On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether Uber's business is actually sustainable, how many Americans use ride-hailing apps, and what the ad opportunity is. "In Other News," we talk about whether there will be more—or fewer—self-checkout options by the end of next year and whether the world is ready to accept humanoid robots used by Amazon. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Yory Wurmser.

Meta and IBM lead the 50-member AI Alliance, challenging tech giants’ exclusive models with broad applications and potential competitive risks.

Generative AI use surges among marketers: ROI and high satisfaction levels counteract ethical concerns and the challenge of balancing technology with human creativity and oversight.

Researchers identify major security risk with open-source AI models: A massive data breach involving open-source generative AI platforms compromised hundreds of businesses, including Meta.

US internet users are expected to spend an average of $1,652 this holiday season, exceeding pre-pandemic figures, according to Deloitte. This marks a 13.5% YoY growth rate from 2022, when average spending was $1,455.

A private Swiss bank’s stock price dropped drastically after it disclosed a significant exposure to a troubled client—and social media amplified the news.

The service can strengthen merchant relationships and give the card network an opportunity to monetize its troves of valuable data

The demand for BNPL shows the financial inclusion benefits it can bring, but it also carries overspending risks

It’s December, which means marketers should already have plans in place for 2024. The next year will be punctuated by increasing retail media and connected TV (CTV) ad spend, creator economy evolution, and even more AI. Here are five charts to prepare you for what’s ahead.

Winning Gen Zers’ deposits will depend on capturing their attention and trust early in the customer journey. At the discovery and consideration stages, Gen Zers’ habits are very different than those of other generations, per our inaugural survey of 1,488 US banking consumers. That means banks must rethink their marketing strategies to best appeal to this generation’s preferences.

Stores possess value far beyond driving on-prem sales: That’s why retailers are investing heavily in brick and mortar even as online sales gains significantly outpaces offline growth.

Retail media just got even bigger. We recently updated our US retail media ad spend forecast to show higher growth than previously estimated, culminating in $109.40 billion in spend in 2027.

The world of retail media is always changing. Here’s what has caught our eye over the past few months.

TikTok Shop has rapidly emerged an important channel for some merchants: But whether those early gains are sustainable remains a question given the significant discounts that drove those results.

Retailers turn to AI for supply chain assistance: Amazon is hoping its expanded tools fulfill demand for more sophisticated inventory management systems.

Branded merchandise is helping retailers create buzz: McDonald’s, Aldi, and Target are just a few of the companies relying on exclusive products to stay current with shoppers.

“Performance Max [campaigns] are more algorithmic in nature,” Menachem Ani, founder of online ad management company JXT Group, said during a recent Paid Search Association webinar. “Don’t force it to behave like a [traditional] campaign. My recommendation is to put in the work and make the most out of it.”