On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what Crayola is aiming to achieve with its “Campaign for Creativity,” how the brand guides children from digital creation to hands-on creative play, and what’s top of mind for the art supplies company as it heads into the holiday season. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Crayola Chief Marketing Officer Victoria Lozano.
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Become a Client46% of worldwide marketing decision-makers say reaching their target audience is the biggest challenge when advertising on social media, according to a March survey from DoubleVerify and Sapio Research.
On today’s EMARKETER Miniseries—A Blueprint to Better Measurement—we explore Amazon's plans for moving out of Beta and offering Omnichannel Metrics (OCM) more widely to advertisers, the top two challenges they face heading into the new year, and what is next for Amazon Ads in 2026, as it pertains to durables. EMARKETER Principal Analyst Sky Canaves speaks with Kolby Capelouto, Head of Sales for Durables at Amazon Ads. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
"The retail media landscape is only becoming more crowded, but Target's guest insights are often cited as a key differentiator," said our analyst Sarah Marzano during EMARKETER's recent Commerce Media Summit.
As consumers grow more comfortable with using AI, retail industry leaders see 2026 as a pivotal year in shaping how the emerging technology disrupts the way people shop.
Later has transformed from a scheduling tool into a full-scale creator-commerce engine. One year after acquiring Mavely, the combined platform is processing more than $2.4 billion in annualized GMV and has paid out over $250 million to creators. During Black Friday–Cyber Monday alone, creators drove $50 million in sales through Later and Mavely systems. With link-in-bio tools, affiliate rails, workflow software, and AI-powered attribution stitched into one stack, Later now acts as a performance channel for brands like Southwest and Bissell. Its EdgeAI engine ties creator posts to SKU-level results, reflecting a broader shift toward creator marketing as a full-funnel, revenue-driving discipline.
WPP Media and YouTube are expanding their partnership to bring non-public YouTube video and creator data into WPP’s AI system WPP Open, per a press release. Taking advantage of WPP Media’s offering gives advertisers the ability to partner with creators on the most popular social platform in a far more measurable, practical, and effective way than before.
Marketers are entering 2026 with more money and less patience for waste. Sixty percent of US small businesses plan to raise marketing spend next year, per Clutch. Budgets are moving toward channels that produce quick returns and at lower cost as ROI expectations tighten—46% of marketers say more than half of their 2026 spend will go to digital. Marketers should treat 2026 as a year for discipline, not just expansion. Invest where attribution is strong, like paid search tied to conversion events, retail media with closed-loop sales data, and email with CRM programs.
Consumer spending held up in October, despite broader signs of growing strain on lower- and middle-income consumers. Retail sales rose 3.5% YoY, according to the US Commerce Department. Control group sales—which exclude food services, autos, building materials stores, and gas stations, and are used to calculate GDP—increased 0.8% MoM, the biggest rise in four months. However, the US economy appears increasingly fragile. While spending is growing at a healthy pace for now—largely due to higher-income households with a greater capacity to absorb higher prices and a stronger appetite for discretionary purchases—a softening labor market and tariff-driven inflation could push consumers to pull back next year.
Home Depot introduced The Home Depot Creator Portal, a centralized hub that offers resources and earning opportunities for creators developing home improvement content. The creator portal is intended to inspire creators while giving them access to advertising opportunities with Home Depot and its extensive supplier network. More retailers are setting up their own creator platforms as they look to tap into influencer marketing and ensure relevance as more product discovery shifts to social media. Establishing a creator platform allows retailers to bring greater standardization and quality control to their influencer partnerships, while still taking advantage of all the opportunities that influencer marketing can offer.