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Americans embrace AI and social discovery, but trust still determines how they buy, reveals ESW Signals report

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2 months ago

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47% of US consumers are comfortable using AI for price comparison, while only 24% are comfortable with AI-powered payments45% of Americans discover products through social media, but only 27% trust social commerce checkout experiences39% of US consumers say discretionary spending has decreased over the past year, compared with 31% who say it has increasedHalf of US consumers who feel unconfident about their household finances are trading down to cheaper options, compared with 14% of financially confident shoppers

NEW YORK, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — US consumers are continuing to spend, but growing differences in financial confidence are reshaping how Americans shop, pay and engage online, according to new data from ESW, the international growth engine for ambitious brands.

ESW works with internationally recognized brands, helping them scale through trusted, localized ecommerce experiences across global markets.

The findings form part of the global launch of ESW Signals, ESW’s new insights platform exploring evolving consumer behavior and international commerce trends worldwide.

US consumers are most comfortable with AI when it improves convenience or helps find value, with 47% open to AI-led price comparison and 44% to AI-powered deal finding. Only 24% are comfortable with AI-powered payments, while just 10% say they would allow AI-led auto-replenishment.

Millennials and Gen Z consumers are significantly more open to conversational AI shopping, at 34% and 29% respectively, compared with just 8% of Boomers.

Social platforms continue to play a growing role in how Americans discover products online, with 45% of Americans using social media to discover products, rising to 76% among Gen Z shoppers. However, only 27% trust social commerce checkout experiences. Trust in influencer recommendations is also highly generational, with 43% of Gen Z shoppers saying they trust influencers, compared with 11% of Boomers.

US ecommerce behavior remains anchored in retailer-controlled channels, with 37% preferring to shop directly through brand or retailer websites, compared with 7% who prefer shopping mainly via social platforms. Among Boomers, preference for retailer websites rises to 52%.

The survey of almost 24,000 consumers found that 39% of US consumers say discretionary spending has decreased over the past year, compared with 31% who say it has increased. Half of consumers who feel unconfident about their household finances say they are trading down to cheaper options, compared with 14% of financially confident shoppers.

Regional differences are visible across the data, with consumers in the West less likely to be trading down to cheaper alternatives (19%) than those in the Midwest and South (26%).

International shopping remains relatively limited across the US market, with only 12% of consumers purchasing from overseas retailers frequently, while 23% say they never shop internationally online. More than half (51%) say long delivery times discourage international purchases, while 49% cite shipping costs and 39% point to fraud or legitimacy concerns. Consumers in the West are the most internationally engaged, while those in the Midwest and Northeast are more likely to be deterred by delivery costs, shipping friction and trust concerns. The US also remains resistant to paid returns models, with 35% saying they would avoid retailers introducing small return fees.

Payment trust remains concentrated in traditional methods, with cards the dominant and most trusted payment method and PayPal consistently ranking second. One in five US consumers have used BNPL services in the past year, rising to 31% among Millennials, although BNPL remains one of the least trusted payment methods for international purchases.

Recommerce is also gaining traction among younger consumers with 25% of Gen Z consumers now buying second-hand items frequently, while cost continues to outweigh sustainability as the primary motivation purchasing.

The US findings also reflect broader trends identified across the global ESW Signals report. While US consumers remain comparatively cautious and value-focused, markets across the Middle East and Asia are showing significantly stronger spending momentum, with 67% and 61% of consumers respectively reporting increased discretionary spending.

Consumers in the Middle East also show materially higher openness to AI-powered shopping and social commerce checkout experiences, while European and North American consumers remain more cautious and trust-oriented at the point of purchase.

Eric Eichmann, CEO, ESW, commented on the launch of the report: “The findings of our ESW Signals report show that US consumers are willing to embrace new ways of discovering products and finding value. Nearly half are comfortable using AI for price comparison and 45% discover products through social media, but confidence drops sharply when those experiences move closer to checkout and payment.

But not all US consumers are behaving the same way. Our data shows that consumers in the West are generally more open to new shopping behaviors, while much of the Midwest remains more cautious and value focused. Consumers in the West continue to show greater openness to social commerce, AI and international shopping, but trust, transparency and reliability still matter across every region.

That gap between growing openness to new shopping experiences and continued caution at the point of purchase is becoming increasingly important globally as ecommerce growth accelerates in markets across the Middle East and Asia, where consumers are showing stronger spending momentum and greater openness to new digital shopping behaviors. For American brands expanding internationally, the opportunity is significant, but so is the need to adapt to different customer expectations market by market.”

