Consumers in the United Arab Emirates and Brazil are adopting artificial intelligence shopping tools and digital payments faster than shoppers in the United States, according to a report from PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions. This widening gap threatens to leave U.S. retailers behind as buyers increasingly rely on chatbots for purchase decisions.
The "Global Digital Shopping Index: The AI-Powered Shopper Has Arrived" surveyed more than 5,800 consumers and 1,100 merchants across the U.S., Brazil, and the UAE. It found that nearly half of online shoppers globally used AI during their most recent buying process. Meanwhile, retailers are pulling back on digital investment, with the number of merchants having no plans to offer new digital features hitting a four-year high. Only 37% plan to add or improve AI shopping assistants over the next three years, and just 16% intend to invest in stored credentials or biometric authentication.
Consumers now frequently turn to Generative AI and LLM chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude to research products, bypassing traditional search engines and retailer websites. This behavior is most pronounced outside the U.S.
Emerging markets leapfrog legacy infrastructure
The UAE leads this shift. Consumers there average 69 digital shopping days per month, compared with 67 in Brazil and 51 in the U.S. Nearly three-quarters of UAE consumers who made their last online purchase used AI somewhere in the process. The country also leads in physical retail tech, with 92% of consumers using tap-to-pay during their most recent in-store purchase, compared to 56% in the U.S.
Brazil shows a similar trajectory. Long viewed as a market modernizing its retail infrastructure, it now outperforms the U.S. in digital shopping frequency, AI usage during purchases, and contactless payment adoption. Markets without decades of legacy infrastructure often adopt new technologies faster because they can build new behaviors rather than upgrade outdated systems.
Retailers hesitate as consumer habits shift
Mature commerce markets face a different challenge. Existing payment systems, established shopping habits, and fragmented retail infrastructure slow transformation. U.S. consumers recorded the lowest number of digital shopping days among the three countries surveyed, and they were the least likely to use AI during online purchases or tap to pay in stores.
The report warns that this mismatch between consumer demand and merchant investment creates a significant vulnerability. It notes, "The risk for U.S. retailers is not that AI commerce arrives too slowly. It's that it arrives elsewhere first, and U.S. merchants once again find themselves trying to catch up to behaviors consumers have already embraced."
Why this matters for product development professionals
Teams focused on AI for Product Development must recognize that the primary interface between consumers and the internet is shifting. AI-assisted shopping is no longer an experimental feature but a baseline expectation for buyers in key global markets. If retailers fail to modernize their digital checkout and discovery experiences, third-party AI platforms will likely capture the customer relationship instead. Product teams should prioritize frictionless, AI-integrated purchase paths to remain visible in this new commerce environment.
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