China’s deflation shows no signs of going away. The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.4% YoY in August, more than expected, as the country struggles through its third straight year of slumping prices. With US trade talks yet to yield definitive results, Beijing will have to move from lip service to direct action on the country’s economic problems. But in the meantime, retailers must gird themselves for drawn-out, costly price wars—and make sure they stay attuned to the changing needs, preferences, and desires of Chinese consumers.
US ad revenues grew 10.3% in Q2, excluding political advertising, continuing a trend of steady gains in 2025 despite tariff headwinds, per Madison & Wall. Digital advertising overall grew 15.8% and represented about a 70% share of ad spending. Ad growth is maintaining momentum, but the slowdown from 2024 indicates that advertisers are already becoming more cautious as tariffs and a recession could lead to a demand shock that affects advertising strategies.
Netflix and Amazon Ads have struck a global partnership to bring Netflix’s ad inventory to Amazon’s demand-side platform (DSP) across 12 markets, including the US, UK, France, Japan, and Brazil. The move expands Netflix’s programmatic footprint as it aims to nearly double US ad revenues this year and approach $3 billion globally by 2027. For Amazon, adding Netflix strengthens its DSP’s position; the deal underscores a shift toward centralized TV planning, where Amazon’s DSP increasingly serves as the central gateway for connected TV advertising.
Google and commerce media company Criteo announced an onsite retail media integration on Tuesday, marking the first of its kind for Google and opening opportunities for brands across digital commerce. Criteo and Google’s integration provides clear direction for advertisers struggling to capitalize on retail media’s potential, offering a seamless ecosystem that will connect brands with customers likely to take action.
Holiday sales forecasts for 2025 show wide disparities, with Deloitte projecting slower growth at 2.9%–3.4%, Bain at 4%, and PwC warning of a 5% drop in average spending. Ecommerce is expected to grow, but at a more modest pace than recent years. A cooling labor market, persistent inflation, and weak consumer sentiment weigh heavily on outlooks, especially for lower- and middle-income households, whose spending power lags behind wealthier groups benefiting from wage growth and asset gains. Our view aligns with PwC’s caution, stressing that retailers should prioritize value-driven promotions, loyalty incentives, and strategic October campaigns to navigate an uneven season.
AI platforms are no longer a side note in discovery—they’re driving measurable web traffic. Previsible’s 2025 AI Traffic Report shows that sessions driven by large language models (LLMs) surged 527% in just five months, per Search Engine Land. AI’s rise is reshaping how users find brands and information as web traffic declines, demanding an immediate strategic response from marketers. Those who adapt now—by tracking AI sessions, restructuring content for conversational interfaces, and optimizing across multiple models—will own the next wave of discovery. Those who don’t risk watching competitors capture visibility while their own content fades from discovery altogether.
RaceTrac will acquire sandwich chain Potbelly in a $566 million cash deal expected to close in Q4, with both brands continuing to operate separately. The acquisition boosts RaceTrac’s foodservice offerings at a time when convenience-store meals are driving growth, accounting for nearly 28% of in-store sales in 2024. For Potbelly, going private could accelerate its ambitious plan to expand to 2,000 shops while avoiding public market pressures. The move is a strategic play in the convenience-store foodservice arms race, positioning RaceTrac against competitors like 7-Eleven and Wawa in the battle for meal-focused customers.
Novo Nordisk is cutting 9,000 jobs—11% of its workforce—as it aims to regain its lead in obesity drug sales against Eli Lilly and telehealth companies. The layoffs mark another shift for Novo in a turbulent year. CEO Mike Doustdar is only about a month into the role after the previous CEO stepped down amid plummeting stock prices and sales. Though Novo lost the GLP-1 market lead to Lilly, it can regain ground if its weight loss drug pill gains approval ahead of Lilly’s oral option and executes a strong launch. It should focus on reinvesting layoff savings into commercial efforts for what will be the first GLP-1 pill for weight loss.
President Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday that instructs HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the FDA to crack down on direct-to-consumer drug advertising on TV and online channels like social media. While concerning, it’s premature to claim that this is the end of D2C drug advertising. Pharma marketers may find that longer commercials with complete product disclosures are a better fit for digital channels, such as social media and CTV, where consumers are already spending more time. Big Pharma brands also have the budgets to buy lengthier TV spots if they choose. Or companies could work out deals with TV networks in which purchasing ad space becomes cheaper since both sides would be financially motivated to keep running drug commercials during highly-rated programming.
