Higher-income shoppers are driving higher return rates in 2025, with a 5.3% rate compared to 3.7% for lower-income consumers, according to Bank of America data. Analysts suggest this stems from wealthier buyers’ heavier discretionary spending, speculative purchases, and even wardrobing to test styles. Fraud is also a factor, with one in four higher-income shoppers engaging in first-party fraud during the holidays versus just 11% of lower-income peers. While retailers often look to affluent consumers for growth, their elevated returns create added costs, pushing companies toward AR try-on tools and stronger fraud detection instead of stricter policies.
The internet is now a near-constant presence for many adults—but adoption remains uneven. A median 28% of adults globally report being online “almost constantly,” per a Pew Research Center survey across 24 countries. This access creates fertile ground for advertisers. Always-on consumers deliver more touchpoints for engagement, more data for personalization, and more chances to convert browsing into buying. But more access doesn’t guarantee more impact. The challenge is finding the best way forward, through mixed formats, short videos, interactive polls, and native ads—so users stay engaged without feeling bombarded.
Consumers exhibit across-the-board confusion about their eligibility for different credit products, per a report from i2c and PYMNTS. BNPL providers are losing their messaging campaigns if consumers think credit cards are more attainable than a pay-in-four plan. As issuers maintain tight underwriting, BNPL providers can also swoop up consumers who need credit but don’t qualify for new lines of traditional credit. If BNPL platforms can advertise their accessibility for the average consumer, they can capture spend from incumbents.
At Tuesday’s “Awe Dropping” Apple event, the hardware giant unveiled next-gen AirPods, Apple Watch models, and iPhone 17 series. Apple is pacing its AI rollout, waiting until users are ready and the tech can show real value. By banking on product innovation and design, it secures its dominance in the smartphone space. However, as rivals push out increasingly capable AI features, Apple’s silence may come across less like strategy and more like struggle. It may be time for Apple to consider more outside generative AI (genAI) partnerships, lest it fall too far behind to catch up—even on its own terms.
Nuvei partnered with Early Warning Services so merchants can integrate Paze into their checkout experiences.Wallets like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and PayPal should be on notice as Paze becomes a more capable competitor. Paze may finally be able to take a bigger bite out of PayPal and Apple Pay’s market share as its merchant adoption rises. The rise of Paze won’t come easily: Over 60% of US adults already use at least one mobile wallet, per our forecast.
Ahead of an impending US sale deadline, ByteDance-owned TikTok has announced significant growth in Europe, adding 5 million active users YoY and seeing over 200 million EU users monthly. Even as TikTok grows in the EU and other key markets, the platform faces an uphill battle to reassure advertisers amid persistent uncertainty over its US regulatory future.
Retailers are rolling out Halloween merchandise earlier than ever, hoping to entice cautious shoppers with unique seasonal products. Target is offering over 1,500 new items, including limited-edition Stanley cups, while Home Depot and Lowe’s push oversized animatronics and quirky skeletons. Build-A-Bear is already seeing strong sales from themed plushies, and Spirit Halloween is betting on immersive store experiences. Despite economic uncertainty, 75% of US adults plan to shop for holiday-themed goods, and retailers that imported early may benefit from avoiding looming tariffs that could sharply raise costume and mask prices.
Amazon is investing $25 million in Colombian delivery app Rappi through a convertible note that could give it up to a 12% stake, signaling a push to strengthen its last-mile delivery capabilities across Latin America. With Rappi’s 35 million users, rapid “Turbo” delivery service, and superapp ecosystem, Amazon hopes to challenge Mercado Libre. While the partnership could expand Amazon’s reach from Mexico to Chile, it faces stiff competition: Mercado Libre is investing $13.2 billion this year alone, fueling a projected 22.7% sales jump and expanding its commanding market share.
Threads, Patreon, and Substack escalate fight for writers: Platforms add features and perks to encourage creator loyalty.
