On today’s episode, host Bill Fisher is joined by our analysts Paul Briggs, Matteo Ceurvels, and Carina Perkins to talk about the upcoming crowning of King Charles III in the UK, other major events around the world, and what sort of effects they will have on retail and marketing.

Amazon will capture more than half (51.1%) of all retail ecommerce sales in Germany this year, according to our forecast. Canada will have the second-highest share of Amazon ecommerce sales among the countries we track, at 41.5%, followed by the US, UK, Japan, and Mexico.

“[AI] really does raise the bar in terms of what people are going to expect from you,” our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on our recent “ChatGPT and Generative AI” panel. As AI matures, it will become more specialized, automating mundane tasks, ushering in personalization, and changing the way consumers, retailers, and marketers use the internet. Here are eight predictions for that not-so-distant future.

Amazon looks to its B2B ecommerce division for growth: The retail giant sees significant opportunities to expand Amazon Business into new markets in Europe and elsewhere.

High grocery inflation dents Canadian consumer confidence: Retail sales and volumes fell in February, even as overall price increases slowed.

P&G credits resilient US consumers and rebounding spend in China for its earnings beat: But increased promotional activity over the past few months could force the company to rethink its reliance on price hikes.

Inflation is starting to ease, but consumers remain cautious with their spending. This puts pressure on consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and retailers to attract customers without affecting the bottom line.

The world's largest chipmaker forecast a 16% sales tumble in Q2 as the tech sector slows down. Its plans for new factory locations could be in peril.

Cost Plus Drugs links up with independent pharmacies: It’s yet another move by the company to cut big-name pharmacy benefit managers out of the picture.

Measuring digital patient engagement: Providers know they need consumer-friendly offerings to ward off competitors. Next, they’ll be able to track how patients are interacting with their digital tools.

Smart hospitals go beyond digital: Cleveland Clinic will deploy Verizon’s private 5G network at its new Mentor, Ohio hospital. Here’s why it’s a model for the hospital of the future.

Seagate’s $300M fine for selling hard drives to Huawei shows that US regulators are strictly enforcing bans against China.

A look at Netflix’s confusing video game strategy: A high-quality catalog means little if most of the company’s 232 million subscribers don’t know it exists.

Shein plots expansion with $145.2 million investment in Brazil, US marketplace: The company is looking to increase its reliance on local manufacturers to speed up fulfillment and better respond to demand. (This article was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.)

Bumper profits, struggling investment banks, and swelling customer deposits were all themes in banks’ Q1 earnings.

It sold $1B of loans from Marcus and is now exploring the sale of loan provider GreenSky.

After clearing its waitlist, the Black- and Latino-focused digital bank is now offering a General Access platform to any user.

GreenSky may be an attractive acquisition as consumers rely more on BNPL for essential purchases