“We have a rule at Liquid Death that if you expect us to do it, we should not do it,” said the brand's chief media officer Benoit Vatere at EMARKETER’s Future of Digital Summit yesterday. Vatere outlined the brand’s paid social challenges, why it’s doubling down on connected TV (CTV), and how it plans to build standout creative as it expands into the crowded energy drink space. Here are a few takeaways from the session.
Major web publishers, including Reddit, Yahoo, Medium, and Quora, are joining forces to push for a new content licensing system for AI publishers. The group is backing Really Simple Licensing (RSL), an open standard that lets publishers dictate how AI bots scrape their content and includes payment and royalty requirements. If publishers’ collective action can successfully enforce licensing terms for content scraping, regulators may follow with broader mandates. Visibility inside generative engines could change, pushing marketers to further prioritize generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies and comprehension of how AI responses source, cite, and surface branded content.
Advertisers are missing opportunities to capitalize on strong connected TV (CTV) engagement from diverse audiences, per LG Ad Solutions’ “The Inclusive Screen 2025” series. Targeting ads to diverse audiences stands to benefit brands by tapping into consumers who are likely to take action when they feel represented—but a tailored strategy over a one-size-fits-all approach is critical.
YouTube’s NFL Brazil broadcast was a massive success, breaking livestream records in the country with over 17.3 million average-minute-audience (AMA) members, including more than one million non-US viewers. YouTube’s record-breaking NFL success proves that, for advertisers, the marketing playbook is moving to platforms where reach, relevance, and results converge.
Weak consumer sentiment in Europe is hurting fast fashion sales, with both Primark and Zara owner Inditex reporting slowdowns. The challenging environment in Europe increasingly favors Shein and Temu, whose ability to undercut competitors on price and deliver a steady stream of trendy products positions them to take more fast fashion share. But as in the US, both companies could fall afoul of geopolitical tensions as European governments raise concerns about Chinese overcapacity—and President Trump pushes the EU to implement 100% tariffs on China imports.
Microsoft is reducing its reliance on OpenAI by bringing in rival Anthropic to power key enterprise features, per The Information. With Microsoft 365’s entrenched position in productivity software, Anthropic’s integration could shift enterprise adoption trends away from OpenAI. If Anthropic gains traction, OpenAI risks losing one of its strongest distribution channels and with it, its influence on how AI is embedded in daily workflows. Marketers should watch to see not just who wins contracts, but who defines the next generation of workplace software.
Zendesk’s integration of OpenAI’s GPT-5 into its customer service stack has resulted in 30% faster response times, 95% reliability, and resolution of up to 90% of tickets in some cases, per VentureBeat. Fewer handoffs, quicker response time, and higher reliability are wins for both brands and customers. But there’s a catch—over-reliance on automation risks alienating users who still want a human touch when problems get tricky. For CMOs, lean into AI for speed and scale, but keep people in the loop to protect trust and brand experience.
PNC Financial is on track to buy FirstBank for $4.1 billion. The deal would give PNC a significant presence in Colorado and Arizona, per AP News. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are reshaping US banking, with this deal following larger ones that reset what financial institutions expect federal regulators to approve. But all of these M&As show that large banks are scaling up to better compete with giants like JPMorgan and Bank of America. This consolidation among super-regional banks clearly signals that the regulatory environment is favorable for such moves. And we expect more of these types of deals in the near future.
Robinhood is having an incredibly high-growth year after reaching profitability in 2024, per ABC News. That’s because it’s regularly rolling out new products that are appealing to consumers. Some of the risks that Robinhood is taking are boosting its profitability, while others are causing regulatory headaches or legal battles. However, each new launch drives more traffic toward its all-in-one app, improving customer acquisition efforts. For example, new customers who want to try sports betting may stay for the cash delivery service or crypto products. While some products may not always succeed, the fintech’s strategy to keep trying new approaches could still land it with a growing super-app.
National Credit Union Administration's (NCUA’s) Q2 2025 report shows that US credit unions have successfully implemented growth and customer acquisition strategies over the last four quarters. As we covered in our “Community Bank and Credit Union Trend 2025” report, the industry has had no shortage of challenges, including difficulty acquiring and resonating with younger customers. But a 2.8 million member increase, potentially across various age groups,means their digital innovation strategies are working. To continue this trend, credit unions must maintain their level of digital investment while continuing to prioritize the human touch they’re known for. This is particularly important if they’re growing quickly through mergers and acquisitions.