Retail & Ecommerce

The unstoppable retail media: Spending in this channel is going up as advertisers keen on first-party data shift more marketing funds to retailers

With seemingly everyone jumping onto retail media, it may feel too late or intimidating to grab a piece of the pie. But that’s not the case, according to Jason Farver, Hy-Vee’s executive vice president, chief supply chain officer, and president of RedMedia.

Starbucks is open to reaching a deal with unionized workers: The coffee company proposed restarting talks with Starbucks Workers United in January as pro-union sentiment stays strong.

Amazon moves to dismiss the FTC’s antitrust suit: The retailer says its business practices are helping to increase competition and lower prices, despite competitors’ claims otherwise.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the travel rebound and how tech is helping it out, how Black Friday football (with a side of online shopping) performed this year, will X (formerly Twitter) go bankrupt next year, a new way to stream NBA games post-cable, what to expect from ChatGPT next year, why your passport is the color it is, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

The share of online orders being returned is falling: Consumers are keeping more of their purchases as retailers add friction to the returns process.

The remittance provider is betting consumers still want to send transfers in person despite growing digital adoption

The rollout of Bitkey highlights the payment provider’s confidence in the asset—but others still aren’t convinced

The ecommerce giant will stop accepting the payment method, a huge setback in PayPal’s journey to monetize Venmo

Although inflation, a strong job market, and a positive economic outlook are at play, three dominant ad channels are contributing to upward US ad spend. October saw a 3.2% YoY growth for the US ad market, marking the fourth consecutive month of spending increases, according to the Standard Media Index ad market tracker.

Black Friday sales totaled $9.8 billion this year, according to Adobe Analytics, just below our June 2023 forecast of $10.4 billion.

Caregivers are consumers, too: Family caregivers spend a lot of money shopping for their care recipients, and shop for themselves at the same time. They have some unique needs that retailers need to accommodate.

Amazon bets that Prime members will pay extra for free grocery delivery: The retailer is testing a grocery subscription add-on for $9.99 per month in its latest attempt to boost the appeal of its grocery business.

Disney+ could add gaming and shopping, aiming to enhance user experience: A strategy to compete with Netflix and Amazon in streaming.

Recently, both Walmart and Target have warned that consumers’ cautious spending habits may lead to a sluggish holiday season this year. Were they right to be worried? Here’s how the holiday shopping season is going so far.

The labor market has “normalized,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon: While wages continue to rise, there’s less competition for workers.

Grocery shoppers’ habits shifted in Q3: A new report found a 13.5% decline in sales across 25 US online grocery banners as consumers switched to in-store shopping or different merchants.

Dollar General says shrink will remain ‘significant headwind’ into 2024: But retail theft may not be as big a problem as retailers say, as the NRF walks back its claims around organized retail crime.

US ecommerce sales will grow 9.3% to reach $1.137 trillion in 2023, per our forecast, thanks to cost-conscious consumers looking for better deals and an increasing number of digital grocery buyers. As 2023 wraps up, ecommerce will go out on a high note, with online holiday sales growth outpacing brick-and-mortar sales.

Amazon to shutter Amazon Ad Server by 2024, focusing on growing other ad services: Reflects a strategic shift towards more promising advertising technologies.