Now Reading: AI tools reshape India’s festive shopping and auto buying
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AI tools reshape India’s festive shopping and auto buying
The Story in Brief
AI is transforming how Indians shop this festive season, with an InMobi report showing four in five shoppers plan to use AI-powered assistants and three in five intend to spend over Rs 10,000. Millennials are 10 percentage points more enthusiastic about AI recommendations than Gen Z, and Tier 2 city consumers match metro shoppers with budgets of Rs 10,000-Rs 25,000, according to the report.
A separate Google-Kantar study on auto buying finds 93% of car shoppers use AI-enabled platforms during research, with an average of 7.8 touchpoints before purchase. YouTube is key for discovery, while 80% of AI chatbot users also rely on Google Search and YouTube, indicating layered digital research.
A Rukam Capital-YouGov report on Gen Z festive shopping finds six in ten young consumers spend more during festivals, but only 6% buy immediately after a creator recommendation. Nearly 60% use AI for product research, though fewer than half would let AI make final decisions. Quick-commerce is used by 28% of Gen Z shoppers.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All three sources offer neutral-report coverage, each focused on different segments: InMobi on overall festive trends, Google-Kantar on auto purchases, and Rukam-YouGov on Gen Z behaviour. The common thread is that AI is a research tool, not a replacement for human judgement. The InMobi report highlights premium spending and Tier 2 city growth, while the Rukam study underscores Gen Z's trust in their own research over influencers. The Google-Kantar data confirms that digital research complements, not substitutes, family input. The NIQ Insight Summit finding of 92% urban shoppers using AI and JioStar's projected 46% jump in average festive transaction size to Rs 24,020 will be key numbers to track this season.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report), thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
