One in four Canadians would let AI buy every gift on their list if it spared them the stress of holiday shopping, according to Mastercard’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Snapshot.
Millennials were especially receptive, with 43% willing to hand over their list, compared with 38% of Gen Z respondents and 26% of Canadians overall.
Loyalty points are one place shoppers want a say. Among respondents asked about AI shopping agents, 67% wanted the agent to get their approval before using points or benefits. Those rewards figure prominently in holiday budgets this year. Across the survey, 45% planned to redeem more points and rewards than they did last year, and 91% intended to pay at least as much attention to budgeting.
Mastercard has already tested how shoppers might set limits on an AI purchase. In a September demonstration with Flybits and Rogers Bank, a Rogers Red cardholder set a budget and gave a Flybits AI assistant instructions. The assistant found an item that met those conditions and bought it using Mastercard Agent Pay.
Shoppers also saw value in an extra step at checkout. Three-quarters said they would accept additional security checks even if it took longer to pay. About a third (34%) said they had encountered a suspected holiday shopping scam in the past two years.
Mastercard conducted the survey with The Harris Poll, polling 1,005 people in Canada from September 30 to November 3, 2026.
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