tech
April 16, 2026
AI traffic to US retailers rose 393% in Q1, and it's boosting their revenue too
Adobe says AI traffic to U.S. retail sites also jumped 269% in March, with visitors converting better and generating more revenue than non-AI shoppers.
TL;DR
- AI traffic to U.S. retailers' websites increased by 269% in the 12 months ending March 2026.
- In the first quarter of 2026, AI traffic rose by 393% year-over-year.
- AI visitors are converting better, engaging more, spending more time on sites, and driving higher revenue per visit compared to non-AI visitors.
- 39% of surveyed individuals use AI for online shopping, with 85% finding it improves their experience.
- AI traffic converted 42% better than human customers in March 2026, a reversal from March 2025.
- AI-driven revenue per visit was 37% higher than non-AI traffic as of March 2026.
- Approximately a quarter of content on retailers' homepages and category pages, and 34% of individual product pages, are not optimized for LLMs.
- Adobe advises retailers to optimize their sites for LLMs to remain competitive.
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