Calendar context: With the invention of Prime Day, Amazon created an industrywide retail holiday consumers can now count on in the summer each year. Last year, Amazon also launched its Prime Early Access Sale in October. “We now have three key tentpoles,” said our analyst Andrew Lipsman on “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail,” referring to Prime Day, the Prime Early Access Sale, and Black Friday. But spring remains untapped. “A question I get is, ‘Is Amazon going to do more of these?’ And I think the answer is yes, eventually,” said Lipsman.
On today's episode, we discuss a milestone for digital video, why TV lovers still love their TVs, and the relationship between digital audio and social networking. "In Other News," we talk about how many US shoppers use their phones to pay for things at the register and how many generative AI users there are in the US. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood.
Prime Day advertising had a higher ROI than last year: Amazon worked out kinks from 2022’s event that will help it secure relationships with sellers.
US cosmetic and beauty sales are expected to grow over 10% this year—more than three times the 2.9% rate of the overall retail market, according to our forecast. It’s a sign of the “lipstick effect,” said our analyst Sky Canaves on our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.
US consumer spending power rose in June: Wage increases and an encouraging retail sales report should give retailers cause for optimism.
The feud between Temu and Shein rages on: In a new US lawsuit, Temu accused Shein of cutting off its access to manufacturers, inflating prices and reducing consumer choice.
The US ad market grew for the first time in 11 months this May, according to Standard Media’s US Ad Market Tracker. Now the question is if expansion can continue. June and the start of July brought a host of ad updates that could help continued growth, including ad tools enhancements from Google and Microsoft, retail media opportunities from Roku and Uber, and more. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new.
Growing debt, high interest rates, and recessionary threats could spell trouble despite the positive spending patterns
The partnership will help them capture more of the growing in-car commerce market, which could reach $600 billion by 2030
The solution can help Checkout.com attract merchants as they face growing payments fraud
Kroger Precision Marketing’s secret sauce: Achieving equivalent sales impacts with 51% fewer impressions, enhancing ad intelligence with in-house platforms, and recruiting top-tier talent, according to Cara Pratt.
Retail media has transitioned from its 1.0 era, defined by on-site search and sponsored product ads, into the era of retail media 2.0, which consists of a mosaic of ads on-site, in-store, and across other media channels. “The opportunity gets much bigger, but realizing the opportunity also gets a lot more complex,” our analyst Andrew Lipsman said on “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail.”
China’s economy flounders: Retail sales grew 3.1% YoY in June, a sharp drop from the previous month.
How shoppers buy groceries online is changing: As consumers grow more cost-conscious, pickup’s share of digital grocery orders rises.
Babies R Us’ comeback couldn’t come at a better time: With all buybuy Baby stores set to close, the relaunched retailer has a clear runway to grow—assuming Target and Walmart don’t get in the way.
Restaurants are cutting their virtual brands: Some, like Red Robin and Applebee’s, are looking to save resources as customer behavior shifts, while others have fallen victim to Uber Eats’ crackdown.
Consumers of all ages and income levels shopped Amazon Prime Day this year. Shoppers spent more this year compared with 2022, and despite a tough economic climate, Prime Day shoppers didn’t price compare as much as expected.
Linear could soon be a thing of the past for Disney: CEO Bob Iger suggested the company may look to sell off TV assets and focus on digital.
Amazon’s BNPL partners—Affirm and Citi—likely benefited from growing consumer demand for the tool
A slew of payment providers are ready to integrate its capabilities, reflecting skyrocketing softPOS demand