97% of consumers now consult multiple sources before buying

Bazaarvoice have announced the findings from their 20th edition of the Shopper Experience Index. The research found that today’s shoppers are becoming increasingly deliberate in how they make purchase decisions, prioritizing trust, validation, and value over convenience and speed.

Across generations, consumers are consulting more sources, conducting more research, and seeking greater confidence before committing to a purchase.

While brands race to deploy earlier-than-ever summer sales, fully autonomous agentic AI tools, and high-cost influencer campaigns aimed at quick conversion, today’s shoppers (regardless of age) are being hyper-analytical, pausing the purchase process to independently validate value and authenticity with third-party sources.

With the continuingly uncertain economy looming, almost all (97%) shoppers now consult multiple sources before making a purchase, prioritizing certainty and trust over transactional speed and impulse buying.

Whether they’re discovering products through AI search tools, content creators, or traditional search, shoppers are increasingly looking for independent validation before making a decision.

However, authentic user-generated content isn’t just necessary to convert a human shopper in their research deep dives, it’s the fuel that AI search utilizes to recommend your product in the first place.

As validated by research from the Harvard Business Review, AI search engines generate their recommendations by deeply analyzing independent ratings and sentiment. To drive both discovery and conversion, brands must feed the AI search engines and human researchers the authentic validation they demand.

– Jo Callahan, Head of Client Strategy and Insights, Bazaarvoice The survey findings reveal a shopper who has traded impulse for investigation: Sales calendars race ahead, but shoppers take their time: Amazon’s decision to move Prime Day to late June signals a highly competitive, uncertain summer retail landscape.

Yet, while retailers accelerate promotions to capture tightening budgets early, consumers are slowing down. When researching a product they like, 60% of survey respondents said they must consult 2-3 different sources before feeling safe to buy it, while 37% said they must consult four or more.

When it comes to AI, shoppers want assistants, not agents: Despite massive industry investments in autonomous AI shopping experiences, consumers are fiercely retaining control. A third of shoppers want a completely human-led experience, and the tools gaining the most traction are strictly supportive rather than automated.

The most accepted AI tools are assistive, such as text summaries (43%) and Q&A chatbots (41%). The influencer gets the click, the review closes the sale: Influencer marketing remains a powerhouse for product discovery, but it is not being used as a standalone conversion tool.

Consumers are leaving social apps to pressure-test influencer claims through traditional search and user-generated reviews. While 48% of shoppers identify as an “Influencer’s Best Friend” during discovery, 38% immediately turn to search engines during the research phase, opening multiple tabs to hunt for 1-star reviews and product flaws.

The myth of the generational divide: Conventional retail wisdom dictates that Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers require entirely separate engagement strategies, but modern shoppers have universally converged around value, research, and advocacy.

In the survey, respondents were given several archetypes to describe themselves for each stage of the purchase process. The leading consideration behavior across nearly all generations is ‘The Archivist’, in which shoppers do great amounts of research and keep much of the product information on hand.

‘The Influencer’s Best Friend’ is the universal top discovery archetype and “Unsolicited Evangelist’ ranks as a top advocacy behavior for both Gen Z and Boomers alike.