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The Consumer Started Auditing: Six Findings From Feedvisor’s 2026 E-Commerce Shopper Survey
- October 15, 2026
The buying habit has held. But the scrutiny around each purchase has intensified.
That is the central story of Feedvisor’s ninth annual consumer survey, conducted by independent research firm Zogby Analytics among more than 1,000 U.S. consumers. Eighty-seven percent say economic factors have changed how they shop. Yet 52% still buy online at least weekly, a rate that has remained broadly steady across five years of our surveys.
Before buying, shoppers are checking more prices, questioning deals, scrutinizing reviews, and consulting AI. Economic pressure gives them more reason to examine an offer, while technology gives them more ways to do it. In other words, the consumer started auditing.
For brands, that means your offer meets a shopper who is harder to persuade, with their own comparison habits, timing, and standards of proof. Getting their attention is only the beginning.
Our new report, The 2026 E-Commerce Shopper Report: Squeezed, Skeptical, and Still Buying, explores these changes and the differences national averages conceal. These six findings introduce the story.
Dani Nadel
Dani is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Feedvisor. She is a recognized marketing and digital expert with more than 20 years of hands-on experience managing nationally recognized consumer and corporate brands.
1. Finding Value Has Become More Work
Forty-five percent of consumers say they are comparing prices more than a year ago. Waiting for sales, using coupons, and buying store brands are other ways shoppers report adjusting.
The pressure differs by generation. Older shoppers more often cite inflation; younger shoppers also report concerns about job security and debt. Nearly 60% would use AI to track historical prices and request retroactive price matches.
Promotions face that scrutiny too. Forty-three percent believe deal quality has declined or feels artificial, or say they have sale fatigue and ignore events such as Prime Day and Black Friday. A discount announcement does not automatically establish value.
With 60% planning to begin the majority of their holiday shopping by the end of October, brands should treat the season as already in progress. The opportunity is practical. Make the total cost clear, explain what distinguishes the product, and give shoppers evidence that the offer is worth accepting.
2. AI Is Earning Influence Faster Than Purchasing Authority
Over the past year, I’ve written about how AI could reshape product discovery and influence which brands make a shopper’s shortlist. This survey gives us concrete evidence that shift is well underway: 55% have turned to AI to research or compare products in the past six months. And it’s accelerating. Adobe expects AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites to grow 130% this holiday season.
But the number that stopped me was 5%: that is how many respondents say they would buy immediately after an AI recommendation. For many, the suggestion prompts another step: searching elsewhere, reading reviews, or comparing alternatives.
That desire to retain control extends to checkout: 62% would never let an autonomous agent order and pay without manual checkout. Even among those willing to let AI buy for them, 76% would limit a single purchase to $100 or less.
The national figures also hide a striking gender divide. Sixty-five percent of men have used AI for product research, compared with 45% of women. Women report more deal hunting and less willingness to delegate purchases. There is no single “AI shopper.”
3. Discovery Spreads Across Many Places. Marketplaces Remain Central to Purchase.
Shoppers discover products through an average of 3.3 sources, including marketplaces, people they know, social platforms, streaming TV, and AI.
When it is time to buy, the field narrows. Amazon is named by 62% as a place to start product search and by 74% as a destination when ready to buy. Walmart is also prominent at purchase, selected by 42%.
AI tools show the opposite pattern. ChatGPT is named by 16% as a search starting point and by 10% when ready to buy. Gemini and Google AI Overviews attract fewer shoppers at both stages and are also selected more often for research than purchase.
A creator, conversation, video, or AI recommendation can shape the choice long before a shopper reaches a marketplace. For brands, the challenge is being visible where the search begins and ready where it ends, with the product listing, price, reviews, and availability supporting the decision when the shopper acts.
4. Reviews Remain Essential, While Their Credibility Faces Scrutiny
Reviews are the leading signal that a product is a good value, cited by 49% of consumers. Yet fake reviews are also tied for the biggest frustration with online shopping. That tension is one of the report’s most consequential findings. Shoppers rely on evidence they know can be manipulated.
What strikes me is that shoppers haven’t abandoned reviews because some may be unreliable. They still depend on them. That makes credibility a harder and more important job for brands.
Review volume alone cannot resolve the problem. Detailed product information, authentic customer feedback, and clear answers to recurring questions give shoppers a basis for judging whether the product will deliver.
5. Small Pleasures Survive the Squeeze
Fifty-six percent buy something to improve their mood at least monthly. Clothing, groceries, and beauty are among the most commonly named categories.
These purchases often come with modest spending limits: 78% set their maximum mood-purchase budget at $30 or less.
Economic pressure has not eliminated the desire for an affordable treat. Consumers can scrutinize spending and still make room for pleasure. An accessible product can earn a place in the cart even when a larger purchase feels difficult to justify.
6. The Holiday Average Hides Very Different Households
The national outlook is divided, with roughly equal shares expecting to spend more and less than last year. Underneath are substantial differences by income, age, and parent status.
Among households earning more than $150,000, 43% expect to spend more. Among those earning less than $25,000, 26% expect to cut spending significantly. Parents are more than twice as likely as non-parents to anticipate increases: 48% versus 22%.
What matters to me is how easily a national average can become an assumption about every customer. Some households are preparing to expand their holiday budgets. Others are deciding what to leave out. The same promotion will meet different expectations about affordability, value, and what deserves priority.
These are intentions, not a sales forecast. But they show why planning around an “average holiday shopper” can obscure the customers a brand actually serves. For brands, they are a reason to examine who is buying, which products fit those households’ budgets, and whether shipping costs or promotional terms could change the decision. The report’s demographic breakdowns help make those differences visible.
What This Means for Brands
What stands out to me is that shoppers have made verification part of buying. They check prices, consult other sources, choose when to shop, and decide which tasks to hand to AI. Those habits are now part of what a brand has to understand to earn the purchase.
The response reaches beyond the next campaign. A price needs to be defensible when someone compares it. A claim needs evidence when someone questions it. The product needs to be available when the shopper is ready, and the total at checkout needs to match their expectations. Delivering that consistently requires pricing, advertising, product content, and inventory decisions to reflect the same business context, across the catalog, as conditions change.
I expect many of these habits to outlast the economic pressure that helped create them. Nobody unlearns how to check a price when the pressure lifts. Brands that make the decision easier to evaluate can earn both the immediate purchase and confidence in the next one.
See the Differences Behind the Headlines
We publish this survey each year to understand how purchase decisions are changing. The full report brings those findings together, including how AI use, promotional attitudes, and holiday plans differ by age, income, and gender. Download it to test your assumptions about your customers and identify where your pricing, advertising, and shopping experience need closer attention.
Download the Full 2026 E-Commerce Shopper Report
About the survey: Feedvisor commissioned independent research firm Zogby Analytics to survey 1,006 U.S. consumers online in July and August 2026. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points. Spending plans reflect intentions, and responses describe where shoppers say they look and buy at different stages rather than individual purchase journeys.