The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors’ shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.
50% of US smartphone owners said they’re not willing to pay extra for AI features on their phones, up from 45% in September 2024, according to a May CNET survey.
The situation: Amazon and Google, once bound by a symbiotic relationship in which Amazon funneled ad dollars into Google Search and Google indexed Amazon’s pages, are now veering toward open conflict as generative AI (genAI) blurs the lines between ecommerce, advertising, and search. Both companies are determined to own the entire journey from discovery to checkout, and that ambition is unraveling what remains of their former détente. Our take: Amazon and Google are racing to define where and how consumers discover and buy products in the genAI era. If Amazon succeeds in walling off its marketplace data and steering shoppers to its own AI interfaces, the retail landscape could splinter into walled gardens where tech giants cooperate far less. That winner‑takes‑all dynamic might suit the victors, but it risks degrading the overall consumer experience with fewer choices and less transparent pricing. At the same time, it could lead brands and retailers into a margin‑sapping race to the bottom inside whichever closed ecosystem proves most dominant.
The news: Publicis Groupe has won PayPal’s global media business, building on the holding company’s winning streak and proving to rivals that its momentum in securing major accounts shows no signs of slowing. WPP Media previously handled PayPal’s media account but resigned the account in April, citing the need to “pursue other opportunities,” per Ad Age. Our take: Publicis’ win of PayPal’s global media business underscores a growing advertiser shift toward integrated partnerships, where creative, media, and retail strategies merge to unlock greater performance and monetization potential.
The news: OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5, a model that will combine traditional GPT capabilities with o3-series reasoning—marking a major leap in performance and model simplification. Our take: GPT-5 could streamline content creation, search, and CX workflows, leading to renewed industry adoption and customization. Enterprise customers should test GPT-5’s API early. Align adoption with marketing workflows and consider consolidating tools into a single platform to reduce costs. Early movers will shape the future of customer engagement.
The news: President Donald Trump signed an executive order to close the so-called de minimis trade loophole, which allows foreign packages valued under $800 to enter the US tariff-free. Effective August 29, all shipments under that threshold—regardless of origin—will be subject to duties based on value and country of origin. The White House already ended the exemption for packages from China and Hong Kong on May 2. Our take: Eliminating the de minimis exemption levels the playing field between international ecommerce sellers and domestic retailers—but could also drive up prices for consumers.
The data: US consumer spending inched up just 1.4% YoY in Q2, per the US Commerce Department. While that’s up from the tepid 0.5% in Q1, it’s well below the 2.8% growth in spending in 2024, and the fifth-slowest rate since Q3 2021. Goods spending rose 2.2% YoY, up from 0.1% the prior quarter, while services spending increased 1.1% YoY, ahead of the 0.6% in Q1. Our take: Eliminating the de minimis exemption levels the playing field between international ecommerce sellers and domestic retailers—but could also drive up prices for consumers.
As tariffs push prices up, consumers are reevaluating their brand loyalties—and many are walking away for good. What once felt like long-term relationships are now being tested by sticker shock, with even high-income shoppers turning to discount retailers and finding satisfaction in switching.
North America was a bright spot for L’Oréal’s otherwise mixed Q2. Like-for-like sales in the region rose 8.3% YoY, more than twice the consensus estimate of 4%. L’Oréal’s bullishness about the health of the beauty sector is decidedly at odds with some of its peers. That doesn’t mean its optimism is entirely misplaced: L’Oréal is better positioned than its peers to capitalize on the beauty ecommerce boom, while its local manufacturing model significantly reduces its exposure to tariffs.
The news: Despite a surge in sports advertising and streaming, Walt Disney Co. failed to surpass last year’s upfront volume, citing a result that was “consistent with last year,” per a press release. Streaming accounted for over 40% of the company’s total upfront volume, on par with 2024, while sports advertising commitments across digital and linear were worth around $4 billion. Our take: As live sports viewers remain consistent and audiences increasingly turn to digital, Disney’s future growth depends on how well it can transform its streaming offerings into hubs for live sports.
The news: Amazon will pay The New York Times between $20 million and $25 million annually in a multiyear content licensing agreement that was announced in May. This amount, close to 1% of the Times’ total annual revenue, is one of the largest disclosed payments for news content licensing for generative AI (genAI) training. Our take: The Amazon–Times deal underscores the growing value of premium journalism in the AI era, setting a precedent for how tech companies can ethically license high-quality content. For advertisers, this signals a shift toward AI-powered platforms integrating trusted media brands, which could enhance user engagement and credibility.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of July. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Arielle Feger and Suzy Davidkhanian will defend their list against Senior Analyst Blake Droesch, and Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.
The luxury sector is facing a “challenging” and “somewhat unprecedented” environment, Prada Group chairman Patrizio Bertelli said—causing even once-hot brands like the company’s namesake label to lose momentum. Luxury companies for the most part view the current downturn as a cyclical blip in an otherwise robust industry. But the prolonged slump is revealing structural challenges—namely, heavier reliance on American and Chinese consumers, as well as a tendency to lean on price hikes rather than innovation to drive sales.
The news: Cyata launched a platform that detects, authenticates, and governs “agentic identities” as adoption of autonomous AI agents is exploding—96% of IT leaders will increase agent use in 2025, Cloudera reports. Digital agents integrating into the workforce pose new risks—ones traditional identity and access management (IAM) tools are not equipped to handle, per VentureBeat. Our take: Managing mixed human and agentic workers won’t be optional for long—it will become a baseline requirement as AI agents move from edge cases to everyday tools. Companies that delay could risk operational blind spots, compliance gaps, and uncontrolled AI autonomy.
The news: Demand for AI-skilled workers is exploding as workplace adoption of generative AI (genAI) accelerates, creating a make-or-break moment for B2B companies trying to compete in a tech-driven landscape. The number of job postings for employees with agentic AI skills spiked 985% between 2023 and 2024, per McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook report. Postings for workers with general AI skills also rose, but at a much smaller 35% rate. Our take: CMOs should work closely with HR to identify high-potential marketing team members for upskilling programs to tackle tasks like generating and reviewing AI copy and pulling insights out of AI-powered campaign analytics.
Cost of living is the top concern for global Gen Zers (39%) and millennials (42%), according to December 2024 data from Deloitte.
OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5 in early August. The newest and most powerful model combines traditional GPT capabilities with o3-series reasoning—marking a major leap in performance and model simplification. The consolidation play with GPT-5 could further cement OpenAI’s dominance if competitors are slow to respond.
The triopoly looks stronger, but it's digital that's getting bigger. Amazon, Google, and Meta now command 58.8% of total US ad dollars, up from 47.1% in 2020. But that's not an indication that the triopoly's control of the digital ad market is growing.