iHeartMedia acquires Triton Digital: The radio giant has acquired Triton’s full slate of audio advertising technology, as US programmatic digital audio spending is set to see rapid growth this year.
US retail and food service sales jumped after last month’s stimulus: In January, sales were up 5.3% over the prior month, to the highest they’ve been since September. The stimulus in March could boost sales again—but they may stall if we don’t see another package after that.
Millennials want free delivery > discounts
Google to pay News Corp.: It’s a major concession in the battle to make tech giants pay publishers, and with Google now agreeing to pay for news in Australia, we could see similar deals struck in the future.
Shopify continues gaining massive momentum: The platform’s 2020 gross merchandise volume increased 96% year over year (YoY), far outpacing global ecommerce growth.
The 2020 US holiday season posted better-than-expected retail sales growth, as huge ecommerce gains added to a surprisingly positive performance for brick-and-mortar retail. The early outlook for the 2021 holiday season is solid despite major economic uncertainty ahead.