Klarna and Affirm will be available for in-store payments via Apple Pay in the US and the UK, per a press release. As more providers find ways to enable BNPL in store, they need to convince consumers to choose their products over card-linked installment plans, which offer the perks of paying over time with competitive rewards and cash back. Gen Zers are demonstrating a distrust of credit cards in favor of debit cards, so Affirm and Klarna could lean into their BNPL-enabled debit cards as a way of seeming like a “safer” financing choice for younger consumers. Eschewing the risks of revolving debt may be more desirable than points rewarded for Gen Zers.
American Express launched the Amex Travel App, Amex Passport, and a new Centurion Lounge feature ahead of its anticipated Platinum card refresh. Amex’s next challenge will be preserving that its product’s convenience isn’t usurped by an outside genAI travel product. Consumers are already starting to use AI to plan travel, and agentic AI could soon start booking it for them as well. Amex needs to be prepared to have a product that rivals genAI in ease and capability so that the issuer doesn’t lose spend to third-party travel platforms during users’ queries.
AI and agents will drive 21% of holiday orders globally, an estimated $263 billion in sales, per Salesforce’s holiday forecast. GenAI is both a disrupter and a gamechanger for retailers. To avoid being left behind, retailers need their own AI tools—either built in-house or with partners like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI—to ensure they can deliver personalized, relevant recommendations and shopping experiences. At the same time, companies need to optimize every piece of content on their sites—from product listings to reviews to FAQs—for discoverability on AI search engines to avoid falling into oblivion.
US shoppers spent steadily throughout the summer, a welcome sign of resilience as retailers brace for a tougher holiday season. While August’s retail sales report is fueling optimism around holiday spending, the strong topline growth obscures growing cracks—mainly among lower- and middle-income consumers, who are stressed about their financial situations and worried about the softening labor market. Those concerns, along with broader economic uncertainty, are keeping shoppers squarely focused on maximizing value.
Heading into the holiday shopping season, US adults plan to spend over $900 on average on consumer tech products, but they’re concerned about tariffs and prices, per a new CNET survey. Consumers’ top four worries revolve around costs, including tariffs and pricing (52%), finding quality tech at affordable prices (48%), affording new tech (38%), and straining finances (26%). Retailers and consumer tech brands will need to prove their value to earn sales. Bundles are a good bet, and short-term free subscription offers will likely bring in shoppers that could convert to recurring subscription revenues down the road.
New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is no longer about who sits in the front row—it’s about who shares the clips. N4XT Experiences has tapped Viral Nation as its exclusive social partner across NYFW, LA Fashion Week, and BEAUTYDAYS, enlisting 900 creators to capture and amplify content in real time. Influencer voices now account for nearly a quarter of NYFW’s media impact, showing how creators have become central to fashion’s cultural resonance. Viral Nation will manage NYFW’s entire digital presence, tracking social performance and ensuring fashion weeks function less as insider events and more as global cultural engines.
Amazon is keeping Prime Big Deal Days to two days—October 7 and 8—a shift from July's four-day Prime Day sale. The retailer said the two-day window aligns with its broader holiday strategy. With just 28 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the season will be a sprint. Amazon is pacing itself—and other retailers should, too. That approach lets Amazon and its third-party sellers conserve budget and promotions for Cyber Five, when competition peaks.
China’s economy slowed broadly in August, raising the stakes for the current round of trade negotiations with the US. Consumption, investment, and industrial output all slipped last month, a troubling sign for both China’s economy and global growth. These factors increase pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus support. Whether the government will do so is another question: It has so far resisted introducing broad-based initiatives to shore up the struggling property market and reduce unemployment, both of which continue to be a major drag on sentiment.
Robotaxi deployments are moving from pilots to broader rollouts as companies try to cash in on advancements in autonomous driving. Lyft recently began robotaxi tests in Atlanta, and Amazon's Zoox launched in Las Vegas. For companies investing in robotaxis, the opportunity extends beyond passenger rides. These fleets could eventually serve as a backbone for cost-saving delivery services, expanding the commercial applications of the technology. With Uber and DoorDash testing delivery robots, robotaxis could be the next move in on-demand logistics, moving beyond transporting passengers to carrying packages, meals, and groceries.
