The two-speed consumer

The confidence shortcut

For these consumers, the recommendation itself is the research. A trusted creator or an AI tool functions as pre-packaged validation, carrying the reassurance that used to be assembled across multiple stages of comparison. What used to sit at the end of the buying journey, reviews, recommendations, validation, now sits at the start. This is the decision journey collapse: discovery, validation and purchase folding into a single moment.

That's why younger consumers can look more impulsive while being no less considered. The two-speed split isn't between careful and careless. It's between consumers who build confidence through deeper research and those who build it through trusted shortcuts.

When one generation scrolls, another researches

53% of 18-24s and 51% of 25-34s have bought something immediately after seeing it from a creator, no further research. That number drops to just 8% among over-65s, a 6.8x generational gap.

The pattern repeats with AI: 61% of 25-34s have bought or considered buying something an AI recommended that they'd never have considered themselves, compared to 16% of over-65s. These are the same consumers, moving between channels. Brands investing in only one of these environments are missing a large share of consumers who are ready to buy.

38% globally have bought, or considered buying, something an AI recommended unprompted. This isn't a change in what people value. It's a change in how quickly they reach confidence about a purchase.

How purchase behaviour differs by age

of 18-24s have bought something immediately after seeing it from a creator, no further research.

of 25-34s have bought or considered buying something an AI recommended.

of 25-34s have bought something immediately after seeing it from a creator, no further research.

of over-65 have bought or considered buying something an AI recommended.

of over-65 have bought something immediately after seeing it from a creator, no further research.

How one purchase journey became two

The purchase journey isn't collapsing for every consumer. It's splitting.

For a growing segment, particularly younger consumers, creators and AI are compressing discovery, validation and purchase into a single moment. For others, economic pressure is extending consideration and increasing the need for reassurance before they commit.

Different behaviours, same motive: reducing the risk of a bad purchase.

of people who impulse buy from creators have also bought, or considered buying, something an AI recommended unprompted. It's one audience, not two.

We’ve seen more than 70% of customers purchase within 24 hours of clicking through, so we’ve first handedly seen the window between discovery and conversion be cut very short. That ultimately means the content we create has to build enough trust for someone to act then and there, and the way we set content up to convert is by working with creators who are genuinely invested in the product.

George Sullivan CEO, The Sole Supplier

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Depending on the journey and the product researched, the time lapse between discovery and purchase will vary. A £10 T-shirt will be more of an impulse because of the much-reduced sense of jeopardy from making a bad purchase, as compared to a new widescreen TV costing upwards of £1,000, where the consequences of a bad purchase are far greater.

AI is prone to hallucinations and even making things up, and yet consumers show a remarkable trust and faith. The path to purchase has always been built on trust; trust of the brand or retailer, trust of the reviews or trust of friends and family. However, consumers, especially younger demographics, have found a new partner to trust; one that they have put their absolute faith in.

Andrew Busby Redline Retail Consulting

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THE MISCONCEPTION

AI and creators are replacing research.

They're not. They're compressing the timeline. What used to take days of comparison now happens in the time it takes to see a recommendation.

KEY TAKEAWAY FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS

Build for the moment of discovery, not just the moment of purchase.

For a growing segment they're the same moment. ChatGPT is now the go-to AI tool for 40% of consumers. If you're not visible there, you're already losing potential buyers.

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION

What changes are you seeing in the way consumers discover and buy?

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