Retailgentic: Agentic Commerce meets Retail and Brands Caila Schwartz on Salesforce’s Holiday Forecast: Agentic Discovery, Loyalty, and “Discount Chicken”
Oct 30, 2025
Caila Schwartz, Director of Strategy and Consumer Insights at Salesforce, dives into thrilling trends transforming holiday shopping. She reveals how AI will influence 21% of global holiday spending and why 'discovery' is the year's key theme, replacing traditional discounts. Baby Boomers are now using AI tools like ChatGPT for their shopping, while Gen Z is reigniting the mall experience. Caila also discusses the quirky return of 'Discount Chicken' and the shifting dynamics of consumer loyalty in an evolving retail landscape.
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AI Will Shape A Fifth Of Holiday Sales
- AI-driven discovery is reshaping shopping: Salesforce expects AI to influence about $263B, ~21% of global holiday sales.
- Agentic tools are accelerating adoption across ages, including Baby Boomers and Gen Z.
Discovery Beats Checkout This Season
- Shoppers use AI primarily for personalization, price comparison, and research rather than immediate buying.
- These behaviors make discovery the central holiday theme for 2024.
LLM Referrals Deliver High-Quality Traffic
- Traffic referred from LLMs converts far better than social referrals, up to 700% higher conversion vs social.
- LLM referrals also spend ~137% more time on product pages and are highly qualified buyers.