In today’s episode, we explore whether MrBeast’s pivot from giving away money to managing it marks a natural evolution or a red flag and if we looking at the rise of a financial services super-app that competes with banks—or a NerdWallet-style affiliate play that sells Gen Z customers to other financial service providers? Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development Rob Rubin, and Principal Analysts Tiffani Montez and Max Willens.
Microsoft is turning to lifestyle creators to make Copilot a cultural player, not just a productivity tool. TikTok stars like Alix Earle, Brigette and Danielle Pheloung, and Brandon Edelman are showing Copilot in real-life contexts—beauty, fashion, and self-improvement—garnering millions of views and repositioning the AI assistant for Gen Z and women users. Consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi calls Microsoft a “challenger brand” in AI assistants, with 150 million users compared with ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly. The influencer pivot signals a shift toward utility-driven marketing—content that demonstrates value in everyday life rather than selling aspiration.
50.3% of US grocery shoppers say they'd use in-store digital tools if instant savings and coupons were exclusive to those tools, according to July 2025 data from Amazon Ads and EMARKETER.
From grocery aisles to gig apps, the biggest names in commerce are converging on the same conclusion: Grocery has grown into the ultimate testbed for convenience, loyalty, and AI-driven efficiency.
Nearly one-third (31.4%) of US adults will purchase a prescription drug at an online pharmacy this year, per EMARKETER’s first-ever forecast of online pharmacy users. Online pharmacies won’t dominate prescription drug purchases anytime soon, but they’re becoming a core part of how consumers shop and pay for medications. Pharmacies that combine the best of in-person and digital offerings will be well-positioned to win customers. That means staffing stores appropriately during busy hours, ensuring pharmacists can answer questions both online and in person, and providing intuitive websites and apps for prescription management and payment. Online-only pharmacies will want to clearly showcase their accreditations in consumer marketing.
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Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) US consumers already use AI for shopping, and another 52% plan to in the future, according to a new report from the IAB.
Venmo launched Venmo Stash, a bundled brand rewards system for users, per a press release. Cardholders can select handpicked bundles of their favorite brands—which include Uber, Lyft, Target, Walmart, and Sephora—to earn a flat 1% back on their purchases. Users can raise that rate to 2% by enabling auto-reloads to their wallets and 5% for adding at least $500 in direct deposits on Venmo each month. Injecting more choice into consumers’ rewards adds incentives to make a card top of wallet. Leaning into flexible rewards and card-linked offers can help secure younger consumers who are looking for value and functionality at checkout during economic uncertainty.
AI is reshaping the ad agency landscape and eliminating the need for entry-level hires, according to a Sunup report that found that 91% of US senior agency leaders expect AI to reduce headcounts and 57% have slowed or paused entry-level hiring.
Netflix advertising chief Amy Reinhard claimed the streaming service has 190 million monthly active viewers (MAV) worldwide—a new advertising metric the company shared after it stopped reporting subscription numbers earlier this year. Netflix wants to help advertisers more clearly understand an ad’s potential reach and ROI. Low churn, high-value content, and maturing ad offerings means Netflix will be an attractive option for brands for years to come—but the picture is about to get more complicated.
Another data-access domino fell this week as Charles Schwab followed Fidelity’s move to restrict credential-based access for fintechs and other third parties. Open banking for bank accounts has thrived in the private sector as banks, vendors, and trade groups have partnered to enable a rich ecosystem of fintechs and other software providers. Data security and liability are only reasonable excuses for FIs to kick third-parties out of their systems when they don’t have the resources to build alternative access methods.
Block’s latest earnings report revealed strong performance from Cash App, in contrast to Square's disappointing results. Banks once feared that neobanks would usurp them, but it’s now clear that these fintechs primarily compete with each other. After consolidating industry niches, they’ve scaled rapidly—expanding their product offerings as they fight for the same consumers.
PNC said this week that it would open more than 300 new or renovated branches by 2030, nearly 100 more than it had planned as of last year. The expansion is broad-based and includes branch investments in Florida, Tennessee, and Illinois. Branches are a crucial marketing tool for banks, even when their customers have largely migrated to digital channels—like an online retailer that has “showroom” stores with a curated selection of products. It’s not just about how many branches and where they are, but also how they are designed.
OpenAI’s push into commerce took a major step forward with the launch of in-app shopping on ChatGPT, though it will take time to gain traction as a meaningful retail sales channel.
Last week, Charles Schwab announced that it will acquire Forge Global for $660 million. Forge is a platform that lets retail investors buy and sell shares in private companies. Legacy financial services firms’ puts alternative assets on step closer to the mainstream. But the impact for retail investors remains to be seen. Companies that offer access to private shares have run into legal and financial trouble before, and the SEC has strict guidelines for who can invest in unregistered securities. Schwab is wise to tread carefully by limiting investments in private shares to the wealthiest investors to start.
Apple and Google are aligning around safer AI use and user data protection through their private cloud computing platforms. The dominant smartphone and mobile computing ecosystems now have security and privacy at the heart of their AI expansion, which addresses the desire for safer AI use. Brands that design within secure ecosystems—where AI learns preferences without revealing identities—will earn audience trust, regulatory protection, and enduring loyalty.
Singles Day transactions in China rose 17.6% YoY to 1.7 trillion yuan ($240 billion), according to Syntun, marking a slowdown from last year’s 26.6% gain despite extended campaigns and heavy promotions from Alibaba and JD.com. Platforms poured billions into vouchers and discounts, but longer sale periods diluted urgency and limited impact. The event’s waning momentum highlights China’s broader economic challenges—rising frugality, youth unemployment, and deflationary pressures. To reignite excitement, platforms may need to move away from drawn-out promotions toward shorter, high-impact campaigns that restore Singles Day’s original urgency and appeal.
Visa Direct will pilot letting businesses and platforms send stablecoin payouts to recipients’ crypto wallets, per a press release. The importance of the creator economy is growing for ecommerce. Over half of US social shoppers follow creators or influencers, and almost half (49.5%) of all US social shoppers have made a purchase based on creator content. Instituting quick and reliable stablecoin payouts for freelancers can help them retain key marketing contractor team members on social media platforms. However, crypto adoption has met resistance: Per a Kansas City Fed report, the largest predictor for cryptocurrency payments is payee preference, far outstripping speed, privacy, or cost.
This year, media and entertainment brands will spend nearly twice as much on linear TV ads (10.0%) as they will on over-the-top (OTT) streaming services (5.4%), according to MediaRadar data and an August 2025 EMARKETER forecast.