HomeAI Traffic to US Retailers Surges 393% in Q1, Lifting Revenue
According to new data from Adobe released Thursday, AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail websites surged 269% over the prior 12 months as of March, building on holiday momentum when AI traffic spiked 693%.
In the first quarter of 2026, AI traffic increased 393% year-over-year, driven by more consumers turning to AI assistants for online shopping.
The shift in traffic sources is not the only change. According to the data, AI visitors now convert more effectively, engage at higher rates, spend more time on sites, and generate greater revenue per visit—often reversing last year's trend when regular customers were more valuable to retailers.
Image credit: Adobe
Adobe's insights come from its Adobe Analytics division, which analyzes over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. The analysis also incorporates a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. respondents on their use of AI during shopping, along with the company's new AI Content Visibility Checker tool, which tests retail websites for LLM accessibility.
In Adobe's survey, 39% of respondents said they used AI for online shopping, and 85% reported that it improved their experience. These results likely stem from AI's ability to help users narrow down products, find what they need, and access discounts. Additionally, 66% of respondents said they now trust AI tools to provide accurate shopping results.
Unlike publishers, who are seeing a decline in referral traffic from AI, retailers have incentives to make their websites AI-friendly.
According to Adobe's data, AI traffic in March 2026 converted 42% better than human visitors, setting a new record. This marks a reversal from just a year earlier, when in March 2025 AI traffic converted 38% worse than regular customers.
Image credit: Adobe
Additionally, Adobe found that consumers arriving at a retail site from an AI source have an engagement rate 12% higher than those from non-AI sources. Shoppers also spend 48% more time on the site and view 13% more pages per visit, according to the data.
In terms of revenue, AI-driven revenue per visit (RPV) was 37% higher than non-AI traffic as of March. Just 12 months earlier, regular human traffic generated 128% more revenue than AI.
However, Adobe warns that not all retail sites are AI-ready. Roughly a quarter of content on retailers' homepages has not been optimized for LLMs, and the same applies to category pages. Product pages fare even worse, with about 34% not properly accessible by AI.
Adobe advises retailers to make their sites more accessible to LLMs if they aim to remain top-of-mind among online shoppers in the future.
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According to new data from Adobe released Thursday, AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail websites surged 269% over the prior 12 months as of March, building on holiday momentum when AI traffic spiked 693%.
In the first quarter of 2026, AI traffic increased 393% year-over-year, driven by more consumers turning to AI assistants for online shopping.
The shift in traffic sources is not the only change. According to the data, AI visitors now convert more effectively, engage at higher rates, spend more time on sites, and generate greater revenue per visit—often reversing last year's trend when regular customers were more valuable to retailers.
Image credit: Adobe
Adobe's insights come from its Adobe Analytics division, which analyzes over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. The analysis also incorporates a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. respondents on their use of AI during shopping, along with the company's new AI Content Visibility Checker tool, which tests retail websites for LLM accessibility.
In Adobe's survey, 39% of respondents said they used AI for online shopping, and 85% reported that it improved their experience. These results likely stem from AI's ability to help users narrow down products, find what they need, and access discounts. Additionally, 66% of respondents said they now trust AI tools to provide accurate shopping results.
Unlike publishers, who are seeing a decline in referral traffic from AI, retailers have incentives to make their websites AI-friendly.
According to Adobe's data, AI traffic in March 2026 converted 42% better than human visitors, setting a new record. This marks a reversal from just a year earlier, when in March 2025 AI traffic converted 38% worse than regular customers.
Image credit: Adobe
Additionally, Adobe found that consumers arriving at a retail site from an AI source have an engagement rate 12% higher than those from non-AI sources. Shoppers also spend 48% more time on the site and view 13% more pages per visit, according to the data.
In terms of revenue, AI-driven revenue per visit (RPV) was 37% higher than non-AI traffic as of March. Just 12 months earlier, regular human traffic generated 128% more revenue than AI.
However, Adobe warns that not all retail sites are AI-ready. Roughly a quarter of content on retailers' homepages has not been optimized for LLMs, and the same applies to category pages. Product pages fare even worse, with about 34% not properly accessible by AI.
Adobe advises retailers to make their sites more accessible to LLMs if they aim to remain top-of-mind among online shoppers in the future.
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