John Lewis was the most frequently appearing retailer in a new study of AI-generated Christmas gift suggestions, featuring in one in five answers to festive shopping questions. The research was conducted by communications agency Visible PR and AI visibility specialist IgniteStack.
The study examined 600 AI-generated answers to 100 non-branded Christmas gifting questions, covering everything from educational Christmas gifts for children and stocking fillers under £25 to presents that look expensive but cost less than £100. The questions were tested across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews on 6 and 12 October 2026.
However, while John Lewis led overall, the research found that specialist brands were performing particularly strongly when shoppers asked for gifts within specific categories.
Food and drink gifting – Hampers.com was one of the standout performers, leading food and drink gifting in both research runs. In the first test, its category share of voice was 24.6%, ahead of Fortnum & Mason (21.1%) and Harrods (7%).
Hampers.com‘s focus on gifting, with dedicated collections organised around who shoppers are buying for, different occasions and budgets, provides an example of how a specialist retailer can compete with some of Britain’s best-known luxury names.
Jewellery – Monica Vinader topped the category in both runs, with 20.5% and 23.5% share of voice respectively. Pandora achieved 10.3% and 9.8%, while Missoma and Astrid & Miyu also performed strongly.
Children’s gifting – LEGO was the clear leader, accounting for 53.8% of tracked-brand appearances in the first run and 39.4% in the second. Tonies and Yoto were also among the names appearing in recommendations.
Teen gifting – Beauty and technology brands performed strongly. Sol de Janeiro led the first research run with 14% category share of voice, while JBL topped the second at 13.7%.
What makes a brand recommendable?
The report explores what retailers can learn from the strongest-performing brands, particularly when it comes to making the gifting appeal of their products clear.
Rather than focusing solely on product features, retailers should consider whether shoppers can easily understand who a product is for, what makes it a good present and which occasions or budgets it suits.
Tom Bowie, Co-founder at IgniteStack, comments: “What’s interesting about these findings is how much the question being asked matters. Someone looking for a general Christmas present has very different needs from someone buying for a six-year-old who loves building things or searching for personalised jewellery. Across our wider research and client audits, we’re seeing a recurring pattern: brands with a clear proposition around who their products are for and which needs they meet often feature strongly in relevant AI answers. Retailers need to think about the specific shopping needs they want their products to be considered for.
“Our research points to four practical steps: understand the questions shoppers are asking, make it clear who your products are for and why they’re worth choosing, identify the reviews and gift guides AI is citing, and regularly measure where your brand appears against competitors. As AI becomes another place where customers discover products, retailers need to understand how they’re showing up.”
The research also examined the external sources appearing in AI gifting answers. Which? was cited in 46% of ChatGPT’s responses, while Woman & Home appeared in 26.5%, highlighting the prominence of buying advice and editorial content in the answers shoppers receive.
Clare Wimalasundera, Senior Consultant at Visible PR, added: “Retailers spend months preparing for Christmas, but having a great product isn’t always enough to make it onto someone’s shopping list. The findings show why retailers should think about their products from the shopper’s point of view. If someone is buying for a teenager, a coffee lover or a colleague, can they quickly understand why your product fits?”
The findings appear in Who’s on AI’s Christmas List?, a new research report examining which brands are appearing in AI gifting recommendations and what the results mean for retailers and marketers.
Full report: https://www.visiblepr.co.uk/ai-christmas-guide-download