Shopfully’s new 2026 State of Shopping survey shows 67% of shoppers are now spreading their spend across multiple retailers to secure the best value, with GenAI increasingly shaping how they research and compare options. Brendan Straw, Country Manager at Shopfully Australia, explores why AI is becoming the new front door to retail discovery, but not the final point of conversion.
AI has changed how Australians shop by expanding choice, increasing comparison pathways and introducing more decision points into an already complex journey.
Rather than streamlining the decision making process, AI has reshaped how shoppers arrive at them. Today’s consumers reach the point of purchase better informed than ever. They know the price range. They know the alternatives. They often know what nearby retailers are offering before they even leave the house. It’s become a powerful personal research assistant, helping people feel confident that they’ve seen enough to make a smart decision.
But it’s important to remember that confidence doesn’t automatically translate into action. Knowing what to buy is one thing. Deciding where and when to buy is another and that gap is exactly where retail media comes in.
Shoppers feel more in control and less loyal
With the cost of living continuing to bite, Australians are becoming more deliberate, more discerning and far less loyal. They are taking greater control of their purchasing decisions, with most already relying on digital tools to guide them. In fact, around 81% of Australians research products online before purchasing in-store.
AI is accelerating this shift by providing alternative options for shoppers to snag the best value available. Shopfully’s latest State of Shopping research shows that 71% of AI users find it helpful for comparing prices, with 43% using it to track price drops and 38% relying on it for personalised recommendations.
Which in turn results in a much wider funnel, where consideration stretches across more brands and more stores than ever before, providing a more complex challenge for retailers: getting discovered is no longer the hardest part, influencing the final decision is.
Generic promotions are too easy to ignore
That shift towards real-time decision-making also changes how promotions need to work. When shoppers are actively comparing options, generic offers lose their impact. They’re easy to overlook because they don’t reflect the immediacy of the decision to act in that moment.
So, relevance becomes critical. And that relevance is shaped by proximity, timing and need. Retail media enables retailers to respond to those variables dynamically and not rely solely on fixed promotional calendars that may not align with shopper intent.
At the same time, as AI platforms play a larger role in discovery, retailers risk losing influence earlier in the journey. Which makes it even more important to own the moment where decisions are being made.
Follow consumers throughout their path to purchase
Retailers also need to recognise that the shopper journey now happens across multiple environments. AI may help narrow the options, but consumers still move between search, maps, retailer websites, digital catalogues, apps, social platforms and physical stores before making a decision.
Retail media gives retailers a way to stay present across those touchpoints, rather than relying on one promotion to do all the work. The strongest campaigns are not simply those that reach the most people. They are the ones that reach shoppers with the right message when they are close enough, interested enough, and ready enough to act.
In an AI-influenced journey, that ability to connect intent, location and timing becomes a major advantage.
Win consumers in the real world, with retail media
AI will continue to expand consideration and widen the funnel. But the final sale is still won in the real world.
Availability, relevance and timing remain the deciding factors. Retail media is what brings those elements together at the moment that matters most, turning intent into action and ensuring that when shoppers are ready to buy, retailers are ready too.
