What the 2026 Shop Small Study Found

The 2026 American Express Shop Small Impact Study, conducted by Teneo in September and reported by Small Business Trends this week, surveyed 1,008 US adults and 503 owners or managers of businesses with 2 to 99 employees. 88% of consumers plan to shop at small, independent businesses or restaurants this holiday season, the highest intent the company has recorded, and 56% plan to shop or dine small on Small Business Saturday, which falls on November 28 this year.

How shoppers find those businesses is shifting. Friends and family recommendations still lead at 65%, followed by ratings and reviews (45%) and social media (39%). But 35% now plan to use AI to find small businesses, and 40% will mix AI with personal recommendations. Among Gen Z and millennials, 45% expect to use AI for discovery, versus 28% of Gen X and baby boomers.

Owners are moving too: 90% expect to use AI tools this season, mainly for marketing content (38%), getting discovered through AI (34%), and demand forecasting or inventory (29%). And 70% say how they support customers this season will shape their growth in 2027.

Three Ways to Get Recommended by AI This Season

  • Make your basics impossible to misread. AI assistants piece together answers from what they can find about you. Keep your name, address, hours, phone number and holiday opening times identical on your website, maps listing and social profiles, so the assistant does not have to guess. This is our recommendation.
  • Turn happy customers into fresh reviews. Reviews are already the second biggest discovery source in the study, at 45%. Ask for a review after every holiday order with an automated follow-up message, and reply to the reviews you get. That steady stream of recent, specific feedback is what both shoppers and AI tools read. This is our recommendation.
  • Give your website the answers a shopper would ask. "Where can I find a handmade gift near me?" is a question, and your website should answer it. Clear pages on what you sell, who it is for, where you are and why people choose you, plus a short FAQ, make your business easy to quote. This is our recommendation.
Bottom Line

Shoppers want to buy small this year. The businesses that win will be the ones an AI assistant can describe accurately, and a friend can recommend confidently.