Apple adjusts Vision Pro expectations after lackluster sales: The device’s expensive price tag is likely to blame—opening an opportunity for Meta to focus on affordability in the AR/VR space.

Spotify’s strong Q1 has it looking to the future: With audiobooks, AI, and video in the fold, the company needs to identify its next growth sector—and fast.

Hispanic consumers in US are digital-forward: The group’s healthy use of social media and rising buying power offer opportunities for brands.

The decision aims to enhance job mobility and spur innovation but faces opposition from businesses and potential legal delays.

Hasbro and Mattel reined in costs in Q1: Looking ahead, the toy companies plan to wring more value out of iconic brands such as Dungeons & Dragons, Hot Wheels, and Barbie.

Starbucks resumes talks with union as public opinion forces concessions: But a Supreme Court ruling could shift power in the company’s favor by making it harder to challenge unfair labor practices.

US ecommerce resale volume will hit $80.60 billion this year, a growth of 3.4% YoY, per our December 2023 forecast.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of April. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (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 Sara Lebow will defend their list against vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analyst Blake Droesch, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

Saks launches retail media network amid slowing sales: The ecommerce retailer is billing its offering as a unique opportunity to connect with luxury shoppers.

Interest in non-legacy currencies is up slightly, but 58% of US advertisers say they still need to learn more about them before putting them into action, according to an April 2024 survey from iSpot.tv.

US digital ad spend will cross $300 billion for the first time this year, per our March 2024 forecast. That’s good news for advertisers, but it also means it’s harder to stand out. While exposing consumers to a brand multiple times across channels is vital to brand awareness, hitting consumers with the same creative over and over again or bombarding them with emails and text messages can hurt marketing impact. Here are five key stats on marketing fatigue across connected TV (CTV), email, and messaging.

Phi-3 Mini, a compact AI model with 3.8 billion parameters, rivals OpenAI's GPT-3.5 and supports on-device operation, enhancing real-time analytics and privacy, making it ideal for business use

This could be a large setback for Affirm and may be a sign the retail giant wants to bring its other financial products in-house

The tie-ups highlight viable paths for growing open banking-powered payments in the US, including B2B and P2P payments

The BNPL’s push into AI to replace labor costs may have contributed to the fire sale

PepsiCo’s higher prices led to weakening demand: But robust demand from international markets helped the company beat analysts’ expectations.

Amazon rolls out US grocery subscription as it tries to halt Walmart’s momentum: But the offering’s high cost relative to those of competitors could limit its impact on Amazon’s grocery business.

Google tells employees to work faster to earn their keep: The generative AI marketplace shakeup and increasing regulation are causing stress at the company. Layoffs aren’t helping.

US falls short on primary care access: We explore how historical underinvestment in primary care has created a big market opportunity for nontraditional players.

Headspace launches D2C mental health services: The rollout bucks recent digital health market trends. We unpack some of the factors that could ultimately make Headspace’s D2C push a wise move.