US business confidence in China plunges to record low: But companies like Starbucks and Lego remain bullish about long-term opportunities.
US ecommerce back-to-school and holiday growth trends are usually pretty similar, but this year, growth will diverge. US ecommerce back-to-school and holiday spending growth were within 1 percentage point of each other in both 2020 and 2021, and closer to 4 percentage points apart in 2022, during a holiday season impacted by inflation, supply chain issues, and geopolitical concerns. This year, we forecast a US back-to-school ecommerce growth rate of 1.5%, slower than our forecast 11.3% holiday retail ecommerce growth.
Amazon explores standalone subscriptions as Prime user growth slows: The retailer could roll out separate grocery and healthcare membership services as early as this year.
Agility beats Tesla at mass production of humanoid robots: Its RoboFab will churn out 10,000 Digit bots annually, beating Tesla’s Optimus to market. Price is the limiting factor.
On today's podcast episode, we discuss what "Dr. ChatGPT" is most likely to help with, how close it is to replacing your physician, and why it might not be ready for the patient exam room just yet. "In Other News," we talk about the US government's efforts to bring down prescription drug costs and the prevalence of health-related misinformation on social media. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Rajiv Leventhal and Lisa Phillips.
One Medical subscriptions could become a Prime benefit: Amazon is looking to add primary care services to its $139-a-year Prime membership. That just might appeal to young adults worried about the cost of healthcare.
Seniors are confused by Medicare Advantage marketing: With 43 different MA plans to choose from, eligible members are likely to ignore marketing about new plans—unless they get the information they’re looking for.
How consumers perceive healthcare and pharma: They rate the sectors negatively compared with most other US industries. Here’s what it means for providers and drug developers.
Gaming and daytime TV controversies emphasize the importance of responding to public backlash: Both Unity and Drew Barrymore may have underestimated the power of a social media pile on.
Amazon reshapes NFL viewership on streaming platforms: Nielsen's ratings versus internal data presents challenges in the era of digital broadcasting.
Panos Panay brings a fresh vision, capable of reviving Amazon's languishing device portfolio. It’s a strategic gambit that could infuse new interest in hardware.
Google is bringing Bard AI to its suite of apps. The potential for adoption is huge and could minimize reliance on rival services like ChatGPT.
OpenAI seeks to counter Google’s Gemini with ‘Gobi’ multimodal AI project: Amid intensifying AI competition, the move seeks to enhance ChatGPT's capabilities with image and code interpretation.
Canadian bankers feel judged: Their government’s special one-off tax, the Canada Recovery Dividend, won’t hit their earnings as hard as feared—but it sets a surprising and unsettling precedent.
Twitter's rebrand to "X" meets resistance: 69% of users stick to the original name despite Musk's changes.
The number of US BNPL users has doubled since 2021, even though firms can’t fund rewards as richly as issuers do. But they do have retail connections.
US Copyright Office maintains that AI doesn’t get protection: A second ruling from the regulator could slow advertising adoption of genAI.
Banks keep getting better about social selling: An ABA survey looks at how social media campaigns are helping banks and credit unions turn anonymous institutions into friendly, approachable community members.