Survey: every second online shopper searches but does not buy — AI assistants are meant to help
76 per cent of respondents would find digital shopping assistants attractive, according to a survey of more than 1,000 people commissioned by Lufthansa Industry Solutions and published on 30 September 2026. Three in four browse online shops at least weekly, but only every second person buys. After a frustrating search, 45 per cent switch to another retailer.
What happened
Lufthansa Industry Solutions (LHIND), an IT services provider within the Lufthansa Group, published a survey of more than 1,000 people on 30 September 2026. 76 per cent would find digital shopping assistants attractive that understand their wishes and recommend suitable products. Three in four respondents browse online shops at least once a week, but only every second person buys. A third often abandon before purchase because the decision becomes too complicated. After a frustrating search experience, 45 per cent switch to another online retailer and 43 per cent to Google; roughly one in four buys nothing for the time being. LHIND itself sells consulting on such assistants; the release names neither the research institute nor the survey period.
Who is affected
Online retailers with broad or advice-intensive ranges: fashion, DIY, electronics, furniture. Also bricks-and-mortar retailers with a webshop, since according to the survey some of those who abandon prefer to go to a local shop instead.
Assessment
Merchants talk a lot about the checkout — payment methods, load times and abandonment rates on the payment page. This survey shows that a large share of customers never get that far. Anyone who cannot find what they are looking for does not pay badly, they do not pay at all. That 43 per cent switch to Google after a frustrating search is the real warning sign. That is where the decision on whom to buy from is then made.
The figures come from a provider that earns money from the solution, and the methodology is thinly described. The direction, however, matches last week's Riverty/Adyen survey: customers want help deciding but want to keep control over paying. For merchants this means: fix the search first, then think about AI agents at the checkout.
What to do now
- Check in your shop analytics how many sessions end with a search but no basket, and which search terms return no results.
- Turn the ten most frequent customer questions from your service team into filters or guides in the shop before buying in an AI assistant.
- Keep the checkout short anyway: anyone who has made the decision must not fail at the payment page.