Our fourth annual Path to Purchase survey examines how consumers discover, research, and purchase products across 10 categories, and how traditional and digital media and online and physical channels shape consumer behavior.

New buying and AI tools could help the platform capture more transactions from brands and shoppers.

Younger generations lead many digital behaviors, but the picture shifts by activity. Social media restrictions, changing video habits, ecommerce maturity, and AI adoption are reshaping how marketers reach each generation.

YouTube is converging social media, streaming TV, digital audio, and product discovery in one platform. But how audiences use it depends on who is watching.​

Users can virtually try on apparel and save products, making discovery more interactive.

Existing customers show strong purchase intent, while Gen Z makes an active presence especially valuable.

Our survey data highlights how high-income earners (making $150,000 or more) shop across channels and categories.

Commerce media’s inherited advantage is reaching its limits. The next phase depends on earning consumer attention and advertiser demand, even as conversational commerce reshapes the high-intent ad model that fueled its rise.

Beauty ecommerce is outpacing the broader category as social and AI reshape the path to purchase. As generational divides widen, brands and retailers need to rethink how they win discovery, consideration, and conversion.

In our second-annual Pulse of the Consumer: UK Personal Care and Beauty Survey, shoppers share how dupes, social media, and AI are shaping product discovery.​

Some 69% of US consumers plan to use AI while shopping this holiday season, according to Impact. Finding deals, comparing prices, and summarizing promotions tied as the top use cases. Shoppers also plan to use AI for product recommendations, review summaries, and local inventory checks.

Retailers risk losing product discovery control, making better search a priority.

New tools steer discovery and creation, giving brands more reasons to optimize for AI while keeping creative distinct.

The retailer is meeting shoppers where discovery happens, pairing social commerce with creator content ahead of the holidays.

Online marketplaces are taking a bigger share of ecommerce, but rising shopper expectations, tighter margins, and weaker customer relationships are reshaping the opportunity for brands and retailers.

Their broad reach makes authentic partnerships and product-focused content vital for brands.

Social media still sets Gen Z’s product discovery apart from that of non-Gen Z shoppers. But when it comes time to buy, Gen Zers are just as likely to turn to shopping websites and apps as physical stores.

AI Mode and Search rarely show the same products, requiring marketers to treat them as distinct commerce channels.

Retail media networks (RMNs) have built out social and creator offerings, but advertisers have not widely adopted them. To attract spend, RMNs must prove that their offer of better targeting and measurement outweighs the added cost and complexity.

Millennials are entering their peak earning years with deep digital fluency, but adulthood is changing their habits. AI is becoming a practical tool, digital fatigue is reshaping social media use, and family life is influencing media and shopping.