Americans are in worse physical shape than ever: Obesity and diabetes have reached record highs, and healthy eating habits are “substantially” worse than before the pandemic. At least we’re still exercising as much—or as little—as we did in 2019.

The $886 billion US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will allocate funds for private defense network updates, giving network providers potential for lucrative contracts.

51.1% of US Snapchat users will come from Gen Z this year, according to our September 2023 forecast. TikTok is also dominated by Gen Z, with 44.7% of users coming from that age group.

Revolutionizing AI-driven news: The OpenAI-Axel Springer deal sets a new standard in digital journalism.

Snapchat+ keeps on growing: The subscription service now has 7 million subscribers, with AI being a key driver of interest.

A generous return policy can encourage consumer spending and inspire loyalty. On the other hand, a policy that makes it more costly or inconvenient for customers to return their items could sting a retailer’s bottom line. Here are some short- and long-term ways return policies can affect retailers, and ways to avoid charging customers a fee to cover return costs.

“We’re shifting into a lot of new paradigms in advertising, which is the underlying theme of all of the 2024 trends,” our analyst Paul Verna said on our “Advertising Trends to Watch for 2024” webinar.

Etsy’s sales have remained “essentially flat” for two years: The niche online marketplace’s inability to broaden its reach led it to lay off about 225 employees.

Instagram debuts AI background editor, enhancing user creativity: Major advertisers shift spending from X to Instagram for safety.

Gen Z's preference for Pinterest influences retail strategies: The platform's positive, noncompetitive nature aligns with Gen Z's mental health awareness.

Google's Chrome tests Tracking Protection, signaling end of third-party cookies: Move affects 62.85% of browser market, challenges websites and advertisers.

Tensions between Temu and Shein are rising (again): Weeks after the companies dropped their previous lawsuits against each other, Temu sued Shein.

Retail sales jumped in November as shoppers snapped up deals: US consumers are taking full advantage of their recovering buying power this holiday season.

Recommerce is more than just a retail trend: The surge in circular retail reflects shifting consumer values—we explore the subject with Optoro CEO Amena Ali.

With third-party cookies finally on their way out, and signal loss still echoing from Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency, 2024 will be a challenging year for advertisers as their ability to target customers accurately and precisely gets more limited. These five charts will help marketers address data, targeting, and measurement concerns in the new year.

Can EV manufacturers’ connected car technology surpass popular smartphone-based solutions? Leading carmakers, and their customers, could be forced to choose sides.

Indian startup Udaan raises $340 million for its B2B ecommerce platform: The company will use the funds to pave its path to an IPO and get a larger piece of the $100 billion market.

Many retailers are predicting that consumer spending patterns in 2024 could be similar to 2023—pulling back on discretionary categories and sometimes essentials like groceries. So far, discount and dollar stores have benefited from tightened consumer spending, but that success isn’t guaranteed in the new year. Here’s how three low-price retailers are planning to appeal to consumers and keep sales up in the months ahead.

Grimes is promoting an AI toy called Grok: Generative AI could give the toy industry the same kind of boost it’s set to give the gaming industry, but it also raises ethics concerns.

Our most-read healthcare stories of 2023: Stories that got our readers most excited to read in the past year include health information on social media, genAI, pharma’s move to digital, and generational healthcare marketing.