Over half (52%) of senior data and technology executives worldwide use generative AI to boost internal productivity, according to a June survey from MIT Technology Review Insights.
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Become a ClientOn today’s EMARKETER Miniseries—A Blueprint to Better Measurement—we explore the appeal of Amazon not just as a sales platform but also as an advertiser, how Amazon Ads defines omnichannel metrics, and a few examples of campaigns that have performed particularly well. 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.
Amazon's recent business moves, examining corporate layoffs, AI-powered shopping features, and new smart glasses technology for delivery workers paint an interesting view of its immediate future and what it could mean for consumers.
ChatGPT is closing 2025 as the most downloaded iPhone app in the US, vaulting past entrenched social platforms, search, and shopping apps, per TechCrunch. Google Gemini was the only other AI app in the top 10, landing in the final slot. This is the first time an AI assistant has outranked every social and utility app in the US. AI assistants are the new entry point for mobile discovery, and brands should optimize content, creative, and ad journeys for users who start—and often finish—inside conversational interfaces.
Retailers are investing in AI to improve operations and customer service. From design trend predictions to intelligent assistance, AI is moving from back-office functions to visible, customer-facing applications. Retailers that don’t explore AI risk losing out on positive outcomes, from efficiency gains and cost reductions to stronger personalization and customer loyalty. The winners will be those that use AI to solve real consumer pain points such as finding matching makeup shades or suggesting recipes based on nutrition goals.
TikTok grabbed the lead in Cyber Five advertising traffic this year, passing the 50% mark, per Industry KPI data from MikMak, showing it was the main discovery channel for early holiday shoppers. TikTok’s major swing past Meta this year shows that it is proving more effective at routing users from content into product pages and retail websites where purchases take place. Despite TikTok’s ad traffic advantage, Meta had an edge in facilitating purchases. Meta posted a 6.8% conversion rate over the Cyber Five, compared with TikTok’s 1.06%. These trends suggest advertisers would benefit from using two strategies during the rest of the holiday season: using TikTok to spur demand and lure shoppers, but looking to Meta to convert that interest into sales.
The heat on Temu parent PDD Holdings is growing, at home and abroad. The company is being investigated by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) over reports of fraudulent deliveries, per Bloomberg, while Temu’s Dublin headquarters were raided last week by the EU over concerns that the company breached foreign subsidy rules. PDD is losing goodwill in many of the markets it operates in—including in China, its most important. Employees reportedly got into fistfights with SAMR investigators at the company’s Shanghai offices, leading to multiple arrests. Such confrontations are highly unlikely to endear PDD to the powerful regulator, which has the ability to instigate sweeping probes into the company’s business practices.
Affirm expanded its partnership with Shopify, bringing Shop Pay installments to the UK, per a press release. PayPal and Klarna’s deep entrenchment in the UK will make it difficult for other BNPL contenders to make advances. Powering Shop Pay installments could help Affirm accelerate its foray into the country thanks to Shopify’s established network of merchants and brand recognition.
SoFi debuted the SoFi Smart Card, a charge card aimed at rewarding consumers in essential categories, per a press release. SoFi’s latest product meets the needs of everyday consumers while offering competitive cash back in a necessary category. Issuers should expand rewards on essential categories like groceries and gas to stop middle- and working-class cardholders from switching to neobank competitors—offering card products that assist with affordability.
Klarna sealed a research partnership with Stripe-owned Privy to develop a crypto wallet for Klarna users, per a press release. Klarna’s jump into crypto could help pad its margins and keep users more enmeshed in its growing ecosystem of financial services. But fintechs dabbling in stablecoins now still need to overcome the overwhelming inertia facing stablecoin payments. Consumers just aren’t interested in crypto payments, and unless they see immediate, concrete benefits for making the switch, KlarnaUSD and other proprietary stablecoins—like PayPalUSD—will have limited addressable markets.