From Ulta Beauty’s new marketplace to Gap’s creator platform, here’s what the eight most interesting retailers from October have been up to, as ranked on our “Behind the Numbers” podcast.
Tomorrow’s grocery shoppers will expect AI tools that anticipate their needs, faster checkouts, and consistent pricing across channels. In this new era, convenience and technology will shape behavior, but value and trust will remain the deciding factors.
The Trump administration agreed to use emergency funds to partly fund SNAP benefits. But it could take “a few weeks to up to several months” before consumers begin seeing that money due to “procedural difficulties, a USDA official said in a court filing. The loss of SNAP funding will be painful not only for households that rely on that money for essential supplies, but also for the many retailers that depend on that spending.
Amazon appears to be rethinking its mass-market grocery ambitions as it closes Amazon Fresh stores and doubles down on Whole Foods and same-day delivery. CEO Andy Jassy hinted that the company is shifting toward a more efficient model centered on expanding grocery delivery to 2,300 locations by late 2025. While this may concede physical dominance to Walmart, Amazon aims to capture grocery share by integrating perishables into its vast online network. The strategy could transform consumer habits, reducing in-store trips and strengthening Amazon’s position as a leading online grocer while keeping its costs in check.
Kimberly-Clark has agreed to buy consumer health company Kenvue for more than $40 billion. The acquisition significantly expands Kimberly-Clark’s presence in the over-the-counter (OTC) consumer health market, and gives it an entry into the lucrative beauty and skincare category. The acquisition will allow the company to stay relevant with shoppers who are prioritizing health and wellness purchases—even while cutting back on other spending. But in order to extract maximum value from Kenvue, Kimberly-Clark will have to take a leaf from competitor Procter & Gamble and rely on innovation and marketing to revitalize sales.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the big 3 questions surrounding Netflix in Q3 and beyond: expectations for its ad business, the impact of Netflix House, a new deal with Spotify, or something else? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst, Ross Benes, and Senior Editor of Briefings, Daniel Konstantinovic. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC, have officially been removed from leading pay TV platform YouTube TV after Disney and Google failed to resolve a distribution dispute. Even as YouTube TV gives subscribers access to a large number of non-Disney channels, its ad effectiveness could be harmed without as broad of a sports portfolio—necessitating cautious investment.
OpenAI signed a seven-year, $38 billion cloud compute deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS), its first partnership with the cloud market leader. The development effectively ended the startup’s exclusive reliance on Microsoft, its primary backer, per CNBC. OpenAI will use existing AWS data centers, and Amazon will build dedicated infrastructure for OpenAI as part of the ChatGPT maker’s expansion. While hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, and Google race to secure workloads, costs for training and inference are expected to decline. For brands, this means reduced outage risks and increased options for deploying AI-driven creative, analytics, and automation systems at scale.
Gen Z’s financial strain is deepening as unemployment rises and wage growth slows, leaving many unable to cover basic needs. With joblessness among 20- to 24-year-olds hitting 9.2% and student loan relief tightening, younger consumers are cutting back—especially on dining out. Chipotle and Shake Shack both report declining sales from this demographic, though each is fighting back with loyalty perks and in-app promotions. Retailers like Urban Outfitters are also adapting through lower-cost private labels and localized assortments. Overall, younger shoppers’ pullback may pressure retail and restaurant sales through the holiday season.
AI is reshaping the future of work at agencies, from reducing junior roles to cutting down on hiring altogether. Nearly all (91%) of US senior agency leaders expect AI to reduce agency headcounts, per Sunup’s AI’s Effect on the Marketing Industry report. Over half (57%) of agencies have slowed or paused entry-level hiring. To maintain value in the AI era, agencies should protect and cultivate talent pipelines and use AI to deepen offerings like audience insights and personalized campaign plans, which automation alone can’t replicate.
When it comes to AI investment, Google CEO Sundar Pichai's mantra that the risk is underspending, not overspending, seems to be holding true at Meta. It forecast roughly $600 billion on AI-related capital expenditure over the next three years, but investors are questioning whether that philosophy has limits. Meta’s heavy focus on AI could aid its ad offerings, especially personalization options and its AI-powered ad suite. At the same time, overspending could lead to uneven focus that leaves other ventures—including its cash-burning Reality Labs and plateauing interest in Facebook—vulnerable.
Meta, Google, and Microsoft are spending at historic rates in the race to secure AI dominance. Each posted record quarterly earnings last week—and warned that even higher capital expenditures are an imperative for growth, per Wired. For marketers, the AI buildout presents both an opportunity and a cautionary tale. As Big Tech chases scale, brands must chase substance—using AI not for hype, but for measurable value today, not in the future. AI’s future isn’t guaranteed by capital—it’s earned through trust, differentiation, and adaptability. Brands that master those traits will thrive no matter how the infrastructure race unfolds.
One-third of US adults say prices are noticeably higher on certain products due to tariffs or shipping/import changes, according to a July survey from Omnisend and Cint.
Reddit’s Q3 earnings confirmed what advertisers have suspected: the platform’s community-driven ad model can scale profitably. Revenue jumped 68% to $585 million, crushing Wall Street estimates, while EPS of $0.80 easily beat forecasts. Global daily actives climbed 19% to 116 million, though US user growth slowed to 7%, down from 12% last quarter. Data licensing revenue rose 7% as Reddit continues to defend its content from unauthorized AI scraping—a fight central to its long-term strategy. For advertisers, Reddit’s results underscore its strength as a high-intent, performance-focused channel—even as slower domestic user growth raises questions about future expansion.
Retail is on the brink of a digital sea change as agentic commerce slowly makes its way onto consumer-facing platforms.
We expect US holiday sales to rise 3.6% in the final two months of the year, a slowdown from last year’s 4.4% gain, but much stronger than our May outlook, when we anticipated just 1.2% growth. The shift stems from consumers’ surprising resilience despite tariffs, inflation, and a softening labor market. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon have reported steady demand, with tariffs adding only modest price pressures. However, spending remains uneven across income groups as higher earners benefit from wage and wealth gains. Retailers will need to emphasize affordability and value to attract cautious middle- and lower-income shoppers this season.
Walmart unveiled a series of AI-powered tools for its app to help customers with their holiday shopping. The new features, which include an in-store savings function and AI-generated audio summaries, are meant to make Walmart’s app more useful for in-store shoppers and to simplify discovery and purchasing for customers who prefer to transact online. Retailers should follow Walmart’s lead and use AI to make it easier for customers to surface deals and quickly find what they’re looking for, whether in-store or online.
Mobile gaming in-app purchase (IAP) revenues reached $21 billion worldwide in Q3 2025, per Sensor Tower—a number not seen since pandemic quarantines. Strategy, puzzle, RPG, and casino games led the field, with each bringing in over $2 billion. Time and money spent in gaming continues to rise, yet only 5% of media investments around the world go to gaming, per Dentsu. Start considering formats such as in-game ads, interstitial ads, and adjacent ads. Brands can also entertain partnerships for in-game gear and mini games. The time is now to boost advertising budgets for gaming platforms and titles as revenues grow.
Mastercard is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Zerohash for as much as $2 billion, per Fortune. Zerohash provides infrastructure to connect fiat payment systems with crypto and stablecoins. We can expect Visa to pursue a big crypto acquisition in short order. Whether they see it as an existential threat or not, networks are waking up to the fact that crypto is here to stay—and they need to prove to investors and stakeholders that they’re taking it seriously.