The news: Holiday shoppers are stressed and overwhelmed, per Accenture’s 19th Annual Holiday Shopping Survey. And this is leading to lower conversion rates: 85% of consumers are likely to abandon their carts due to frustration or indecision, according to the survey.

Factors adding to this stress include higher prices, a deluge of offers and promotions, and complicated shopping experiences.

How providers can respond: It is crucial for both retailers and payment providers to get holiday shopping right. Holiday retail sales will account for 18.2% of this year’s sales, per our forecast.

• One tactic to improve shoppers' experiences is to simplify the checkout experience: 18% of shoppers abandoned an online purchase over a three-month period because the checkout process was too long or complex, per a survey from the Baymard Institute.
• GenAI tools can also support shoppers during the holiday season. About 77% of US shoppers plan to use gen AI while holiday shopping, per Accenture. 75% of heavy gen AI shoppers—those who have used AI over a three-month period—are using AI to come up with gift ideas, and 72% of heavy users said it has helped them decide between “too many choices” while shopping.

Our take: These preferences—wanting a seamless checkout experience and looking to AI tools for recommendations and advice—will continue far past the holiday season and into 2026.

To best meet customer needs quickly, retailers can partner with providers like Checkout.com on its one-click checkout solution Flow Remember Me or PayPal-owned Honey as it integrates AI-powered product recommendations based on users’ conversations with chatbots.