About ESW
ESW is the international growth engine for ambitious brands. We absorb the complexity of cross-border commerce — payments, compliance, duties, localization, shipping and returns — so brands can grow globally with confidence. Our enterprise-grade platform is built for scale but configurable for the world’s most complex brands. We architect end-to-end international operations across 200+ markets that fit each brand’s exact needs, removing the operational and compliance risk that stands between ambition and growth. 

ESW Signals Methodology
ESW Signals 2026 is based on over 23,000 interviews across 18 markets in Q1 2026. The study examines consumer behavior across discretionary spending, international shopping, payments, social commerce, AI and ecommerce experience expectations. The report combines consumer survey research with ESW’s aggregated transaction data and expert perspectives on international ecommerce. Survey data shows where consumer expectations are shifting; ESW transaction data shows where those expectations affect checkout behavior, payment performance and cross-border conversion. https://esw.com/resources/signals

Media contact:

Conor Sheridan
conor.sheridan@edelman.com 
+353 86 031 0800

 

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Nuix Expands Generative AI for Legal Review, Debuts AI Chat for Case Data

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30 minutes ago

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September 7, 2026

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SYDNEY, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nuix announced the general availability (GA) of its Generative AI (Gen AI) capabilities in Nuix Discover SaaS on September 4. Bringing Document Summaries, Similar Documents, Semantic Search, Clustering and Visualizations to its legal review and eDiscovery solution. Continuing the innovation, and now in Early Adopter release, is Nuix Discover’s AI Chat – a conversational interface that lets reviewers, attorneys, and investigators interrogate their case data in natural language and receive synthesized answers drawn directly from document content; with citations to documents and every interaction logged for a complete, court-ready audit trail.

“AI Chat lets teams simply ask questions and get answers grounded in their case data; answers that are defensible and auditable. That’s the standard the legal profession demands, and it’s what sets Nuix apart,” said Ilona Meyer, Executive Vice President, Nuix Discover.

The Gen AI release for Nuix Discover includes:

Document Summaries: Every document receives a concise, plain-language summary as it is ingested, so reviewers can interpret long contracts, dense attachments, and lengthy email threads at-a-glance and orient to a matter faster.Similar Documents: automatically surfaces documents that are similar in meaning, based on the summary of the document being reviewed.Semantic Search: Locate responsive material by meaning, not just exact terms, surfacing relevant documents that use different phrasing and reducing the risk of missed documents.Clustering and Visualizations: Documents are grouped by meaning and mapped visually, giving the review team an early read on the composition of a collection, including key issues, hot topics, concentrations, outliers, and the relationships between clusters. Helping to inform review strategy, batching, and prioritization from day one.

“These Gen AI innovations change how review teams engage with case data,” said Ilona Meyer, EVP, Nuix Discover. “Document Summaries, Semantic Search, Similar Documents, and AI Clustering are built into both ECA and Review, so teams work faster at every stage. In ECA, they triage matters with far greater speed and accuracy than traditional approaches, giving teams the confidence to decide what to escalate for full review. Every insight is grounded in the source material, so the results are defensible.”

Together, these capabilities support the full matter lifecycle, from early triage ECA, through full review, on a single foundation of document understanding that is defensible and auditable.

AI Chat is available now as part of our Early Adopter (EA) program, with GA in December 2026. Gen AI capabilities including Document Summaries, Semantic Search, Similar Documents, AI Clustering and Visualizations, are GA for Nuix Discover SaaS, and will be available in Nuix Discover on-prem next quarter. Learn more https://www.nuix.com/solutions/nuix-discover

About Nuix Discover

Nuix Discover lets legal and investigative teams keep their data on-premises, in the cloud, or in a sovereign environment. Data sovereignty matters, and Nuix built Discover to support it. The platform runs on the Nuix Engine, which focuses on processing accuracy so professionals can trust their findings are complete and exhaustive. https://www.nuix.com/solutions/nuix-discover

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AICON Returns for Its Second Year, Championing “AI for Everyone”

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September 7, 2026

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Singapore’s annual AI festival returns on 8 and 9 October 2026, bringing together government, industry, educators and innovators to advance AI literacy and fluency, innovation and collaboration.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — AICON 2026, Asia’s human-first AI festival, returns on 8 and 9 October 2026 at *SCAPE Singapore, 2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978. Now in its second year and held under the theme “AI for Everyone”, the festival is supported by Tesla, NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (“e2i”), Singtel and *SCAPE, among other partners, and is held in support of the national Digital for Life movement. Tickets are on sale now at www.aicon.show.

