In today’s podcast episode, we discuss what summer travel will look like for Americans this year, where people go online to book their vacations, and how AI is helping travelers plan and manage their trips. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Vice President of Research Jennifer Pearson and Principal Analyst Zak Stambor. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian, Analyst Paola Flores-Marquez, and Senior Analyst Gadjo Sevilla. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

YouTube/YouTube Music is the most-used digital audio platform, reaching 51% of US digital audio listeners and standing alone as the only option to clear the halfway mark, according to a March 2026 Harris Poll and EMARKETER survey.

China’s luxury goods market is poised for a return to growth as government policies and easing economic pressures boost demand. But this positive sentiment is not equally shared, and changing consumer preferences will continue to challenge luxury brands.

Americans are spending more on health and wellness, and the reasons have less to do with income than with institutional skepticism. That dynamic is creating a significant retail opportunity, one that major retailers are already moving to capture. "[Wellness] has evolved into a much broader concept that combines physical health and mental health and emotional balance and lifestyle habits and longevity," said EMARKETER analyst Rajiv Leventhal in a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."

Marketers have a clear idea of what channels deserve their energy, like AI ad spending, retail media, and influencer marketing. So instead of heading into Cannes Lions with concerns on where to invest, they're more focused on how to make those investments work. Some 38.7% of US marketers say that while creative is important, measurement gaps prevent it from meaningfully influencing investment decisions, according to a February EMARKETER and Perion survey.

AI shopping assistants such as Amazon's Alexa for Shopping (formerly Rufus), Walmart's Sparky, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini are reshaping how consumers discover and evaluate products. Retailer-owned assistants are already lifting order values and conversion, while standalone AI platforms struggle to convert recommendations into purchases. This FAQ covers how AI shopping assistants work, what they mean for brand loyalty, and how brands earn a place in AI-generated recommendations.