Checkout.com reported on December 11, 2025 that 47% of respondents in its UK and US consumer research planned to use an AI agent for Christmas shopping. The payments company also found widespread use of AI to help choose gifts, while respondents voiced concerns about spending control. [S01]

The survey behind the Christmas forecast

The findings appear in Checkout.com’s Peak Season 2025 report. Its methodology identifies OnePoll as the research partner and gives a sample of 2,000 UK adults and 2,000 US adults. The October 29 release introducing that report dates the online fieldwork to September 25 and 26, 2025. The December announcement revisits that research ahead of Christmas. [S01][S02][S03]

These are survey responses collected before the seasonal events, rather than measured purchases. Respondents could select several occasions, so the percentages below are not shares of a single spending total.

The data behind the story

Shopping occasions respondents expected to use agentic AI for

Share selecting each occasion in the 2025 UK and US survey. Multiple answers allowed.

%
Source: [S02] Peak Season 2025, page 5

Overall sample: 4,000 adults, equally split between the UK and US. Reported intentions, not verified transactions. Categories overlap and must not be added together.

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Shopping occasions respondents expected to use agentic AI for (%)
CategoryRespondents selecting occasion
Christmas47%
Black Friday33%
Valentine's Day30%
Halloween23%
Thanksgiving22%
Cyber Monday21%
January sales20%
Back to school20%

Price, spending limits and time

The data behind the story

Why existing users turned to AI for purchasing support

Reported reasons among respondents already using AI for purchasing support.

%
Sources: [S01] Checkout.com, December 11, 2025; [S02] Peak Season 2025, page 6

Self-reported reasons among people already using AI for purchasing support; multiple answers allowed. The overall study included 2,000 UK and 2,000 US adults. The subgroup sample size and weighting were not reported.

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Why existing users turned to AI for purchasing support (%)
CategoryRespondents
Getting the best price33%
Avoiding overspending30%
Saving shopping time27%

The December release said 49% had used AI to help choose a present for a partner. The full report also puts comfort with agents making purchases at 72% among respondents aged 25 to 34. The age band is more precise than the broad generational label used in the announcement. [S01][S02]

Keep country results separate

The October announcement highlighted UK findings, including 42% who had used AI for partner gift ideas and 48% concerned about losing purchasing control. Those figures should not be compared with the combined UK and US results as if they represented a change over time. They describe different populations within the study. [S03]

Gift advice and payment authority

A system suggesting a present performs a different task from one authorised to spend money. Retailers assessing this research need to distinguish discovery, recommendation and checkout. A shopper can welcome help finding a gift while retaining the final decision about the item and the payment.

Across the research cited in December, 42% worried about losing control of purchases and 28% cited a lack of transparency in decisions. For a gifting service, that raises practical design questions: who receives the gift, which merchants qualify, how much may be spent and whether the shopper can review an order before payment. [S01]

The survey does not establish how much Christmas spending agents ultimately handled, or what share went to gift cards. The published materials do not specify a weighting method or give the subgroup bases needed to assess every comparison. The report supplies selected question wording, including the multiple-response seasonal question, rather than respondent-level data. [S02][S03]

For gift card operators, the useful implication is operational. Product information, recipient details, value limits and approval steps become part of the purchase process an assistant would need to navigate. The survey supplies evidence of interest and hesitation; transaction data would be needed to determine whether that interest became repeat use.

Explore the figures: download the chart data as CSV.