Walmart and Others See 1600% Growth in AI Referrals
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 21 2026
0mins
Source: stocktwits
- AI Referral Surge: Sensor Tower reports that traditional U.S. retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, Etsy, and Target have seen AI-driven referrals increase by over 1600% from October 2024 to December 2025, highlighting AI's growing role in product discovery.
- Traffic Explosion: Traffic to major U.S. retail websites driven by generative AI assistants surged sevenfold within a year, rising from nearly 6 million monthly visits in October 2024 to 41 million in December 2025, although this still represents less than 1% of total retail traffic.
- Sales Acceleration Forecast: Goldman Sachs anticipates that Walmart will experience sales acceleration due to its AI shopping partnerships with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini, indicating that the company's large-scale push for AI tools could yield significant gains.
- Holiday Shopping Trends: During the 2025 holiday shopping season, several U.S. retailers partnered with OpenAI to offer a shopping experience distinct from 2024, aiming to attract consumers increasingly reliant on AI assistants amid price hikes from tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration.
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Analyst Views on ETSY
Wall Street analysts forecast ETSY stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ETSY is 67.71 USD with a low forecast of 52.00 USD and a high forecast of 80.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
26 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
18 Hold
2 Sell
Hold
Current: 57.190
Low
52.00
Averages
67.71
High
80.00
Current: 57.190
Low
52.00
Averages
67.71
High
80.00
About ETSY
Etsy, Inc. operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers around the world. The Company's primary marketplace, Etsy.com, is the global destination for goods made by independent sellers. In addition to its core Etsy marketplace, its House of Brand consists of Depop Limited (Depop), which is its fashion resale marketplace. Each marketplace primarily operates independently, while benefiting from shared expertise in product development, marketing, technology, and customer support. The Company's top six retail categories on the Etsy marketplace include homewares and home furnishings, jewelry and personal accessories, apparel, craft supplies, paper and party supplies, and toys and games.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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