Picture this: it’s early December, you’re curled up with a hot drink, and instead of scrolling endlessly through overcrowded online stores, you simply ask an AI, “Find me a thoughtful gift under $100 for my crypto-obsessed brother.” Within seconds you have curated ideas, price comparisons, and even a funny meme coin suggestion thrown in for good measure. Sounds like science fiction? Apparently not in 2025.
I’ll be honest — when I first saw the latest numbers about how people are shopping this holiday season, I had to do a double take. Almost half of us are already leaning on artificial intelligence for gift hunting. And a surprising chunk of younger shoppers are straight-up paying with cryptocurrency. The holidays I grew up with feel almost quaint now.
The Silent Revolution Happening in Our Carts Right Now
Every year we hear that “this” will be the year everything changes. Usually it doesn’t. But the data coming out this December feels different. It isn’t just a new payment app or slightly smarter recommendations. It’s an entire generational shift in how we discover, buy, and even think about giving gifts.
Half of Shoppers Are Already Using AI — And Loving It
Let’s start with the headline that stopped me in my tracks: 47% of U.S. shoppers have used AI for at least one holiday shopping task this year. That’s not a prediction for 2030. That’s right now.
The most common use? Finding gift ideas. No surprise there. But dig a little deeper and you see people using AI to compare prices across dozens of sites in seconds, write personalized card messages, and even generate outfit suggestions for ugly-Christmas-sweater parties. I tried it myself last week — asked an AI to “suggest non-boring gifts for a 45-year-old dad who already has everything.” The results were scarily good.
What’s fascinating is how normal this has become almost overnight. A couple of years ago we were impressed when a retailer remembered our size. Now we’re having full conversations with bots that feel eerily human.
Gen Z Is Basically Living in the Future
If you want to know where shopping is heading, watch Gen Z. They’re not waiting for permission.
- 71% use biometric authentication (face or fingerprint) to pay
- 60% are comfortable buying gifts from overseas sellers they’ve never heard of
- 55% regularly shop directly on social platforms
- 44% have already purchased a holiday gift using cryptocurrency
- 36% now prefer digital wallets over physical cards
That last statistic really hit me. We spent decades training people to trust plastic cards, and in just a few years an entire generation has leapfrogged straight to phone-based wallets. My own niece told me carrying a physical wallet feels “boomer” to her. Ouch.
Perhaps the wildest number: 45% of Gen Z would be happy to receive cryptocurrency as a gift. That’s not pocket change we’re talking about — that’s mainstream acceptance happening in real time.
Crypto Gifts Are No Longer a Joke
Remember when giving Bitcoin for Christmas was something only that one weird uncle did? Those days are gone.
Roughly 28% of all shoppers across generations say they’re open to receiving crypto as a present this year. Among younger millennials and Gen Z, that number approaches half. Some families are even doing “crypto stockings” — small amounts of different tokens instead of candy.
Stablecoins are playing a bigger role than most people realize too. One in ten shoppers believes stablecoins will be the dominant form of money by 2030. That might sound optimistic, but consider this: when was the last time your teenager asked for cash instead of Venmo?
“Shoppers are embracing AI and digital tools at remarkable speed, with Gen Z and younger millennials leading a fundamental reimagining of commerce.”
Vice President of Consumer Insights at a major payment network
But Trust Issues Haven’t Gone Away
Here’s the part that keeps me up at night. While we’re racing toward this shiny digital future, a lot of us are seriously worried.
66% of consumers say they’re concerned that friends or family will fall for an online scam this holiday season. That’s two-thirds of the country. And 39% say they’ve already been targeted by a scam in the past twelve months.
It’s the classic double-edged sword of technology. The same tools that make shopping faster and more fun also create brand new ways for bad actors to cause harm. Deepfake videos, fake storefronts, phishing texts disguised as shipping updates — the list keeps growing.
Interestingly, even as we adopt AI shopping helpers, 61% of people still prefer talking to a human when something goes wrong. That tells you everything about where trust really lives.
We’re Also Shopping Earlier Than Ever
Another quiet change: more than a quarter of shoppers started their holiday buying before November even began. Supply chain nightmares from a few years ago left scars, and nobody wants to be stuck refreshing a tracking page on December 23rd.
The good news for retailers: total U.S. holiday spending is still expected to grow around 4.6% year-over-year. People aren’t spending less — they’re just spending differently.
What This Means for the Rest of Us
If you’re reading this and feeling a little behind, you’re not alone. I still catch myself reaching for my physical card out of habit. But the shift is undeniable.
The beautiful thing is that none of this requires you to become a tech expert. You don’t need to understand blockchain to send your nephew a few dollars worth of Solana. You don’t need to know how large language models work to get good gift suggestions.
The tools are being built for normal people doing normal things — finding the perfect present, staying on budget, making someone smile on Christmas morning.
Maybe the most human part of all this tech is what it’s being used for: showing people we care. Whether the gift arrives wrapped in paper or as a QR code on a screen, the intention behind it remains exactly the same.
And honestly? That’s the part that still feels like magic, no matter how wild the technology gets.
So this year, when you’re making your list (and checking it twice), don’t be surprised if Santa’s workshop looks a little different. There might be fewer elves and more algorithms, but the spirit? That’s staying exactly where it’s always been.
