Move over elves: AI is taking over holiday retail hustle

7 AI-powered strategies for the holiday season

Here are seven ways AI is already driving holiday sales and how you can put them to work for your business.

1. Create personalized gift guides with generative AI

When buyers face an endless array of choices online, gift shopping can become overwhelming. But generative AI can change that.

During the holiday 2024 season, Google rolled out AI-powered tools like virtual try-ons, “Shop with AI Mode”, and personalized gift finders. 

By using generative AI, you can build tailored gift guides, suggest bundles, and highlight relevant products instantly. However, Gen AI’s accuracy depends on the quality of your product information. 

When you integrate your AI tool with PIM, it can complete attributes, images, and descriptions for product recommendations that your buyers will appreciate. 

With structured data fueling it, generative AI helps you turn holiday browsers into buyers.

2. Deliver instant support with AI chatbots for e-commerce

As holiday shoppers rush to finish their lists, waiting isn’t an option. They expect instant answers, anytime and anywhere.

That’s why AI chatbot use in e-commerce jumped 42% last holiday season. Shoppers leaned on them to find gifts, track orders, handle FAQs, and even start returns.

AI chatbots are the first line of customer service for e-commerce businesses. They keep carts from being abandoned, keep questions from piling up, and give your team room to handle complex issues.

3. Improve site search with AI-powered tagging

Since holiday shopping brings so much chaos, your customers don’t want to wrestle with your search bar. They want to type what’s in their head and see the right products appear, fast.

AI makes that possible. In 2024, Salesforce reported 368 billion AI-powered product recommendations delivered worldwide during the holiday season, a 30% increase from the previous year. These recommendations, along with smarter tagging and categorization, influenced $229 billion in global online sales.

When your brand taps into this, AI can turn confusing SKUs and internal codes into the search terms your shoppers actually use. It can pull attributes like color, size, or material into filters, and it can process natural language queries like “elegant gold bracelet” or “warm winter coat.”

4. Capture holiday buyers on their phones with AI

Today, mobile is where most of your holiday sales happen. According to Salesforce, 79% of online orders were placed on mobile devices during the holiday season. Even in-store, associates relied on mobile devices to assist customers with their shopping.

AI enhances the digital e-commerce experience by making it faster and more personalized. It powers your voice and visual search, allowing shoppers to speak or snap a photo and instantly find what they’re looking for. It personalizes push notifications and restock alerts, timing them for when your buyers are most likely to act. 

At checkout, AI helps streamline mobile payments by anticipating preferences for Apple Pay, digital wallets, or buy-now-pay-later options.

5. Speak every shopper’s language this holiday season

The holidays aren’t limited to one country or one language. Your customers are buying gifts for relatives overseas, shopping while traveling, and searching in their own languages and dialects. If your product content doesn’t reflect that, you risk losing them.

Using AI, you can automatically localize product descriptions, reviews, and FAQs into multiple languages while adapting to cultural context.

It adjusts spelling, measurements, and currencies to regional norms, so every shopper feels like the experience was made for them.

For instance, your Spanish shoppers see sizes in centimeters, your U.K. buyers get “colour” instead of “color,” and your U.S. customers see prices in dollars. All without manual rework.

6. Reduce holiday returns with AI-driven accuracy

If you think holiday shopping ends at checkout, think again. Returns are part of the season too—and they’re getting more expensive. 

Adobe reported that U.S. shoppers sent back a record $148 billion worth of goods in 2024, with apparel and footwear leading the way. Salesforce put the number at $122 billion in returns, a 28% jump from 2023, and predicts it could climb even higher next year.

AI can help turn this around. More thoughtful recommendations, size and fit guidance, and virtual try-ons give shoppers confidence before they buy. And when returns do happen, AI agents are stepping in to make the process easier. In fact, 75% of U.S. shoppers say they’d use AI to handle returns and exchanges.

7. Keep holiday promises with predictive shipping estimates

Your customers shop early for one reason: they don’t want gifts arriving late. During the holidays, delivery speed is as important as price or product. If you can’t give accurate shipping estimates, shoppers will look elsewhere.

You can deliver on these promises with AI. By analyzing real-time inventory levels, shipping routes, weather forecasts, and carrier performance, AI creates delivery timelines your customers can actually trust. Instead of vague “5 to 7 business days,” they see an estimate that reflects real conditions.

This level of transparency builds loyalty. It sets the right expectations, reduces customer service inquiries, and prevents disappointment when a package doesn’t show up on time. 

Give yourself the gift of PIM + AI

The holidays are the busiest shopping time of the year for shoppers and businesses. The experience you deliver ultimately depends on how you leverage AI.

AI can make every touchpoint smarter, but only if your product information is accurate and consistent across all channels. With the right data foundation, every AI-powered interaction feels seamless and trustworthy.

To see how this works in practice, book a demo and discover how structured product data can help you create a holiday shopping experience that your customers will truly enjoy.