The US government shutdown has entered its fourth week, becoming the second-longest in modern history and increasingly straining the economy. The travel industry alone has lost nearly $3 billion, while companies like Unilever are delaying major moves due to halted SEC operations. Grocers fear SNAP benefit disruptions that could hit Walmart and Kroger hardest. Oxford Economics estimates GDP growth could fall by up to 2.4 percentage points if the shutdown persists through Q4. With holiday sales already under pressure from weak confidence and high rates, the timing couldn’t be worse for retailers or consumers.
The effects of the Capital One-Discovery merger are still coming into relief, two quarters after the deal exploded the size and scope of Capital One’s business. If issuers continue to reorient their investments strictly to their premium offerings, subprime cardholders will become increasingly stranded for lines of credit from incumbents. This gives an opening for fintechs and buy now, pay later platforms to snag this population, as traditional lenders back away from credit-thin consumers in pursuit of wealthy spenders.
Adidas raised its full-year earnings guidance to about €2 billion ($2.32 billion) after stronger-than-expected global results. Currency-neutral sales rose 12% year-over-year, led by double-digit growth across all major regions, while operating profit surged 58%. Gross margin improved to 51.7% despite currency and tariff pressures. The company is countering headwinds through pricing strategies and supply shifts, gaining ground as Nike continues its turnaround. With demand for its Samba and Gazelle lines boosting apparel and accessories sales, Adidas appears to be solidifying its momentum and strengthening its competitive position in key markets.
OpenAI's new Instant Checkout feature for ChatGPT allows users to purchase products directly through the platform without ever leaving the interface, potentially creating a new retail channel that could reshape online shopping behaviors. However, analysts remain cautious about its immediate impact.
Latin America’s retail ecommerce market is set to surge 12.2% in 2025 to $191.25 billion, outpacing global growth and making it the fastest-growing region worldwide. Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico will drive 84.5% of total sales, with Argentina rebounding strongly, Brazil expanding through fierce platform competition, and Mexico surpassing the US in ecommerce penetration next year. Despite tariff threats and softening consumer sentiment, steady inflation and wage gains sustain momentum. EMARKETER analysts note that future success will depend on retailers’ agility amid shifting political and economic conditions across key Latin American markets.
Search advertising is entering a new era where Amazon and other retail media players are reshaping how discovery and intent are monetized. Brands must revisit their “search mix.” Google may remain indispensable, but allocating more spend to retail media will future-proof campaigns against cookie loss and capitalize on where shopping intent now begins.
Affirm called for a cap on late fees in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) industry, per the Financial Times. BNPL platforms have an opportunity to gain customer loyalty through advertising—and practicing—transperant lending practices. Alternative lenders that operate with clear terms can get more consumers to select BNPL financing over revolving credit, especially when young consumers choose the payment method out of perceived safety over credit cards.
Walmart is now the first retailer to sell Abbott’s over-the-counter blood sugar monitor in stores. Its rollout of Abbott’s Lingo CGM brings real-time health tracking to mainstream retail, helping to make advanced health tech part of everyday life. For marketers, the rollout highlights a growing opportunity to reach proactive health seekers who want personalized insights about nutrition, exercise, and stress.
Amazon plans to replace over 500,000 human jobs with robots as part of a major automation drive aimed at speeding up deliveries and cutting costs, according to The New York Times. After years of workforce expansion, the company is now focused on streamlining operations, with new robotic warehouses like its Shreveport, Louisiana facility already reducing staffing needs by 25%. Amazon expects to replicate this model nationwide by 2027, maintaining headcount while doubling sales by 2033. The shift toward automation is designed to boost efficiency, cut per-package costs, and reinforce Amazon’s dominance in US ecommerce through faster, cheaper fulfillment.
Now that consumers can make direct purchases within ChatGPT, marketers and retailers must reimagine the customer journey once again.
Walmart has expanded its Scintilla Digital Landscapes platform with new capabilities that give suppliers a clearer, data-rich view of how customers move from discovery to purchase.
