AI, CX and the holiday rush: What shoppers want and how retailers are winning

The holiday season may be the most wonderful time of the year (so the song goes …) but only if customers feel the warmth of great customer experience (CX).

With the sheer volume of interactions, retail and service teams may face more chaos during the holiday rush. After all, there’s a reason they call it a “rush.” Only the best, smartest AI can help coordinate the end-to-end experience for buyers.

Even with economic uncertainty still on people’s minds, improving financial conditions in some markets is giving consumers a bit more confidence. Shoppers are getting smarter about how they spend, mixing budget-savvy habits with a real desire to celebrate and choose gifts that feel meaningful.

It’s a shift that’s setting up an interesting, dynamic season for retailers around the world.

Holiday retail by the numbers: AI adoption accelerates customer experience (CX)

In 2024, U.S. consumers spent a record $241.4 billion online in November and December, up nearly 9% year over year, according to Mintel. Nearly half of shoppers are willing to use AI shopping assistants, and over three-fifths of Gen Z and millennials are especially open to this technology during holiday periods.

In 2025 to date, NiCE powered 6 billion AI-augmented interactions. Over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, NiCE data shows AI-handled inquiries rose 77% year-over-year, reflecting brands’ expansion of AI to manage volume and reduce friction.

Customers are leaning into AI more than ever before. It’s been three years since generative AI burst onto the scene and they’re more comfortable turning to AI for everything from thinking of gifts and planning their busy holiday schedule to pack it all in.

AI-powered shopping experiences available this year are more conversational, helping people narrow down what product they are looking for and leveraging past chats to personalize product recommendations.

Holiday CX is evolving in step. Brands are scaling AI because it directly supports the three macro levers of customer experience: cost, revenue, and satisfaction. The year-over-year surge in AI usage highlights how enterprises are embedding automation into frontline operations to meet seasonal demand without sacrificing quality.

At the same time, voice remains a critical channel. NiCE data shows phone calls increased 35% year over year, with AI enhancing - not replacing - these interactions. As self-service handles simple tasks, voice interactions focus on complex, high-value needs. AI preserves context across channels, prepares agents in real time, reduces repetition, and enables personalized, efficient conversations that feel calmer, more human, and more valuable for customers and agents alike.

It’s no surprise that retailers are raising the bar for holiday CX. Many are already using next-generation AI to make service faster, more personalized, and more reassuring, helping ensure the season truly feels like the most wonderful time of the year.

Bosch

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, is proving that AI can make life easier for both customers and employees when the pressure is high during the busiest retail season of the year.

Its consumer goods line of business sees increased activity with people purchasing appliances and more for the holidays – and AI is leading the charge.

From real-time copilots that deliver the right answers into contact center agents’ ears to multilingual HR assistants that help 400,000 employees navigate year-end tasks with ease, Bosch is showing how conversational AI can deliver clarity, speed, and confidence exactly when organizations need it most.

AI handles the tedious tasks so people can focus on meaningful work—turning holiday stress into holiday service magic.

Top ways Bosch is tying a bow on CX with AI this holiday season:

• AI that supercharges seasonal service: Bosch agents instant access to the knowledge they need, speeding up support during peak holiday demand.
• Smoother interactions from start to finish: Sophisticated AI listens to calls, analyzes sentiment, guides next-best actions, and even completes wrap-up tasks automatically.
• A global AI-first foundation: Bosch supports 90+ AI agents across the company, accelerating automation and boosting operational resilience during the holiday rush.
• An augmented workforce: AI takes over administrative work so people can think more strategically, support customers more meaningfully, and stay energized during peak season.
• HR support that scales globally: A multilingual HR AI agent helps employees update records, explore career development, and navigate company policies, reducing friction during busy year-end cycles.

Lidl

Grocers also are bracing for the holiday surge, when aisles get crowded, shelves turn over rapidly, and customer expectations skyrocket.

Lidl, a grocery store chain with 12,000 stores across Europe and the United States, is showing what modern CX excellence truly looks like.

By equipping its teams with AI-powered voice assistance, real-time store intelligence, and hands-free task automation, Lidl has built a workforce that can move faster, serve smarter, and deliver smoother customer experiences at the very moment when it matters most.

Instead of scrambling to keep up with seasonal demand, Lidl’s employees can access product details, check inventory, or trigger operational tasks instantly through simple voice commands, allowing them to stay with customers rather than chase information across the store.

The result is a more efficient, confident, and customer-centric holiday workforce, powered by AI capabilities that remove friction and amplify human service.

Lidl’s success illustrates a growing trend in modern retail: AI-driven store operations are the backbone of high-performance holiday customer experience and a strategic advantage retailers are racing to scale.

Top ways Lidl is delivering a surplus of good holiday CX cheer:

• Instant product and inventory knowledge: AI-enabled voice assistants give store employees real-time access to product details, stock levels, and item locations, helping them serve holiday shoppers faster and more confidently.
• Hands-free operational automation: Employees can perform in-store tasks such as opening and closing registers, or checking system statuses using simple voice commands, reducing time spent traveling across the store.
• Greater focus on customer interactions: By removing slow, manual steps from the workflow, AI agents keep employees on the floor, engaged with shoppers, and able to respond to holiday demand in the moment.
• Faster internal communication and smoother operations: With AI tied into multiple backend systems, frontline employees can get answers instantly, keeping store operations efficient even when stores are at their busiest.
• AI-empowered workforce: Employees gain confidence and capabilities during peak season, tackling customer needs with accuracy while AI handles repetitive, administrative tasks.
• Scalable AI performance across global retailers: With automation rates north of 75% and voice-intent accuracy exceeding 96%, AI agents are proving essential to retail workflows during high-pressure holiday moments.
• Holiday CX powered by real-time intelligence: Retailers using conversational AI deliver more accurate information, reduce wait times, and ensure a consistent, high-quality customer experience across all locations.

Explore why AI should be on every retailer’s CX wish list