Authenticity (35%) and track record (32%) are the top two factors US adults consider when deciding which online product reviewers to trust, according to Ipsos data from October 2025.
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Become a ClientThe IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy report shows creator marketing has become a full-fledged media channel—one projected to reach $37.1 billion in spend next year, growing 26% YoY and outpacing the broader ad market by a factor of four. Nearly half of advertisers now call creators a must-buy, yet workflows remain fragmented across budgets, discovery tools, and measurement systems. With AI accelerating both production and complexity, the report lays out the emerging mandate: treat creator marketing as its own discipline with centralized budgets, standardized vetting, unified measurement, and formal AI governance. For marketers, real performance now requires real structure.
Personalization remains one of the most reliable attention drivers, but recent data shows consumers are still uneasy about how brands achieve it. People across age groups feel more negative than positive toward personalized ads—even though they pay more attention to content that feels relevant. The result is a widening gap between consumer expectations and marketer behavior. To unlock personalization’s upside, brands must apply AI to improve relevance and transparency, not just scale output.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Amazon in Q3 and beyond: What Amazon's corporate layoffs tell us about how AI is actually affecting the broader job market. Is Amazon’s new “Help Me Decide” feature a significant stepping stone toward agentic AI? And could Amazon’s AI smart glasses for delivery workers be a Trojan horse for broader smart-glasses adoption? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Analyst Rachel Wolff. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Walmart raised its full-year outlook again as its strong value proposition and fast-growing ad business drive broader consumer spending. It now expects net sales growth of between 4.8% and 5.1% this year, and EPS between $2.58 and $2.63. Q3 comps rose 4.5% YoY, with higher traffic and ticket size, and gains were strongest among higher-income shoppers. US ecommerce sales jumped 28%, supported by faster delivery, rising Walmart+ signups, and 33% growth in US ad sales (excluding Vizio). Walmart is also expanding to emerging channels, including ChatGPT. Its focus on value, convenience, and tech has strengthened its position, helping it compete with Amazon and capture more holiday and online spending.
LevelField Financial, a crypto-friendly “bank” without a bank charter, has obtained conditional state approval to acquire Burling Bank, a state-chartered Chicago community bank with $206 million in assets. Crypto-friendly and crypto-native banks are increasingly operating like traditional banks. That would be a mistake: As crypto firms acquire banks or receive bank charters—and as banks build crypto-related businesses—the lines will blur between legacy and decentralized financial systems. Banks must eventually be prepared to do it all.
TD Bank will finally offer Amazon Shop with Points in the US for its credit cardholders, per a press release. Earning consumers’ loyalty requires delivering on competitive rewards. While perks like fraud protection and Amazon rewards are seen as default credit card features, issuers trying to impress should incorporate at least 2% cash back, rewards for paying off balances, and payment flexibility at checkout, per our 2025 US Cash-Back Credit Card Emerging Features Benchmark.
FICO has partnered with Plaid to incorporate cash flow data from consumers’ checking, savings, and money-market accounts into its UltraFICO Score. The updated scoring model is designed to give lenders a more comprehensive view of a customer’s creditworthiness than legacy credit files indicate. Consumers who have credit products can access more, but those who don’t are less likely to be approved. Yet in a short time, scoring has evolved to better reflect consumers’ everyday financial behaviors and their willingness and ability to pay. This should get more credit products into more consumers’ hands.
Cash App will offer Afterpay on the Cash App Card powered by a new Visa Debit Flex Card, per a press release. Expanding BNPL offerings helps encourage spending from consumers who can’t access a credit card under tightening underwriting conditions. While the Cash App card is already geared toward underserved and underbanked consumers, rewards or features for young parents could help capture their hunger for credit: Two-thirds of caregivers hold three or more BNPL loans at once, per a Lending Tree survey.
Shoppers are spending about 10% more on gifts this year, even if they’re feeling less confident. New insights from PMG show how that mix of caution and momentum is shaping a holiday season built on smart pacing and steady engagement.