Consumers have grown more accepting of sponsored ads—according to a recent survey by Bain and ROI Rocket. Roughly 3 in 5 US consumers (61%) say they don’t mind seeing sponsored ads for relevant brands and products, up 14 percentage points from last year. But just 42% agree that the sponsored ads they see are usually pertinent to them, showing that advertisers—and the retailers they’re buying inventory from—have a lot more work to do to deliver maximum outcomes from their ads, and consequently ROI.
Citi and American Airlines debuted the Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard, a mid-tier travel credit card with a $350 annual fee, per a press release. With airlines revising their year-end forecasts optimistically, issuers have a chance to get in on lucrative travel volume. While front-of-cabin sales have benefited from wealth-effect spending, mid-tier travel cards could help boost main cabin sales with slightly pared down reward structures.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what it means to have an authentic relationship with your customer, the benefits of collaborating on loyalty, and how to make folks feel like they are getting the most out of their rewards app. Join our conversation with analyst and guest host, Arielle Feger, GM of CPG Partnerships at Fetch, Carmen Gonzalez-Meister, and Director of Category and Ecommerce Strategy at Nestlé, Nicole Lesinski. Listen everywhere you find podcasts and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Saks Global has halved its full-year profit forecast to about $150 million after reporting a 13% year-over-year sales drop and a $77 million quarterly loss, Bloomberg reports. Less than a year after acquiring Neiman Marcus, the merger’s promise of creating a luxury powerhouse is faltering as Saks struggles with vendor payments, mounting debt, and withheld merchandise ahead of the holidays. The company’s weakened position gives competitors like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s an opening to capture its customer base, underscoring how fragile even top-tier retailers can be in today’s shifting luxury market.
As the oldest members of Gen Alpha prepare to turn 16 next year, they have more purchasing power than ever before. For retailers, that means the race is on to understand how to connect with a generation that is not only digitally native but has grown up with an expectation for an active, back-and-forth relationship with brands.
Klarna rolled out Klarna balance and Klarna Card in the UK. Credit cards aren’t as big a market in the UK as they are in the US, but issuers should be concerned by what Klarna calls its “balances.” Klarna is a real bank in the EU and recently was granted an Electronic Money Institution license in the UK. That means even without getting a bank charter in the UK—or the US for that matter—it can use its existing bank infrastructure to offer a robust suite of bank-like services in the style of Cash App or even Apple Wallet.
Retailers expect 15.8% of annual sales, or about $849.9 billion, to be returned this year, a slight drop from 16.9% in 2024, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns. The shift suggests stricter return policies, such as charging fees, are discouraging some returns but also risking customer loyalty. With most shoppers prioritizing free and flexible return options, retailers are expanding in-store, QR-based, and “no box, no label” methods to boost convenience. Balancing return costs with shopper expectations remains key to maintaining satisfaction and long-term loyalty.
While many Amazon Big Deal Days shoppers sought savings on essentials, nearly one in three participated “just for fun,” per a new CivicScience survey. About 41% planned purchases in advance, while 38% made impulse buys, showing a mix of deliberate and spontaneous shopping. Despite signs the event may have underperformed, it still offered strategic value by driving engagement, boosting retail media investment, and generating incremental sales. Retailers can build on this momentum by personalizing offers, sustaining engagement post-event, and using campaign data to refine future promotions and deepen shopper loyalty.
Twitch introduced livestream shopping ads powered by Amazon’s advertising platform. The ad launch reflects the burgeoning popularity of livestream commerce, which despite being slow to take off in the US is now gaining traction thanks to TikTok, a booming collectibles market, and the rise of “shoppertainment.” Amazon is betting that an easier path to purchase will encourage more viewers to pull the trigger on products they discover via livestreams. However, a successful live shopping strategy requires thinking about the channel less as an avenue for direct conversions and more as an opportunity to engage potential customers and build lasting relationships.