or it's on social
media or it's in the
store. Physical retail
is still a really strong
channel. And even
younger consumers are
leaning into in-store
shopping over the
holidays. So showing up
where they are, when they
are, and giving them
a great experience.
Yeah, I mean, you
have to still have a
Black Friday experience,
no matter what
we're experiencing
online. So before we
close, just give us a
recap of anything you
want to leave with
retailers watching
about what to expect,
what AI is going to
do to change, and
maybe a tip or two to
look forward to this
week at Dreamforce.
Yeah, well, you know,
it's going to be a
really exciting
year. We're expecting
about $1.25 trillion
in holiday sales across
November 1st through
December 31st. So
it's a big year. It's
a record breaker.
So there's tons of
opportunity to get in
front of your customer
and win that sale.
What we're looking
at and what we're
anticipating, again,
thinking about how AI is
transforming that
experience. But what's
really exciting is it's
not just online. It's
transforming physical
retail, too. And so
thinking about your
shopper journey, connecting
the experience across
all those touch
points, making it
unified is really going
to be what wins hearts
and minds in the
consumer market. So
that is the opportunity.
As far as Dreamforce
this week, we're having
a ton of holiday
sessions, including a
session on how to
improve your LLM traffic.
come join us.
I love that.
Thank you so much,
Kayla. Thank you for your
insights. And thank
you all for watching.
To learn more about
Salesforce's holiday
predictions, scan the
QR code on your screen
or go to sforce.co
forward slash retail.