The inaugural edition drew more than 5,000 attendees from over 10 countries. The second edition changes the format rather than the size of the room. Where 2025 centred on talks and showcases, 2026 is built around participation: visitors sit down at a screen, use the tools and leave with something they co-create with AI. Four pillars run through both days: Learn, Create, Connect and Play.

“AI is changing the way we work and live, but many people are still unsure where to begin. AICON was created to make AI more accessible, practical and relevant, helping people better understand what’s possible and giving them the confidence to apply it in ways that make a real difference in their work and everyday lives,” says Jayce Tham, Co-Founder of AICON and CEO of CreativesAtWork.

Programme

Day one opens on the main stage with “AI for Humanity: Technology, Commercialisation and Governance”, a forum on who AI is actually for. Sessions cover frontier technology, human cognition and education, the future of jobs and careers, corporate governance and responsible investment. Hands-on workshops run alongside it throughout the day, from vibe coding with Gemini to AI filmmaking with Singapore Polytechnic. Day one closes with Creator Jam Night at the Ground Theatre and the WonderClip x GenTube AI Film Festival award ceremony.

Day two, ‘AI for Everyone: Create, Play, Community’, shifts focus from big-picture concepts to hands-on action. Attendees will explore the practical potential of AI in their daily lives, with sessions covering everything from AI in education and business-building for SMEs, to the creator economy and future-gazing into next-generation tech. Throughout the day, visitors can experience live product demonstrations in the AI Demo Theatre and discover the projects born from the festival’s workshops. A youth strand runs through the day, including a session on what young people need to know about AI and an Ask Me Anything panel pairing three youth leaders with three AI experts.

The festival features a strong Korean contingent across both days. Marking their second year, Kentertech Hub returns to showcase the latest advancements in Korean content creation technology. The programme highlights a masterclass in AI filmmaking and the ‘K-Global × K-EnterTech Conference @ AICON’ panel discussion. Additionally, Singapore Polytechnic’s Jeffrey Xu, fresh from his grand prize victory at the ChungKang International AI Genre Film Festival, will present a dedicated session on the future of AI cinema.

At the centre of both days are hands-on sessions, including Singtel’s AI.dea Discovery Workshop, developed in collaboration with SIM Academy, and e2i’s Emerging Skills, Emerging Jobs Zone, a conversation-led learning space featuring interactive discussions, live demonstrations, and facilitated dialogues that help workers understand AI, experience AI firsthand, and explore its applications in their current roles and future careers. Running through both days is a thread on responsible AI, shaped with the Artificial Intelligence International Institute under its AI for Humanity framework and led by AICON co-founder Dr James Ong.

AI for Humanity Impact Forum @ AICON 2026

The Artificial Intelligence International Institute brings its AI for Humanity Impact Forum to AICON on 8 October, anchoring the festival’s main stage programme.

AIII is an independent think tank founded in 2017 by Dr James Ong, who is also a co-founder of AICON. It works on sustainable AI through research, policy, education and industry collaboration, and has taken the AI for Humanity agenda to the United Nations, ASEAN, Davos, SXSW and the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). In July, AIII was the executive organiser of a WAIC forum in Shanghai on sustainable computing, co-organised with the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and opened by the UNDP Administrator. AIII has campaigned for AI for Humanity to be recognised as a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.

Voices from AICON

“AI literacy is no longer optional, and it is not only a technologist’s concern. Parents, educators and business leaders all need to understand how these systems work, how to govern them and how to manage their risks,” says Dr James Ong, Co-Founder of AICON, Founder of the Artificial Intelligence International Institute and co-author of AI for Humanity. “That is the foundation of AI for Humanity, and it is why AICON exists.”

“Most people’s first reaction to AI is still anxiety, and you cannot lecture anyone out of that,” says Jaze Phua, Co-Founder of AICON and Dear.AI, and CEO of Virality Group. “You hand them a tool, they make something in ten minutes, and the fear turns into curiosity. That is the whole festival in one sentence.”

Partners

AICON 2026 is in support of the national Digital for Life movement, together with partners like e2i, Singtel, Design Singapore, ASUS, Alibaba, *SCAPE, Action Community for Entrepreneurship, Tesla, Kentertech Hub and the Artificial Intelligence International Institute, alongside a growing network of community and ecosystem partners. Institutes of higher learning taking part include Singapore Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Further partners will be announced.

