Dutch people more often trust AI information than in-store advice

14 July 2026

The European Deloitte report "The Human and the Agent — The State of Agentic Commerce in Europe" shows that agentic commerce is now an integral part of the customer journey. More than half of European consumers use AI tools when shopping; in the Netherlands, 55% use AI for shopping and 44% rely on information from AI tools, while only 29% indicate that advice from store staff makes more sense. At the same time, consumers remain reluctant to leave the final purchase entirely to AI: 31% are open to it, but 47% are not willing to do so.

The research, conducted among 13,500 consumers across Europe, shows that AI is mainly used as inspiration, for research and for comparison of products. 

For the Netherlands, 25% say AI helps them find everything they need and 25% use AI to compare products; the most assigned task is to find the best price (29% leave that to AI). 

Although AI and search engines are already on an equal footing during the research phase, the willingness to let AI handle the moment of purchase is declining sharply: only 17% of European AI users use AI in the actual purchase (check-out).  AI deserves its place mainly as a source of relevant, reliable information: in the Netherlands, 62% are satisfied with recommendations from AI tools and 46% plan to increase AI use in the future. 

"The research shows a clear shift: trust in AI is growing at the expense of shopping advice, especially among younger consumers. People want help, not a complete takeover. 

Retailers who now make their product data machine-readable, communicate their distinctiveness clearly and are transparent about data use, will win a place on the agent shortlist; those who fail to do so will be reduced to a logistics operator," Adgild Hop, partner and Industry Sector Leader Retail, Wholesale & Distribution, Deloitte Netherlands says. 

Trust and transparency are crucial
Trust and data are at the heart of adoption. In the Netherlands, 55% of consumers use AI when shopping and 42% are willing to share personal data with AI in exchange for better recommendations, while 32% do not. Consumers emphasise the need for transparency: 26% believe AI is essential in the customer journey, but many people want to understand how recommendations are made before entrusting their purchase to an agent.

Priorities for retailers
There are three concrete tasks for retailers. First, make sure product data is complete and machine-readable, because AI agents assess and compare based on structured data; Without that foundation, you simply won't be visible to agents. Second, make distinctive features explicit and easily interpretable for machines — price alone is too little; quality, sustainability and service must be clearly demonstrable so that AI can take them into account. Third, build trust by being transparent with data use and making AI advice explanatory and verifiable, so that consumers are supported without losing the final word.

Research justification
The study was conducted as an online survey among a representative sample of consumers across Europe and aimed to provide insight into the influence of agentic AI on the customer journey and buying decisions. A total of 13,500 consumers participated, 7,512 of whom were current users of AI tools. The fieldwork took place in May 2026. The sample was stratified by age and gender and covered the main European markets; core topics were the use of AI along the customer journey, attitudes towards AI in retail and the reasons for and against use. Demographic variables such as age groups (Gen Z, millennials, Gen X) and frequency of online purchases were included to analyse differences between groups and countries. For the Netherlands, 1,000 respondents participated in this survey.