Would you let AI shop for everyone on your holiday list?
For younger Canadians, the answer is increasingly yes. New Mastercard research shows that shoppers are turning to AI to find the right gifts, stretch their budgets and simplify holiday shopping.
But as AI moves from recommending products to making purchases on consumers’ behalf, questions around trust, security and control become increasingly important, particularly when money, loyalty points and transactions are involved.
Mastercard’s latest Shopper Snapshot, conducted with The Harris Poll, explores how comfortable Canadians are with AI taking on a bigger role in their holiday shopping and where they still want to call the shots.
A few key findings:
- 43% of Canadian Gen Z and 44% of millennials say AI knows them well enough that they trust it to pick gifts for loved ones more than they trust themselves, versus just over a quarter (26%) of shoppers overall.
- 38% of Canadian Gen Z and 43% of millennials would let AI handle all of their gift buying if it meant avoiding the stress.
- Canadian consumers want AI to help them shop smarter, not just cheaper: 62% want an AI agent to weigh quality, trust and personal preferences alongside price, while 26% say AI has already increased their ability to stay within budget.
- When considering the use of AI shopping agents, 67% of Canadians surveyed want to approve a transaction before an agent uses their loyalty points or benefits.
You can read more HERE.
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This entry was posted on November 12, 2026 at 9:23 am and is filed under Commentary with tags MasterCard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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4 in 10 younger Canadians would let AI handle their holiday shopping
Would you let AI shop for everyone on your holiday list?
For younger Canadians, the answer is increasingly yes. New Mastercard research shows that shoppers are turning to AI to find the right gifts, stretch their budgets and simplify holiday shopping.
But as AI moves from recommending products to making purchases on consumers’ behalf, questions around trust, security and control become increasingly important, particularly when money, loyalty points and transactions are involved.
Mastercard’s latest Shopper Snapshot, conducted with The Harris Poll, explores how comfortable Canadians are with AI taking on a bigger role in their holiday shopping and where they still want to call the shots.
A few key findings:
You can read more HERE.
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This entry was posted on November 12, 2026 at 9:23 am and is filed under Commentary with tags MasterCard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.