Key Takeaways
- Mobile shopping now drives over half of online holiday sales. Your website must load fast and function smoothly on phones.
- Instagram and Reddit send highly engaged traffic. If you’re getting visits from these platforms, invest in more shareable content.
- AI tools are sending buyers directly to checkout. Make sure AI can understand and recommend your business.
Mobile, Social, and AI Are Changing How People Shop
Holiday shopping is moving fast, and not just in terms of volume. Adobe’s latest data shows online holiday sales are expected to top $250 billion for the first time, with mobile purchases making up more than half of that.
People are shopping on their phones while commuting, waiting in line, or riding in the car on the way home after Thanksgiving dinner. If your website doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re likely missing sales.
More Shoppers, Fewer Desktops
Over 70% of online shopping visits now come from mobile devices. That’s a big shift from just a few years ago. And these aren’t just casual visits — people are checking out on their phones.
Your mobile site needs to load fast, be easy to navigate, and have a friction-free checkout. If it’s slow or clunky, shoppers will abandon the process, especially during the high-pressure holiday season.
Instagram and Reddit Are Driving Real Results
Where people discover what to buy is changing too. According to Adobe, Instagram and Reddit are two of the fastest-growing sources of retail traffic. Instagram visits to product pages are up 60% over last year, and Reddit is gaining even faster.
What’s more, the traffic from these platforms isn’t just curious clicks. It’s highly engaged, meaning visitors from Instagram or Reddit are more likely to browse your products and follow through on purchases.
If you’re already seeing traffic from these platforms, it’s time to double down. Update your bio links, create content people want to share, and keep your profiles active.
AI Assistants Are Becoming the Front Door to Sales
Here’s the most surprising shift: AI assistants like ChatGPT are sending shoppers directly to retail sites, with referrals up over 500% this year. And there’s more to come.
The technology is evolving fast, with partnerships between tools like ChatGPT and platforms like Shopify, Walmart, and PayPal paving the way for future AI shopping and checkout experiences. That means people will soon be able to browse, decide, and buy — all without leaving the chat interface.
Your business doesn’t need to be a major retailer to benefit. But it does need to be findable and understandable by AI tools. That starts with content clarity and structured information across your website and listings.
Try This: 3 Ways to Show Up Where People Are Shopping
- Audit your mobile experience. Load your site on a phone. Does it load quickly? Is the layout readable and clickable? Is the checkout or contact form easy to use?
- Check your referral traffic. Use Google Analytics or your website platform to see where visitors come from. If Instagram or Reddit are on the list, post consistently and include clear calls to action.
- Ask AI about your business. Open ChatGPT or another AI tool and ask what it knows about you. If the response is vague or outdated, improve your content so AI can recommend you more accurately.
The Bottom Line
Customers are still shopping, just not the same way they used to. They’re on their phones, in their social feeds, and now, inside AI tools. The good news is, your business can still reach them. You just need to make sure you show up in the right places.
Do you prefer to listen in? Here’s our podcast:
Links in this episode: 2025 US Holiday Shopping Forecast
Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol
PayPal partners with OpenAI to let users pay for their shopping within ChatGPT
Walmart Partners with OpenAI to Create AI-First Shopping Experiences
