When AI Becomes Santa: What Black Friday Just Told Us About the Next Generation
How algorithms, rising prices, and an experience-first mindset are rewriting the meaning of holiday shopping.
Read the full essayThe data behind this essay. Every figure traces to a source the essay cites. Hover any card to share it.
Straight answers to the questions this essay raises. Open by default, structured for search and AI.
What did Black Friday 2025 reveal about AI's role in shopping? +
This year's Black Friday set a record with $11.8 billion spent online in a single day, but the bigger story was how people shopped. Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites surged 805% compared to the year before, as tools like Walmart's Sparky and Amazon's Rufus helped shoppers compare prices and find the right gift faster. AI has become the new discovery engine for holiday shopping.
Are younger generations really choosing experiences over physical gifts? +
Yes. Around 92% of U.S. adults say they would rather receive an experience than a physical item when given the choice. TD Bank's survey found 68% of Gen Z and 61% of Millennials prefer gifting experiences, nearly three times the rate of Baby Boomers at 23%. The essay frames this as a generational pendulum swinging from Silent Generation thrift toward experience-first gifting.
How much spending power does Gen Alpha have? +
Gen Alpha already has roughly $28 billion in direct spending power through allowances and autonomous purchasing, and influences more than $100 billion in household spending. A Horizon Media study found 77% of Millennial parents say their children influence purchases far more than they did with their own parents. Ryan explored this further in an earlier essay.
What is Buy Now, Pay Later and why does it matter this season? +
Buy Now, Pay Later, or BNPL, lets shoppers split purchases into payments pushed further into the future. Adobe forecasts that $20.2 billion in online spending will run through BNPL this season, up 11% from last year. The essay pairs BNPL with AI and same-day delivery as a formula that lets people find things faster, procrastinate until the last minute, and defer the bill.
Why does Gen Z shop at the last minute? +
About 30% of Gen Z and Millennials say same-day delivery is their preferred way to receive online orders, and PwC found Gen Z plans to cut holiday budgets by 23%, more than any other generation. The essay argues last-minute shopping is not simply procrastination but a generational rhythm: they have grown up expecting speed and they wait until plans, prices, and social cues have settled.
Full show notes
This year’s Black Friday broke records—$11.8 billion spent online in a single day—but the real story isn’t the number. It’s how we spent it.
In this episode of The Ryan Vet Show, Ryan reads his latest essay from his newsletter, Collide, exploring a fascinating new shift in consumer behavior: the moment AI quietly became the world’s most influential holiday shopper.
From AI gift-finding agents like Amazon’s Rufus and Walmart’s Sparky… to the rise of Buy Now, Pay Later…to Gen Z and Gen Alpha shaping family purchases before they can even spell “algorithm”…this holiday season revealed something deeper: every generation is rewriting what it means to shop, give, and celebrate.
In this episode, Ryan unpacks:
📌 What Black Friday 2025 Really Revealed
AI-driven retail traffic up 805% year over yearWhy we’re buying fewer items at higher pricesHow algorithms, not aisles, are now shaping gift discovery📌 The Generational Pendulum of Gift-Giving
Silent Generation thrift and homemade giftsBoomer abundance and “the overflowing tree” eraGen X caught between stuff and experiencesMillennials pushing gifting toward memory-makingGen Z and Gen Alpha: the experience-first, algorithm-shaped generations📌 Gen Z and Gen Alpha: The New Holiday Powerhouses
Why Gen Z plans to cut budgets more than any other generationWhy same-day delivery is becoming the normGen Alpha already influencing over $100 billion in household spendingHow targeted ads and platform algorithms shape kids’ gift requests📌 AI + BNPL + Same-Day Delivery = The New Consumer Formula
Why AI is now the top discovery engine for holiday shoppingThe psychological shift behind “Buy Now, Pay Later”Why this combination creates last-minute shoppers with long-term financial consequences📌 Where We’re Heading Next
We’re moving into an era where:
Experiences matter more than merchandisePurchasing decisions are mediated by algorithmsYoungest generations influence spending earlier than everSkepticism toward AI gift recommendations will growThe Great Junk Transfer is reshaping how families think about “stuff”Holiday shopping is no longer driven by catalogs, commercials, or store aisles. It’s driven by prompts… algorithms… and kids who swipe long before they shop.
This episode offers a fascinating look at how the holidays—and generations—are changing right before our eyes.
Join Ryan on LinkedIn, Instagram, or subscribe to his YouTube channel with over 100,000 subscribers.
Send us Fan Mail
About Ryan VetRyan Vet is a USA TODAY bestselling author, futurist, and international keynote speaker whose insights on generations, culture, and the future of work have been featured in Forbes, Financial Times, ABC, NBC, and CBS. His research helps leaders understand emerging generational patterns and anticipate societal shifts before they fully unfold.
Join 20,000+ Leaders for Weekly InsightsIf you want deeper research and behind-the-scenes insights on generations and the future of culture and society, join Ryan’s weekly newsletter: 👉 https://ryanvet.com/collide
