The first half of 2025 has been a mixed bag for British retail. Fresh data from Adobe Digital Insights, powered by Adobe Analytics, paints a picture of cautious consumer behaviour – but also uncovers some clear (and exciting) opportunities on the horizon.

Covering the period between 1 January and 25 June, our online spending data – which is based on actual online transactions – reported a fairly positive first quarter, growing 2.7% compared with the same period in 2024, before falling consumer confidence, rising in-store inflation and broader economic concerns saw online spending growth in Q2 dip to just 0.87%.  Overall, online sales hit £49.7 billion, up just 1.6% on an annual basis, sparking concern from retailers coming into the second half of the year.

But what can they do to get cautious consumers spending again?  Online prices – particularly in non-essential categories like apparel, electronics and toys and games where prices are lower than they’ve ever been?

There are two big shifts happening in the way people are shopping online that they need to pay attention to. First, the growing impact of what we call ‘eventised shopping moments’: in short, key retail events like Prime Day and Cyber Weekend where consumers are in “buy mode,” having been able to plan their purchases in advance and there is a short window to take advantage of time-limited deals. And second, the continued rise of GenAI in how people search, research, and increasingly spend online.

When consumer confidence wavers, spending slows and shoppers trade down

The drivers of the spending slowdown are nothing new: persistent inflation driving in-store prices up, broader macroeconomic concerns and fears of rising household costs all cause shoppers to swap out their regular items for cheaper alternatives or defer purchases of non-essential items altogether, making it even more important for retailers to be there when those shoppers are ready to spend.

The good news for online retailers is – like savvy shoppers – that those moments are becoming easier to plan for.

Eventised shopping moments: Time to capitalise

Adobe Analytics data shows that eventised shopping moments – like Cyber Weekend and Prime Day sales are among the highest single spending days of the year and this year’s four-day Prime Day event shattered shopping records again.

Across the sale period, UK consumers spent over £2 billion online – equivalent to two Black Fridays rolled into one. Day one alone saw UK retail pull in over £670 million, making it the biggest single spending day of the year so far.

What’s particularly noteworthy is what people were buying: smart home tech, children’s apparel, toys, appliances, and personal care. These are all non-essential categories – precisely the ones that took the hardest hit in Q2. That tells us something vital: the demand hasn’t disappeared, it’s merely been deferred to more specific moments in time.

These flash-sale moments have the potential to become a critical flashpoint for all retailers, not just Amazon. They give consumers a clear reason to spend, a deadline to plan around, and the psychological nudge that comes from scarcity and urgency.

The psychology behind the sale

So, what exactly is driving this consumer spend surge on eventised shopping moments?

One major challenge retailers face is promotion fatigue. Shoppers have become desensitised to constant discounts: because they’re everywhere, all the time. Walk down any high street or browse any retail site, and you’re bombarded with sale signage. The result is a near-total erosion of urgency to buy anything.

That’s why eventised shopping moments like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are so powerful. They give consumers a reason to plan, to create wishlists, and to act. Retailers are now increasingly reliant on these peaks to drive the revenue they used to see spread more evenly through the year.

It’s also worth noting that Prime Day is no longer just an Amazon phenomenon. The wider online retail sector benefits significantly by riding the wave. Those who align their own promotions to coincide with Prime Day are well positioned to capitalise on those consumers already in 'buy mode'.

GenAI: The new front door of retail

If eventised shopping moments represent the periods consumers are most likely to transact, GenAI is increasingly becoming the place where they start their shopping journey.

Over the past year, we’ve seen traffic from AI-powered platforms – like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and others – grow by over 1,200% compared to August 2024 when GenAI-sourced traffic started to surge. And it’s not just idle curiosity. These platforms are being used for everything from gift inspiration and product comparisons to generating full shopping lists. In fact, 35% of UK consumers polled by Adobe in March 2025 said they had already used GenAI tools to assist with shopping, and 47% planned to use them this year.

What’s more, AI-led referrals are quickly closing the gap in conversion performance. In the last quarter alone, the conversion rate from GenAI traffic has doubled (+105%), and users referred by AI now spend 23% more time on-site than those from traditional sources. Clearly, GenAI is no longer just a research method, but a central tool in consumer decision-making, bridging the gap between brand discovery and final purchase.

Announcements from GenAI platforms such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT and Anthropic around new shopping-specific features will only serve to drive usage and conversion even higher as they become more widely available.

Increasing visibility in a GenAI world

As consumers increase trust in and adoption of GenAI for shopping, the opportunity for retailers is clear: be more discoverable and viable as an AI-generated source. That’s where Adobe’s new LLM Optimizer comes in. It helps retailers identify which of their web pages are being indexed by GenAI platforms and offers practical steps to improve visibility and performance across AI-driven discovery.

If traditional SEO is about boosting ranking on search engines like Google, LLM Optimizer is about ranking inside the AI assistants that consumers are increasingly turning to and trusting.

Understandably, this is an area of rapid transformation, and retailers who act early will invariably gain a competitive edge over those who don’t.

Rethinking retail momentum

The British retail picture from H1 2025 is sobering, but not bleak. Consumer spending may be cooling, but it hasn’t vanished – it’s just become more concentrated and more intentional.

Retailers who understand where shoppers are looking (GenAI) and when they’re most likely to buy (eventised moments like Prime Day) are better placed to weather uncertainty and drive growth.

As we move into the second half of the year, the imperative is clear: meet consumers where they are, both in channel and mindset.

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