Perplexity is relaunching its agentic shopping product for all users next week, just in time for Black Friday, with PayPal as its key partner. The upgraded tool improves shopping intent detection and personalization using users’ past search data, while PayPal merchants will handle transactions and customer service directly. The move intensifies competition with OpenAI, Amazon, and Google, all racing to dominate AI-powered shopping ahead of the holidays. While sales from these tools are expected to remain modest, they offer brands a valuable testing ground for future ecommerce growth driven by generative AI.
TJX is confident its value proposition will resonate with shoppers this holiday season. Q4 is already “off to a strong start,” CEO Ernie Herrman said, following a better-than-expected Q3. As TJX and other retailers have repeatedly pointed out this year, off-price is one of the few retail sectors that thrives in times of uncertainty. Few retailers can compete with TJX’s value proposition—particularly its range of good-better-best merchandise, which appeals to shoppers of all budgets—and its treasure hunt experience. TJX’s continued momentum shows that retailers that can offer a compelling combination of value and fun stand to outperform this holiday season.
Lloyds Banking Group will acquire Curve, a London-based digital wallet. Acquiring Curve is a valuable first step toward embracing digital wallet payments solutions. However, Lloyds faces a challenge of incentivizing its users to choose Curve over competitors like PayPal and Klarna, which have established rewards systems. Embedding features and perks into Curve could help create a flywheel effect to trap more volume within its ecosystem.
Amazon is going all-in on AI-powered advertising solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). SMBs can now create high-quality campaigns without requiring costly resources, giving SMBs access to creative capabilities that were once out of reach.
Home Depot’s Q3 results highlight a difficult operating environment as a stalled housing market, muted storm-related demand, and higher living costs limited shopper activity, leading to soft comparable sales and another earnings miss. While revenues slightly exceeded expectations, adjusted EPS declined and the retailer lowered its full-year outlook. The results point to broad, persistent headwinds—ranging from sluggish housing activity to tariff-driven cost pressures—that are expected to keep any recovery gradual and uneven even with added revenue contributions from the GMS acquisition.
Klarna’s revenues soared 28% YoY to $903 million, per its Q3 2025 earnings report. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) jumped 23% YoY, powered by strength in the US—where GMV cracked 43% growth YoY. Interest-bearing US loans accounted for over 244% of US GMV growth. Klarna’s blueprint for US consumers is connecting—for now. Younger, credit-averse consumers may be drawn to the Klarna Card’s debit-forward approach, but it still lacks a rewards structure compelling enough to pull consumers away from credit cards. While its membership rewards model did net 1 million signups in less than a month, issuers still face little threat from this card unseating their offerings.
US consumers’ rejection rates for new lines of credit hit a series high of 24.8%, up from 23.1% in June, while application rates remained stable (excluding credit card limit applications, which increased), per the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s SCE Credit Access Survey. As issuers tighten the purse strings for working-class consumers, buy now, pay later (BNPL) have an opportunity to steal market share. Integrating their buy buttons at point-of-sale (POS) and marketing their BNPL debt cards can help reach these consumers where they shop.
Global ecommerce is tightening as major markets close de minimis loopholes and China increases tax scrutiny, putting fresh pressure on platforms like PDD and its international arm Temu. Nearly 1 in 5 US consumers say shifting trade policies may discourage them from buying internationally, adding to the company’s challenges amid uneven spending in China. PDD delivered mixed Q3 results, with earnings beating expectations but revenue slightly missing. The overall picture suggests the company must transition from relying on duty-free advantages to strengthening marketplace fundamentals, even as improving user trends signal early signs of resilience
Kroger is overhauling its ecommerce strategy, closing three Ocado automated fulfillment centers after underperformance and leaning more on stores and third-party partners like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber. Though initially costly, Kroger expects $400 million in ecommerce profit gains by 2026, helping fund price cuts and store improvements. The shift highlights the high cost of competing with Amazon and Walmart on delivery speed and the appeal of using delivery platforms' existing last-mile networks. The new model should cut costs, add flexibility, and support a stronger customer experience as online demand grows.
