How much dialogue does online shopping require?

Cologne, March 5, 2026

Digital purchasing advice in online retail has undergone significant development in recent years. Modern AI-supported voice and text systems now enable dialogue that goes far beyond traditional search and filter functions. This brings digital purchasing support with chatbots closer to personal consultations. The latest KPMG Consumer Snapshot 01/2026, produced in collaboration with EHI, shows that digital consultations can specifically help to reduce decision uncertainty and lower purchase abandonment rates in complex product ranges. Very few people reject AI-supported consultations outright, and younger people do not reject them at all. Consulting formats that remain voluntary, explain comparison logic in an understandable way, and build trust are successful.

In general, there is a majority willingness to use digital consulting services: 55.7 percent of all consumers would seek advice from chatbots when shopping in the future. This willingness is even greater among younger people (18–24-year-olds). 77.8 percent say they want to use such services. There are hardly any noticeable differences in behavior between women and men. Only among the rural population is there greater aversion to digital AI-supported advice.

The perceived potential of digital consultations is particularly high for complex product categories that require a lot of explanation. 45.7 percent of respondents attribute the greatest added value to the electronics sector. This is followed by household goods and appliances with 30.3 percent, and fashion and clothing with 26.7 percent. In more emotionally charged or habitual product groups such as food, toys, or books, digital advice is considered relevant much less frequently. At the same time, only 9.4 percent of consumers reject digital consultations outright. In the 18 to 24 age group, this figure is zero percent.

The acceptance of digital advice is clearly linked to qualitative requirements. Trust proves to be a key prerequisite for use. Consumers cite reliable and transparent product information (27.8 percent) and understandable and comprehensible recommendations (27.2 percent) as the most important criteria. Other relevant factors include anonymity (25.2 percent), freedom of choice (24.8 percent), and the option to switch to human advice at any time (24.6 percent). Efficiency gains and process control play a lesser role, at 19 percent and 16.4 percent, respectively. Digital advice is thus clearly accepted as a supporting tool, but not as a replacement or controlling authority.

"Digital consultations should not be seen by customers as a substitute for human advice, but rather as a functional decision-making aid in complex purchasing situations," explains Dr. Tobias Röding from EHI. "Customers will accept this approach if transparency and freedom of choice are guaranteed and they retain control over the type of advice and the purchasing process at all times."

For the retail and consumer goods industry, this means that selectively used consultation formats that take product complexity, purchase phase, and user experience into account are successful. Digital consultation complements human consultation, but does not replace it.

Data:
KPMG's Consumer Snapshot highlights current developments, trends, and drivers in retail and the consumer goods market. For this edition, the EHI Retail Institute surveyed 500 consumers online to gather their opinions on the topic of "Dialogue-based digital consulting in retail: How much dialogue does shopping require?" and evaluated this data for KPMG.

 Publisher:
KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Luise-Straus-Ernst-Straße 2, 50679 Cologne, https://kpmg.com/de/de/home.html
EHI Retail Institute e. V., Spichernstraße 55, 50672 Cologne, www.ehi.org, +49 221 57993-0

About EHI:
The EHI is a research, education, and consulting institute for the retail sector and its partners, with around 80 employees and an international network of 850 member companies from the retail, consumer goods, capital goods, and service industries. The EHI is also a shareholder of GS1 Germany and Agraya and a partner of Messe Düsseldorf at major trade fairs such as EuroShop. The president of the EHI is Markant CEO Markus Tkotz and the managing director is Ulrich Spaan.

About KPMG:
KPMG is an organization of independent member firms with more than 273,000 employees in 143 countries and territories. In Germany, KPMG is also one of the leading auditing and consulting firms, with over 14,000 employees at 27 locations. Our services are divided into the business areas of Audit, Tax, and Advisory. Audit focuses on the auditing of consolidated and annual financial statements. Tax stands for KPMG's tax consulting activities. The Advisory business area is divided into Consulting, Deal Advisory, and Performance & Strategy, and bundles our high level of expertise in business, regulatory, and transaction-oriented topics.