ChannelEngine have announced the release of their Marketplace Shopping Behavior Report 2026, revealing that while AI is now part of the shopping journey, trust, transparency, and confidence still determine where purchases are completed.
Based on a survey of 4,500 marketplace shoppers across the US, UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, the report examines how consumers discover products, compare options, and decide where to buy in an increasingly fragmented ecommerce landscape.
Findings show that AI is becoming a common research tool, but has not replaced the need for reassurance at the moment of purchase. 58% of shoppers have used AI tools to research products, and 37% have started a purchase journey through an AI assistant. Yet only 17% say they feel comfortable completing a purchase through AI, reinforcing its role as a support tool rather than a buying channel.
This hesitation reflects a broader shift in how consumers shop. More than half of shoppers, 53%, always or often compare the same product across multiple marketplaces, browsing an average of three platforms before making a final decision. Shoppers are no longer buying from the first marketplace they visit. Instead, comparison has become the default.
The report finds that 3 in 5 shoppers hesitate to purchase if a product has no reviews, even on marketplaces they already know. Nearly all shoppers, 95%, notice price differences for identical products across marketplaces, making inconsistent pricing and incomplete product information immediate sources of doubt.
The report also reveals the key criteria impacting purchase behavior on marketplaces. While 65% of shoppers say sustainability matters to them, 91% say free shipping directly influences whether they complete a purchase. This reinforces that consumers evaluate value holistically, prioritizing clarity, cost transparency, and delivery reliability at checkout.
Together, these findings point to the emergence of what ChannelEngine defines as the Confidence Economy. Shoppers explore widely across marketplaces, social platforms, search, and AI tools, but buy where they feel most certain about what they will receive, what it will cost, and how reliably it will arrive.
As AI becomes a permanent layer in product discovery and filtering, the report concludes that the quality and consistency of product information increasingly define the shopping experience. Brands that win will be those that reduce uncertainty through transparent content, consistent pricing, clear seller identity, and reliable fulfillment.
