With consumers pulling back spending by 10% and prioritizing value, one of the strongest ways to win in brick-and-mortar this year is through hyper-efficient, AI-driven engagement.
The results are in, and the message for the 2025 holiday season is clear: consumers are planning to spend less, but expect more value.
Deloitte’s latest retail survey reveals a landscape of cautious optimism, forecasting a planned spending pullback of 10% per shopper, and 77% of shoppers expecting higher prices. These consumers are exhibiting value-seeking behaviors, meaning every single shopper who walks through your door this season represents a high-stakes opportunity.
This reality creates an urgent challenge for brick-and-mortar retail: How do you drive sales conversion when staffing levels are unpredictable, and shoppers are more frugal and demanding than ever? The answer lies in the other major trend Deloitte uncovered: the dramatic rise of AI in the shopping journey. Shoppers are now fluent in AI-driven personalization, and they expect that same level of instant, relevant service in your store.
This difficult balancing act requires more than a simple solution—it requires intelligent infrastructure. This is where VIBA changes the game. VIBA is built to resolve the tension between cautious spending and the demand for digital-native personalization, turning economic anxiety into in-store action.
The New Mandate: Value Beyond Price
Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are driving the adoption of AI for shopping, with 33% of shoppers planning to use it—a figure that has doubled year-over-year. They are using AI to find product inspiration, seek deals, and generate personalized recommendations. This establishes a new standard: the shopping experience must be instant and tailored.
The competitive response can no longer be limited to deeper discounts; retailers must offer “value beyond the price tag.” This is where sophisticated, intelligent technology provides a crucial advantage:
- Hyper-Personalization at Scale: VIBA doesn’t guess. It uses conversational AI to identify where a shopper is in their buying journey, in real time. It then delivers hyper-personalized product recommendations based on the shopper’s budget, end recipient, and specific needs, seamlessly meeting the high bar set by their digital expectations
- Effortless Engagement: VIBA’s virtual brand ambassador creates compelling, natural dialogue, making it easy for hesitant shoppers to ask complex questions without pressure. This level of guided engagement and instant information delivery quickly builds purchase confidence, which is precisely the “value” a modern shopper is looking for.
Solving the Brick-and-Mortar Conversion Crisis
While e-commerce is expected to remain strong, the fate of brick-and-mortar locations during the holidays depends on a single variable: the quality and availability of human staff. Staffing inconsistency during peak promotional windows (when 89% of consumers are actively seeking deals) directly translates to lost sales.
We’re helping retail customers eliminate this performance gap, ensuring every location is operating at peak efficiency:
- 24/7 Expert Staffing: VIBA acts as a knowledgeable, 24/7 brand ambassador in every brick-and-mortar location. It overcomes issues of inadequate or uninformed retail staffing by providing consistent, accurate product knowledge across all physical points of presence, even during peak rush or late-night hours.
- Structured Sales Conversion: Unlike passive digital signage, VIBA actively drives sales conversion. Its built-in retail psychology logic guides the shopper’s journey, ensuring that every interaction is structured to move the consumer toward purchase and to maximize basket size.
Conclusion: AI to Maximize Shopper Spend
The old playbook of relying solely on discounts and hoping for adequate retail staffing will no longer work against a cautious, AI-literate consumer base.
The winners will be the retailers who use AI not just as a digital tool, but as a core component of their in-store strategy to deliver personalized value and a consistently engaging experience. VIBA provides the necessary AI and operational stability to meet this new consumer standard and maximize sales conversion across all your brick-and-mortar locations.
Learn how Mobile Insight’s VIBA can transform your store from a passive space into an AI-driven, high-conversion engagement zone.