Retail media’s early free-for-all is giving way to a more deliberate approach. At last week’s EMARKETER Summit, leaders from Kellanova and Every Man Jack described how marketers are sharpening their focus, rethinking measurement, and preparing for an AI-driven discovery landscape.
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Become a ClientPNC unveiled direct Bitcoin trading for private bank clients—high net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) individuals. PNC clients will be able to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin through PNC using Coinbase’s crypto as a service product. Amid the Great Wealth Transfer, banks and brokerage firms can’t ignore crypto, and they shouldn’t satisfy themselves with retail offerings. With integrated crypto trading and custody, PNC fixes a crucial competitive gap with crypto firms and forward-thinking brokerages, augmenting wealth services to attract consumers who expect to invest in crypto. Peers will follow.
Many Gen Xers have waited until their later working years to prepare for retirement, according to a Harris Poll study, and they’re racing to catch up. After they realized retirement was nearing, 40% of Gen Xers said they cut back on discretionary spending. The story about the Great Wealth Transfer often leaves out Gen Xers. Banks should be preparing their advice offerings for the upcoming wave of Gen X retirements among and the financial strain many face as that transition nears, so these customers aren’t left behind.
BNY will integrate Google Gemini Enterprise into Eliza, its in-house AI platform. Gemini will give Eliza deep research tools and let BNY’s employees build AI agents that draw from and act on the bank’s vast libraries of financial data. The haves and have nots of banking’s AI era are coming into relief. The top strata are institutions that have invested heavily in data infrastructure that supports AI’s needs. The next strata are developing dedicated AI strategy but aren’t building as much in-house. Banks in the final strata haven’t found ways to use AI at scale but need to now.
On today's podcast episode, we discuss the Thanksgiving shopping season—what surprised us most, what it revealed about the fragility of the US consumer, and how much AI moved the needle for shoppers, and retailers. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Senior Analyst Zak Stambor, and Analyst Rachel Wolff.
McDonald’s has pulled an AI-generated Christmas ad after a wave of online backlash. Upon removal, McDonald’s said to BBC News that the ad was “an important learning” for the company’s understanding of “the effective use of AI.” McDonald’s teaches a valuable lesson: Consumers aren’t yet ready for ad creative that is built entirely on AI. But advertisers still face a landscape where not using AI is a detriment to staying ahead. Balance is now a competitive differentiator.
To counter complaints about its proposed Warner Bros. purchase, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pointed to what he says is the company’s biggest competitor: YouTube. Netflix’s contention that YouTube is its biggest competitor is defensible, but key differences exist between the platforms that opponents could use to swing back. Ultimately, it may come down to a court ruling—and recent antitrust cases suggest judges may side with Netflix.
Amazon’s move to fold perishable groceries into same-day delivery is paying off quickly, with nine of the top 10 best-selling items in eligible markets now perishables—a sign that shoppers trust the faster service for everyday needs. The shift supports CEO Andy Jassy’s bullish stance on grocery as Amazon expands same-day perishables to more than 2,300 locations and builds on more than $100 billion in online grocery sales over the past year. With Walmart and Kroger also ramping up rapid fulfillment, the stakes are rising in a grocery ecommerce market surging in both order frequency and value.
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Luxury handbags and leather goods purchases dropped 12.8 percentage points among US adult luxury buyers since 2022, according to a September report from EMARKETER and Bizrate Insights.