Albertsons Media Collective and NBCUniversal introduced a closed-loop measurement capability that promises to give advertisers better insight into CTV ad performance. While the partnership benefits both companies, there’s arguably more at stake for Albertsons. Like the vast majority of retail media networks, it is looking for ways to keep its ad business competitive as the majority of dollars flow to Amazon and Walmart. Albertsons aims to stay competitive by leaning into fast-growing CTV, strengthening its loyalty program, and leveraging its store footprint for in-store activations.
The internet went dark Tuesday for users across services like X, ChatGPT, Spotify, Uber, Shopify, DoorDash, Dropbox, and Canva—disabling social media, customer engagement, and creative production. Content delivery network (CDN) Cloudflare restored service after the hourslong global outage that began at 6:20am EST. Cloudflare attributed the outage to an internal error. Marketers should push for business continuity expansion plans. Redundant CDNs, multi-cloud strategies, and cross-cloud failovers protect them from being at the mercy of a single CDN provider. Building for resilience keeps customers confident during outages and keeps online sales moving.
As retail media moves from side business to centerpiece, big brands are prioritizing measurement and efficiency to cement the channel as a mature budget item. Retail media will grow almost 20% this year (19.4%) to reach $58.79 billion, according to EMARKETER's September 2025 forecast. In recent earnings calls, tech leaders described a channel that is now about solid data, AI-driven relevance, and reshaping how advertisers reach shoppers.
Key stat: 72% of US buy-side retail media advertisers say they are buying video ads offsite, second only to social media, according to a March RetailX survey commissioned by Koddi.
TikTok Shop is now almost as large as eBay, according to EchoTik. The marketplace’s global gross merchandise value (GMV) hit $19 billion in Q3, not far off eBay’s $20.1 billion. Between $4 billion and $4.6 billion of those sales took place in the US, up 125% QoQ, making it TikTok Shop’s largest single market. TikTok’s ability to blend shopping and entertainment is turning the platform into an ecommerce powerhouse. While price concerns and value are top of mind for consumers this holiday season, so too is the desire to shop for fun—an itch that TikTok Shop is perfectly placed to scratch.
PayPal’s Pay Later is soaring in popularity, with 56% of US buy now, pay later (BNPL) customers having used its installment services—outstripping industry leaders Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay, per a Lending Tree survey. PayPal’s dominance is likely to stick unless BNPL competitors can expand their offerings' acceptance at the point of sale. Continuing to push BNPL-enabled debit cards and merchant partnerships may help to secure loyalty from Gen Zers and young parents seeking these financing options.
Amazon has partnered with Ford to list certified pre-owned “Blue Advantage” vehicles on its Amazon Autos platform, allowing shoppers within 75 miles of participating dealers to browse inventory, arrange financing, and complete most paperwork online. The move adds momentum to Amazon’s push into the automotive space following its deal with Hyundai and aligns with its marketplace strategy of scaling without owning inventory. Despite a softening used-car market, the collaboration could strengthen Amazon’s foothold in auto ecommerce, helping it compete with Carvana and CarMax by offering convenience and dealer-backed credibility.
7-Eleven is making bold moves that contradict retail wisdom, expanding its footprint despite declining same-store sales and traffic. "It's not that they're opening a ton of new stores, it's just they're rejigging their footprint," said our analyst Blake Droesch on a recent episode of “Behind the Numbers.”
Starbucks unveiled a new holiday drink available exclusively at Target stores. The release of the limited-edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate marks the first time the two companies have collaborated on a holiday drink. While the holiday exclusive won’t address their deeper challenges, it’s the right note to hit at a time when shoppers need extra motivation to visit a Starbucks or Target store.
Google is expanding its AI-powered travel planning and booking tools, introducing Canvas itineraries and broader agentic booking features directly within AI Mode in Search. The update brings real-time flight and hotel data, personalized recommendations, and streamlined reservations across major platforms, with full flight and hotel bookings coming soon. Google is also rolling out its Flight Deals tool globally. The shift toward surfacing these capabilities in Search should boost adoption and intensify pressure on travel companies that lag in AI-driven decision-making.
While 45% of US adults expect free shipping on any order, 16% of those consumers will not make a purchase if they have to pay for shipping, revealed August 2025 data from Radial and Dynata.