Tickets & Access

Tickets are on sale now at www.aicon.show.

General Admission, 2-day pass: SGD $48VIP, 2-day pass: SGD $98, with access to keynote sessions, workshops and talks

Workshop places are limited and allocated on a first-come basis. A festival ticket is required, and each workshop must be registered separately at www.aicon.show.

Early-bird pricing runs until 30 September 2026.

This programme is hosted on Discover, a youth platform by the National Youth Council. View the event listing at https://discover.nyc.gov.sg/events/aicon-2026-the-ai-for-everyone-festival-caw-2026-0067

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SOURCE CreativesAtWork

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Sungrow and UNSW Launch AI-Enabled Community Energy Project in NSW Southern Highlands

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31 minutes ago

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September 7, 2026

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BOWRAL, Australia, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sungrow, a globally leading PV inverter and energy storage system provider, has joined UNSW Sydney, JT Solar Technology, trading as Aussie Hybrid Solar to launch an AI-enabled community energy project at the Gibraltar Bowral in the Southern Highlands. The project  demonstrates how solar generation, battery storage and intelligent energy management can work together to improve energy resilience, maximise renewable energy use and reduce reliance on the grid.

A Smarter, Community‑Centric Approach to Energy

For commercial sites such as hotels and event venues, energy demand can fluctuate significantly throughout the day, while rising electricity costs and the need for reliable power make efficient energy management increasingly important.

The community-based virtual power plant (VPP) project addresses these challenges by integrating solar generation, battery storage and intelligent energy management. Rather than simply generating and storing energy, the system determines how and when energy should be used, stored or discharged based on solar availability, site demand, electricity prices, grid requirements and battery health.

At the heart of the system are Sungrow’s ST200CF PowerKeeper battery energy storage system, deployed across four PK stacks, and the SH110CX hybrid inverter, installed by Aussie Hybrid Solar. These assets are coordinated through UNSW’s AI Energy Management System (AI EMS).

“The value of a system like this goes beyond payback. It needs to be safe, reliable and intelligent enough to respond to changing energy needs. That requires close collaboration between engineering and commercial teams.” said Richard Chen, Business Development Manager of Sungrow.

PowerKeeper Enhancing Energy Resilience at The Gibraltar Bowral

As a premium hotel and event venue, The Gibraltar Bowral has diverse and often variable energy needs, making reliable power essential to both guest services and event operations.

Modular DC-coupled architecture. The stackable design enables flexible capacity expansion to accommodate variable site loads. It simplifies retrofits by avoiding complex transformer upgrades and grid approvals, achieving plug-and-play compatibility with existing PV systems and SH110CX hybrid inverters.Hospitality-optimized deployment. With a compact design, flexible installation options and comprehensive safety certifications, PowerKeeper can fit easily into hospitality sites where space is limited and appearance matters, while meeting all relevant safety and regulatory requirements.Ultra-reliable performance. Validated through extreme environment tests and equipped with real-time battery health tracking, the system delivers stable long-term operation and full-site backup power to prevent venue downtime.AI and VPP-ready intelligence. It serves as core hardware for AI energy scheduling and VPP dispatch, enabling autonomous charge-discharge optimization based on solar output, site load, electricity prices and grid conditions to boost renewable self-consumption and energy resilience.

By integrating PowerKeeper into the VPP model, the project demonstrates how advanced storage solutions can serve both commercial reliability needs and broader community energy goals.

Collaboration Driving Innovation

“Sungrow has provided strong technical data and support. Their team independently verified our calculations, which gave us greater confidence when sizing the system and demonstrating the potential savings to the client. That level of technical collaboration has been fantastic.” said Steve Doyle, co-owner of JT Solar and Voltval.

By bringing together solar, storage and AI-driven energy management, the project demonstrates a practical pathway towards a more flexible, resilient and renewable-powered  future.

About JT Solar Technology

With more than 17 years of industry experience, JT Solar Technology brings long-standing expertise in solar installation, engineering, project delivery and after-sales support. Operating under the commercial trading name Aussie Hybrid Solar, the Sydney-based energy company has been helping Australian customers install solar power systems, reduce energy bills and contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. For more information, visit https://jtsolar.com.au/

CONTACT:
luly.wang@sungrow-hq.com 
+86-15618330862

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SOURCE Sungrow Power

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