45% of creators prioritize working with high-quality brands above all else when evaluating brand deals, according to a July survey from Ipsos and Publicis Media.
UK digital bank Starling is exploring an acquisition of another UK lender, per the Financial Times—in addition to a US bank. The move could help it expand quickly into corporate lending. Starling is not the only foreign neobank with US plans. Revolut, which competes with Starling globally, has held talks with investment bankers about buying a bank to secure a US license. Brazil’s Nubank applied for a US bank charter in October. But barriers to entry are rising as US challenger banks mature. Given the challenges ahead, quickly growing its loan book will be crucial to Starling’s profit plans.
Consumers are moderately satisfied with how their primary financial institution (FI) supports them throughout life events, according to a recent Jack Henry study. But satisfaction varies greatly by the type of event and its impact on the consumer. FI sales strategies can’t be built around products. Instead, they should facilitate financial journeys based on life events, as we explore in our June 2025 report, Future-Proofing Banking Through Customer-Centric Journeys.
"Consumers are conditioned to spend even when they're feeling pressured. Nearly a third of consumers were prepared and ready to take on debt this season to make their holiday purchases,” said our analyst Zak Stambor on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”
Falling mortgage rates have reignited refinancing activity, particularly among borrowers with recently originated loans. Refinance volume rose 88% YoY, per Mortgage Bankers Association data from earlier this month. Traditional lenders should take a similar tack with enhancing the digital mortgage experience and focus on retaining existing mortgage customers as falling rates tempt them to refinance with competitors. The combination of personalized advice and a better digital experience could keep customers within a bank’s ecosystem.
Agencies are increasingly acting as commerce media guides, helping brands move past outdated structures, sort through measurement standards, and bring AI into their planning. While commerce media networks (CMNs) have expanded to capture more than just retail media dollars, the silos between brand, retail, and sales teams make integration a challenge.
Albertsons Media Collective has rolled out a new off-site feature that lets consumers add products, recipes, coupons, or offers directly to their Albertsons cart from media placements across the open web.
Temu’s new Shopify integration lets merchants manage listings, inventory, and fulfillment across more than 30 markets, positioning the platform to broaden its assortment and mitigate the impact of tightening global trade rules and de minimis closures. As governments introduce new barriers and regulators increase scrutiny in the US and EU, Temu is evolving from a low-cost disruptor into a more traditional marketplace. The move highlights how its next phase of growth depends on attracting and retaining sellers, streamlining cross-border operations, and competing on service and trust against established players like Amazon and Walmart.
Albertsons Media Collective debuted an offsite ad capability that allows shoppers to add products, recipes, coupons, or other offers to their shopping carts. The format is currently available for display ads and shoppable content and will roll out to connected TV (CTV) and social media next year. Albertsons’ new click-to-cart functionality is one of several initiatives aimed at promoting “frictionless commerce,” which is designed to reduce the time between inspiration and purchase. A speedier, simpler path to purchase isn’t only useful for shoppers—it’s also a major selling point for CPG advertisers as they determine where to allocate their retail media budgets.
China’s economic malaise deepened in November. Retail sales rose just 1.3% YoY, well below analysts’ median forecast for 2.8% growth, despite blockbuster Singles Day promotions. Investment and industrial output also fell short of expectations, signaling greater caution from businesses and individuals as they grapple with trade and economic uncertainty. To succeed in this difficult environment, brands will need to localize their marketing and product strategies, be competitive on price, and invest in immersive experiences to draw shoppers in.
Meta’s global ad marketplace is splitting into two distinct cost curves. According to new Emplifi data, retail CPCs nearly doubled from $0.16 to $0.32 over the past year, while ecommerce CPCs fell from $0.23 to $0.19 as Meta’s AI optimization drove sharper efficiencies. The overall median CPC declined from $0.19 to $0.15, indicating advertisers aren’t cutting spend—they’re reallocating as automation improves returns. Retail’s mixed online–offline goals make optimization harder, while ecommerce benefits from clearer conversion signals. With Q4 competition intensifying and holiday ecommerce projected to grow 7%, marketers should expect sharper CPC swings and plan for agile bidding, creative iteration, and real-time budget shifts.
Healthcare AI startup OpenEvidence is aiming to raise $250 million in equity funding, amping its valuation to $12 billion, which doubled from just two months ago, per The Information. OpenEvidence’s surge in valuation underscores physicians’ growing demand for AI tools that surface credible, peer-reviewed information.
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18 bills aimed at strengthening online protections for minors advanced in the US House on Thursday, including a modified version of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Adapting strategies and preparing contingency plans for any youth online safety laws is essential for advertisers, especially as other regions like Australia go full steam ahead with regulation targeting minors’ online habits.
After Netflix won the bidding war and Paramount pushed forward with a hostile bid, a new possibility is emerging for the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The Information reports a possible compromise between Netflix and Paramount, where Netflix would acquire WBD’s studio assets and Paramount would be in charge of its HBO Max streaming service and cable networks. Netflix remains the frontrunner without any conclusive regulatory action preventing the acquisition, but Paramount remains the best option for advertisers.
Destination XL and FullBeauty Brands plan to merge in early 2026, creating a unified inclusive-apparel retailer serving 34 million households and nearly 300 stores. The combined company aims to leverage shared customer insights, manufacturing scale, and complementary product expertise to deliver better fit, broader assortments, and a more cohesive omnichannel experience. The merger also targets $25 million in annual savings by 2027 through improved sourcing, organizational efficiencies, and cost reductions. With a large share of US adults needing inclusive sizing yet historically underserved, the deal positions the new entity to meet demand with more consistent, high-quality offerings at scale.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our “very specific but highly unlikely” predictions for 2026: sports team sponsorships pushing the envelope, the ceiling for TikTok Shop, and a budding relationship between creators and retail media networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst Ross Benes, Senior Forecasting Analyst Oscar Orozco, and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
OpenAI’s GPT-5.2 is its answer to advancing models from Gemini and what the company calls its best model yet for professional use. The latest model improves spreadsheet creation, presentation building, code generation, understanding of images and long contexts, tool use, and handling of complex projects, per an OpenAI blog post. As brands expand past using AI for image generation and into higher-level tasks, experiment with GPT-5.2 by testing each mode to see which offers the most dependable outputs for analytics, planning, and creative development.
Google heads into 2026 with clear momentum, pushing Gemini deeper into its ecosystem while turning AI into a growth engine across Search, Chrome, devices, and services. Gemini’s year-end surge in popularity and industry adoption of tools like Nano Banana are showing the scope of Google’s innovation. The next step is riding this wave by ensuring safety scales with AI intelligence while monetizing consumer touchpoints across its products and services. Gemini could go from ChatGPT challenger to market leader, especially if it can define seamless AI use cases within its ecosystem, which no standalone AI company can compete with.