US consumers keep spending despite lingering inflation: Retail sales rose 0.3% MoM in May, surpassing expectations.
Over half of US and UK adults research and buy products online via a retailer’s website, per Coveo. More than a third (37%) take a slightly different approach, researching products on a retailer’s website but waiting to buy them in a physical store.
Google enhances generative AI shopping and search features in a bid to challenge Amazon’s dominance: The search giant is looking to win shoppers over with a more relevant, helpful shopping experience.
Younger consumers and higher-income shoppers are powering Walmart’s grocery growth while its physical footprint gives it an edge in retail media. Its burgeoning logistics business could be the next big thing for the retailer—and its bottom line.
Inflation and economic uncertainty cause Kroger’s growth to fade: Cost-conscious shoppers’ traded down to lower-priced items during fiscal Q1.
Inflation for pet food and services was over 10% in April, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the category has won a reputation of being somewhat recession-proof, thanks to its necessity for pet owners. “People will be spending more on the pets that they have already, despite the fact that it’s been a relatively inflation-wary populous,” said our analyst Jeremy Goldman on a recent episode of our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.
Walmart Connect is teaming up with NBCU to power ads in sports livestreams: The partnership is part of Walmart Connect’s growing CTV ambitions, which includes an expanded deal with Roku.
Visual search is coming to TikTok Shop: While the technology may drive more consumers to use TikTok as a product discovery and research tool, it may not boost sales.
Digital D2C disruptors, like Peloton and Casper, will bring in about $100 billion less in US ecommerce sales than the $134.55 billion of their established counterparts this year, according to our forecast.
Temu is quickly becoming a major ecommerce player: Sales on the discount marketplace surpassed those on Shein by 20% in May, but growth doesn’t come cheap.
Bud Light is no longer the US’ top-selling beer brand: While cost-conscious consumers turn to macro beers, AB InBev’s Dylan Mulvaney-related missteps are pushing them to other brands.
It partnered with FreedomPay and Marriott as part of a wider shift to grow volume by focusing on payments for bigger restaurant and hospitality brands.
Instant Brands files for bankruptcy amid plummeting Instant Pot sales: The company’s reliance on its flagship product hurt its ability to stay competitive, leaving it vulnerable to shifts in consumer spending.
The Chase Freedom Rise card offers rewards and features tailored to new-to-credit customers to widen its appeal.
Close to a third of US digital buyers will purchase from a company located outside the country in 2024, for a total of 71.8 million cross-border ecommerce buyers, per our forecast.
Platforms lean into livestream ecommerce despite tepid shopper interest: Just 18% of US adults have shopped via livestream—but TikTok, eBay, and Poshmark are forging ahead anyway.