With the ascent of Chinese ecommerce disruptors and the ongoing rivalry between Amazon and Walmart, the upcoming holiday season is expected to bring some big shifts. Some of those shifts include the lessening of Cyber Five’s importance and retailers losing focus on profitability, said our analysts Jeremy Goldman and Zak Stambor on a recent episode of the “Behind the Numbers” podcast.
Gen Z’s attention is split across social media for shopping and search: The cohort’s use of multiple social networks spells opportunity for platforms and advertisers.
Another transformative European privacy bill takes shape: The UK passed the Online Safety Bill, greatly increasing penalties for moderation failures.
In its first rebrand in 14 years, Pepsi unveiled a new logo and color palette to be seen on shelves in North America this fall, marking the brand’s 125th anniversary. While the revamp nods to Pepsi’s nostalgia, it pushes into what Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s CMO, said is an increasingly “phygital” world, where consumers engage with brands both in-store and online.
On today's podcast episode, we discuss what social networks can't stop getting wrong, whether Amazon can make its app fun, if enough people care about voice assistants, whether Uber's "Return a Package" feature will take off, how AI may change entrepreneurship, which music format has made the most money for the music industry in the past 50 years, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian, vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, and analyst Max Willens.
The un-carrier halts controversial auto-upgrades to pricier plans amid consumer outcry, reaffirming the pitfalls of unilateral billing changes in a competitive market.
Human operators are back in its taxis after a DMV permit suspension. Public perception of autonomous vehicle safety will affect the broader AV industry.
The D2C CPG business model is challenging: Hello Bello, Dollar Shave Club, and Honest Co. are among the brands that have stumbled as they’ve sought to balance acquisition costs and customer spend.
Patients aren’t getting bang for their healthcare buck: They’re spending on care and treatment, but they’re also avoiding care due to cost and getting sicker. Is there any relief in sight?
The downsides of healthcare consumerization: Companies like 23andMe are launching products and services that purport to detect medical conditions in their early stages. The only guaranteed result for users is a lighter bank account.
Providers are staring down workforce challenges: Healthcare execs are making a lot of changes to deal with ongoing labor shortages in their health systems. But patients are still feeling the pains of doctor shortages.
Streaming price hikes show no signs of stopping: Apple TV+ is the latest streamer to raise prices amid demands for higher revenues.
Chipotle has raised price five times since June 2021: It plans another hike next year in California when the state’s minimum wage for fast-food workers jumps to $20 in April.
Shein and Forever 21 extend partnership with new apparel line: The two companies are deepening their relationship as scrutiny into Shein’s business practices and ties to China intensifies.
Amazon’s impressive Q3 earnings tinged with AWS cloud challenges: Despite robust ad revenue, AWS needs innovation to maintain its market leadership and meet investor expectations for continuous growth.
The travel industry will spend nearly $6.8 billion on digital advertising this year, but it will only account for 2.6% of total US digital ad spending. Among the 10 industries we track, travel is by far the smallest, but it’s set to lead the pack in growth for the third year in a row.
Meta showcases robust Q3 growth with $34.15 billion in revenues: Facebook and Instagram parent surges, despite Threads struggling to find its footing.
“The misconception in my mind is that you can ignore [generative AI],” Vincent Yates, chief data scientist of consulting firm Credera, said at Advertising Week New York 2023.
The US economy grew at its fastest pace in almost two years in Q3: Inflation and rising interest rates haven’t quelled consumer desire to spend on goods and services as personal spending rose 4%.
The 2023 holiday shopping season’s top performers will come from the categories aligned with current growth trends. And the brands that outperform their categories will do so by delivering the products shoppers want.