Black woman using chatbot shopping assistant. She is buying Christmas gifts online
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The holiday paradox
The holiday season is supposed to be the most lucrative, feel-good period in retail. Yet for many consumers, it’s no longer synonymous with joy but with stress. What once felt like a festive treasure hunt for the perfect gift for friends and loved ones, has become a pressure cooker of too many choices, too many ads, and too little confidence.
The first of two holiday shopping surveys Accenture is conducting puts data behind the sentiment. More than eight in ten consumers admit that when shopping for a gift, they’ve abandoned a holiday purchase entirely because the process felt too frustrating. Three quarters of consumers report feeling stressed about making the right holiday gift decision, while a similar number (73%) worry they’ll regret their choice later. Meanwhile, 82% feel overwhelmed by advertising and 77% struggle with too many options. Three-quarters say they worry they’ll regret their gift choices. Over 80 percent describe advertising as overwhelming, and nearly as many feel paralyzed by the sheer number of options.
Stress, not celebration, is increasingly the emotion of the season — and it’s could harm sales and loyalty as a result. costing retailers dearly.
The problem of too much choice
Retailers have spent decades expanding product lines, multiplying channels, and personalizing experiences. Ironically, the very abundance designed to please shoppers now risks pushing them away. Choice has become complex, and complexity fuels hesitation. When customers walk away, it’s rarely because they don’t like what they see. It’s because they see too much.
The paradox is clear: retailers that once won by offering more, will now win by helping customers navigate less. Acting as a curator and guide — filtering options, recommending with relevance, and removing noise — is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a survival strategy.
Brands showing the way
Some brands are already leaning into this opportunity. Noli, a beauty startup backed by L’Oréal Groupe, deploys AI trained on more than a million skin data points to decode individual beauty profiles and recommend tailored products. And Ralph Lauren’s “Ask Ralph” chatbot creates personalized outfits pulled directly from available inventory, transforming shopping from a search exercise into a guided conversation.
Both companies illustrate an essential truth: the future of retail isn’t about offering infinite choice. It’s about making choosing easier. That’s how abandoned carts turn into conversions — and one-off shoppers turn into loyal customers.
Generative AI as the holiday helper
Generative AI (gen AI) may be the best tool retailers have to combat holiday overload. Unlike search engines that flood shoppers with results, gen AI excels at narrowing the field and contextualizing the options. Picture a frazzled parent typing “gifts for teenagers” into a browser. The result is thousands of irrelevant listings. Ask a gen AI tool instead, “What’s the best tech gift under $200, in stock, for a 15-year-old who loves gaming?” and the shopper gets a focused, useful answer.
In stores, the potential is just as powerful. Imagine associates equipped with AI-driven insights at their fingertips: inventory details, customer history, even personalized suggestions. Suddenly the associate becomes less of a salesperson and more of a trusted consultant. That transformation changes the entire tenor of a holiday shopping trip — from overwhelming to empowering.
The underrated advantage of physical retail
It’s tempting to think the future is all digital, but nearly half (45%) of consumers in Accenture’s Holiday Survey say they still plan to visit stores this holiday season to see and assess products firsthand. That isn’t a liability; it’s a hidden strength. Stores are where consumers go to resolve uncertainty, test products, and make final decisions. When designed as destinations — festive, curated, and staffed by empowered associates — physical spaces provide something no algorithm can fully replicate, human reassurance.
Retailers that stage discovery moments in-store, from thoughtful merchandising to guided consultations, can turn hesitation into confidence. And in an age of digital overload, that tactile, trust-building experience may be more valuable than ever.
From shopping stress to success
Holiday stress is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to translate into lost revenue. Retailers who embrace the role of guide rather than bombardier will not only reduce cart abandonment but also deepen long-term loyalty. The opportunity lies in offering fewer, more relevant recommendations, embedding AI to personalize at scale, and positioning stores as destinations for discovery and reassurance.
The brands that win this season won’t be the ones with the loudest promotions or the largest catalogs. They’ll be the ones that make choosing feel effortless. Because in a world where options are infinite, the greatest gift a retailer can give isn’t just the product itself. It’s confidence.