Walmart-linked fintech OnePay will roll out $35 wireless plans through its app on September 10. Walmart’s OnePay wireless initiative would have a better chance for significant customer adoption if the retailer didn’t already offer several phone plans: Walmart Family Mobile and Straight Talk. The challenge for the retailer moving forward will be to funnel consumers to its OnePay plans who may be existing customers on Family Mobile or Straight Talk plans, which could generate confusion. While building out this program can help to achieve the “everything app” ambitions of many fintechs, competing with standard carriers remains a tough sell: Almost 90% of US adults will keep their mobile plans with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, per our forecast.
Magnum Ice Cream is optimistic about boosting growth and profitability following its planned split from Unilever, projecting 3%–5% organic sales growth from 2026 and steady margin expansion. With a 21% share of the global ice cream market and a €500 million cost-savings initiative, the company is well-positioned to leverage shifting consumer preferences. Magnum plans to appeal to GLP-1 users by marketing its products as calorie-efficient, higher-protein snacks while also reducing sugar and additives. By narrowing its focus, Magnum joins other CPG players in streamlining operations to stay competitive against rising private-label alternatives.
40% of US adults say most or some of the health information on TikTok is trustworthy—the highest rating among major platforms, according to July data from KFF.
WeightWatchers launched a new menopause program with Queen Latifah as its spokesperson. This move is part of a larger strategy to expand into the clinical healthcare and prescription medication markets. To succeed against rivals like Hims & Hers and Noom, WeightWatchers needs to offer competitive pricing and secure more partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies to help raise awareness of its new focus in the growing wellness sector.
Obesity drugs are cost effective and provide good value despite high price tags, according to analysis from the Institute for Clinical Economic Review (ICER). It’s still early in the GLP-1 weight loss drug market with only two approved medicines, but a massive pipeline of more than 170 drugs in development. While Novo and Lilly have significantly dropped D2C prices, we think it’s going to take more competition in the market and different drug delivery methods to get to affordable and accessible pricing. Marketers should consider lower prices, but also digital tools to improve adherence, manage side effects, and offer lifestyle support.
Eli Lilly launched a platform called TuneLab that gives biotech firms free access to AI drug discovery models that have been trained on years of Lilly's research data. In return, companies will contribute their own data so Lilly can improve the performance of its AI models. Lilly might be taking a bit of a risk by opening up its models to other companies, but the potential payoff of developing high-powered AI tools that can drive faster drug discovery, development, and time-to-market is one that’s too good to pass up.
As the number of podcast listeners grow, giving them options for both listening to or watching the latest episodes has become key to maintaining audiences. More than half of US podcast consumers (53%) prefer watching podcasts over just listening on YouTube, per the Podcast Landscape 2025 report from Sounds Profitable and Signal Hill. YouTube’s connected TV (CTV) and podcast dominance presents a unique opportunity for brands to advertise in a variety of formats, whether that’s sponsored episodes, partnerships, digital video ads, or pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll audio spots.
Roblox is expanding with TikTok-style videos, bigger creator payouts, and new AI tools—while scaling its ad business. Users can now scroll gameplay clips, react with emojis, and jump directly into experiences, per TechCrunch. The platform is morphing from a gaming hub into a short-form media platform—challenging TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. For advertisers, Moments offers a new layer where branded clips can sit alongside gameplay. Brands should balance paid ads with creator collaborations to preserve authenticity. For example, they could integrate brands and products into game content while sponsoring individual gamers creating short-form content on Roblox.
Consumers want brands to show up on social media as honest, original, and engaged, though risks remain around posting on social issues and chasing trend dominance. What matters more to users is transparency and safety, especially regarding AI-generated content, data privacy, and platform decisions. To establish and maintain consumer trust and interest, brands should root their social strategy in authenticity. Aligning posts, partnerships, and platform choices with internal voices will help brands resonate more than chasing virality or clout.
A recent Pew Research Center study reveals a dramatic shift in online behavior: When users encounter AI-generated search overviews, they're almost half as likely to click through to websites and more likely to end their browsing sessions entirely. This fundamental change threatens the traditional internet business model where human traffic drives ad revenue.
Target's appointment of internal veteran Michael Fiddelke as its next CEO has sparked debate among investors and analysts about whether an insider can turn around the struggling retailer after nearly three years of disappointing performance.