The way shoppers discover what to buy is changing. Marketing budgets are changing with it.
Minty and Northwestern University’s Retail Analytics Council surveyed 150 senior commerce leaders to understand how brands are responding to AI-assisted shopping, value-conscious consumers, and a customer journey that increasingly starts before a shopper ever reaches a traditional search result or ad.
One finding stood out: 63 cents of every new marketing dollar is being directed toward AI commerce tools and cashback and savings apps.
That shift says a lot about where commerce leaders believe the next purchase decision will happen.
The Shopper Journey Is Moving Upstream
For years, digital acquisition has centered on getting the click.
But shoppers have more ways to make decisions before that click ever happens. They can ask AI to compare products, hunt down a better price, find Cashback, weigh alternatives, or narrow a category before visiting a brand.
Commerce leaders are already planning around that behavior.
79% expect their primary customer to be AI-assisted by 2027.
And when marketers were asked which channels they expect to be their primary way of reaching shoppers in 2027, two-thirds pointed to AI. Only 18% chose traditional search, and 13% chose social.
Discovery isn't disappearing. It's changing where it happens.
Savings Tools Are Becoming Part of the Marketing Mix
AI isn't the only channel gaining ground.
81% of the commerce leaders surveyed said cashback and savings tools are the most helpful form of marketing for shoppers making purchase decisions.
Those tools now rank ahead of advertising, loyalty programs, retail media, and creator marketing in perceived helpfulness to the shopper.
Brands are responding accordingly.
Among marketers seeing the shift toward AI and proactive commerce, 61% are increasing investment or reallocating budget toward cashback and savings apps.
Today, 16% of leaders consider these channels core or strategic to their marketing. By 2027, that number climbs to 41%.
Performance marketing budgets tell a similar story, with the share allocated to cashback and savings apps expected to grow from 18% today to 30% in 2027.
From Reactive Marketing to Proactive Commerce
Another shift underlies the channel changes.
Traditional marketing often waits for the shopper to do something first: search, visit, click, abandon a cart.
Proactive commerce moves earlier.
It gives shoppers and the AI tools helping them shop useful information about total value before those traditional signals happen.
That might mean surfacing Cashback while someone is comparing brands, making an offer discoverable through an AI assistant, or helping a shopper understand the real value of a purchase before they leave to find a better option elsewhere.
Half of the leaders surveyed say they're already prepared to market to AI agents. And 38% are practicing proactive commerce today, with another 36% moving in that direction.
The opportunity isn't simply to add another channel to the marketing plan. It's to be useful earlier in the decision.
What This Means for E-Commerce Marketers
Shoppers aren't waiting until they land on a product page to start evaluating a purchase.
They're comparing earlier. Looking for value earlier. Asking AI earlier.
The brands adapting fastest are starting to meet them there.
“This isn't marketers tweaking a line item,” said Frank Dudley, Associate Director of the Retail Analytics Council at Northwestern University. “They're responding to a fundamental shift in how products are discovered and chosen.”
The full Proactive Commerce Leadership Index goes deeper into how commerce leaders are changing acquisition budgets, preparing for AI-assisted shopping, and approaching proactive commerce. Get the full study and additional shopper research.
Want to hear the findings unpacked? Minty also joined EMARKETER to explore what the research means for marketers and the future of commerce.
About the Research
The Proactive Commerce Leadership Index, Wave 1, was fielded in August 2026 by Northwestern University's Retail Analytics Council in partnership with Minty.
The study surveyed 150 senior commerce decision-makers across industries including apparel, beauty and personal care, consumer electronics, home and furniture, health and wellness, sporting goods, travel and more. Ninety-eight percent represented companies with more than $100 million in annual revenue.
About Minty
Minty is the AI shopping companion proactively unleashing savings that matter most for smart shoppers, creating more loyalty for the brands they shop.
As the pioneer of Proactive Commerce, Minty reaches hundreds of millions of shoppers and is ranked a top 5 eCommerce tool.