Retail & Ecommerce

As retail media grows, it’s becoming increasingly complex, prompting some marketers to take a step back and rethink how they’re approaching the channel.

Kroger Precision Marketing, Kroger’s retail media network, has partnered with Yahoo Advertising to enable advertisers using Yahoo’s DSP to leverage Kroger’s first-party data to reach a more targeted audience.

Amazon sees a big opportunity in beauty: The retail giant is hosting the Summer Beauty Haul sales event to capture shoppers’ attention, boost retail media spend, and drive sales.

Retailers like Dollar General, Walmart, and Target are rethinking the self-checkout experience, scaling back on kiosks or removing self-checkout from their locations altogether. But considering 55% of US adults prefer to get through their in-store grocery shopping as fast as possible (according to a November 2023 survey from Kearney) it’s unlikely self-checkout will be leaving stores anytime soon. Here are five stats on self-checkout, including how and why consumers like to use it, the reason some retailers are pulling back, and what the future holds for the technology.

Red Sea disruptions are increasing, Maersk warns: The growing risk zone is forcing shipping companies to take longer detours and raise prices to offset fuel costs.

Target pushes into wholesale to capitalize on Cat & Jack popularity: The company is looking to partner with international retailers to grow private label sales.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether GenAI is just a solution in search of a problem to fix, how the video streaming world has shifted already this year, how significant of an ad battleground the back seat of a cab can be, how fast people need things delivered, what the most popular pets in America are, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch and vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

Retailers take a page from Walmart's playbook: Aldi, Ikea, and Michaels are among the large retailers cutting prices to convince consumers to open their wallets and spend.

45,000 retail stores may close in the coming years: Sam Ash, Rite Aid, and Express are among the retailers shuttering stores in recent weeks.

Bad weather takes its toll on UK retail sales: Footfall and sales slumped in April as shoppers avoided the rain, but deflationary trends could boost spending in warmer months.

“We've seen tremendous resilience from the consumer and that's driving a lot of success for retailers in the brick and mortar space,” said Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, during our virtual summit. Despite rising inflation and pullbacks on discretionary spending, consumers are still eager to treat themselves and participate in unique retail experiences. We break down three trends influencing shopping behavior for the rest of the year, each paired with a retail opportunity.

Anthropic debuts Team plan and mobile app: Its latest offerings could help it gain ground on rivals. But it could face similar scrutiny despite ethics focus.

The company will continue to lean on services but cut revenue forecasts for the year after spending slowed more than expected

BNPL rewards programs are being cut and redone across the industry, but these rewards likely won’t stand up to credit card programs

Food or merchandise at in-person events was the most popular purchase category for mobile wallet users worldwide in January 2024, purchased by 29% of users, according to Kantar.

Wayfair is trending in a positive direction: Despite a challenging time for home furnishing retailers, the company soared past analyst expectations and mapped out a plan for more gains ahead.

Kroger pursues Disney+ partnership to jolt ecommerce sales: The move could help the grocer narrow the gap with Walmart and Amazon.

Peloton struggles to find its footing: The company lays off 15% of its workforce and reduces its brick-and-mortar footprint as demand for connected fitness wanes.

Shein adds in-store returns option as it focuses on maximizing shopper appeal: The retailer is leaning on partnerships with Forever 21 and Flexport, and courting sellers to expand its product selection.