Retailers are expanding their footprint on college campuses. PacSun and Bath & Body Works are among the brands looking to boost recognition and build long-term loyalty. With Gen Z's spending power projected to reach $12 trillion by 2030, brands are smart to meet these consumers where they are. By making their products convenient to college students, retailers increase the odds that those shoppers will give them a try—and potentially form lifelong brand connections.
Aldi plans to invest £1.6 billion ($2 billion) in the UK over the next two years as it looks to take advantage of shoppers’ “demand for discount” and cement its position as one of the country’s largest grocers. Aldi and other discount grocers are shaking up the supermarket landscape, both in the UK and US, through their rapid expansion and array of affordable—and more exciting—products. Their success gives competitors a blueprint to keep shoppers from trading down. That includes investing in a tiered selection of private-label products, lowering prices where possible, and satisfying consumers’ desire for at-home indulgences.
China’s antitrust regulator accused Nvidia of violating commitments from its 2020 Mellanox acquisition, intensifying US-China tech tensions. The probe sent Nvidia’s stock down more than 2% in trading before it recouped most of the losses Monday, per The New York Times. If Nvidia’s access to China narrows, ad tech platforms—built on AI engines for media buying, personalization, and measurement—would see higher costs, delayed feature rollouts, and bottlenecks in innovation. Advertisers and CMOs should diversify providers, press vendors on supply chain resilience, and stay nimble in deploying AI tools.
Last week’s Amazon-Netflix partnership represents a convergence between commerce media and streaming TV that promises to blur the lines between brand-building and performance marketing while raising fundamental questions about which budgets, which teams, and which strategies will control advertising's future.
The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards underscored streaming’s dominance in television, with HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Netflix sweeping major categories. Traditional TV was largely absent from the spotlight, with The Late Show among the few exceptions. The ceremony’s cross-platform broadcast—CBS, Paramount+, Showtime, Hulu—reflected shifting consumption habits, as Emmys remain culturally relevant even as streaming platforms cement their awards clout.
New studies from leading AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic reveal how generative AI (genAI) is being used, painting a picture of rapid adoption. OpenAI’s analysis found that 73% of ChatGPT interactions were personal rather than professional. In stark contrast, Anthropic’s report on its Claude AI software found an overwhelming business focus on automation. For CMOs, the opportunity is to design campaigns and brand experiences that are approachable enough for personal use and scalable enough for enterprise integration. Marketers who frame AI as both empowering and efficient will be best positioned to earn trust across the adoption divide.
Volvo and Mastercard are trialing the US’s first in-car toll payment pilot program, per a press release from the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. Google will supply payments-enabled in-car infotainment systems for the limited 100 Volvo participants. If E-ZPass payment technology gets shifted onto Google’s platform, E-ZPass Group no longer has to worry about the cost of their transponders and can receive payments automatically for those who don’t have a transponder, instead of waiting for a billing period. If Google becomes a permanent partner for toll payments, the tech mammoth stands to reap the windfall of multi-state toll volumes from certain commuters likely loyal to toll routes.
Chime debuted the Chime Card, a secured credit card with no fees or interest. Cardholders can receive 1.5% cash back in rotating categories for groceries, gas, restaurants, and utility bills after placing a qualifying deposit of $200 or more into a Chime checking account. With zero fees or interest, Chime’s ability to make a profit on this card is fairly limited. However, drawing more consumers from underbanked or underprivileged backgrounds into its ecosystem with enticing features could help build loyalty to eventually graduate cardholders to more traditional and profitable financial products as their credit histories improve and mature.
Citi and US Bank cardholders will get first access to Mastercard’s agentic payments technology, per Finextra. Consumers are skittish about the rise of genAI, but their hunger for hyperpersonalized offerings fueled by AI technology may slowly sway more people to the pro-genAI camp. A recent study of 1,000 college-educated US adults showed that 70% participants believed the benefits of AI outweighed the risks, per a KPMG study. Citi and US Bank can increase adoption of the tech—and make sure their cards are the payment methods attached to the new shopping medium—by linking increased rewards for consumer use to kick off new payment behavior.
Black Friday kicks off the holiday season, and standing out takes more than sharp promotions. Marketers are turning to AI-driven personalization and performance tools to deliver faster, smarter experiences that convert.