National Cinema Day draws 8.5 million attendees: Younger demographics show renewed interest in in-theater experiences.

Disney has another labor issue to add to ongoing strikes: Visual effects workers at two subsidiaries will likely vote to unionize with IATSE, which itself could go on strike.

A lack of news isn't keeping Canadians off Facebook: It’s been nearly two months since Meta banned news content on Facebook in Canada, and usage has barely moved.

Some 65% of TikTokers prefer content from brands that feature original sounds, according to 2021 MRC Data. TikTok sounds allow users to attach posts to songs and other audio which can then drive an association between the song and the brand. TikTok already has a Commercial Music Library of royalty-free tracks, but brands can push social campaigns a step further by creating their own viral songs.

Lego captured market share in the first half of 2023: The company’s appeal to consumers of all ages enabled it to defy a broader slowdown in toy sales.

Strong ad spend growth in July could mark the end of a year of malaise: A 6.2% increase in spending was the highest in more than a year.

Gen Alpha is not a younger Gen Z, and brand messaging targeting the generation should be unique to what matters to them. As the most digitally native generation yet, they expect out-of-the-box digital experiences and forward-thinking tech capabilities. And YouTube is playing an outsized role in brand awareness and discovery.

As consumers hunt for the best deals, generative AI will drive $194 billion in consumer spending by enabling brands to provide personalized customer service, marketing promotions, and commerce experiences, per Salesforce. Social media advertising will also have an outsized impact on purchase decisions versus traditional marketing efforts.

Amazon makes shoppers spend more to get free shipping: The higher threshold may drive up the retailer’s average transaction volume and/or drive Prime signups.

TikTok will beat Facebook in time spent in 2025, with US adults spending over 5.19 billion total minutes per day on the platform, while they will spend a total of 5.02 billion total minutes per day on Facebook, according to our forecast.

Key stat: Nearly 60% of TikTok viewers are more likely to trust a brand after hearing about it from a creator compared with hearing about it from a standard, in-feed ad, said Sam Kimmel, global creator partnerships lead at TikTok, during a CreatorIQ webinar.

Temu, Pinduoduo parent PDD Holdings’ revenues surged 66% in Q2: The company’s heavy promotional activity helped win over cautious Chinese shoppers, a tactic that also benefited rivals Alibaba and JD.com.

E.l.f. Beauty’s Naturium acquisition will double its share of the fast-growing skincare market: The company is looking to take full advantage of the lipstick effect as shoppers continue to splurge on beauty.

Best Buy believes we’ve hit a low point in tech demand: The combination of inflation and shifting spending patterns has made for a tough environment for the consumer electronics retailer.

More healthcare organizations pilot Google’s Med-PaLM 2: Google’s slow-and-steady generative AI rollout could help it gain long-term trust with healthcare partners.

CMS names 10 prescription drugs for price negotiations: 50 more brand-name drugs will be added by 2030. Here’s how this affects our US prescription drug spending forecast.

Teens feel better after using behavioral health apps: We examine why mental health app developers want to build features with younger consumers in mind.

By 2026, 90% of online content could be AI-generated. A premium on human-crafted content could follow as regulators race to establish standards for responsible AI use.

What is Nielsen doing with big data? The company announced a new currency days before the Media Ratings Council meets to approve it.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss how toy brands are using TikTok as a marketing channel for children and adults alike, and how brands are making their toy stores more experiential to drive sales. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank toy brands whose creative marketing strategies are making their toys stand out. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Sky Canaves and Carina Perkins.