The news: JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase partnered to offer Chase's customers new ways to access crypto. This fall, customers will be able to link Coinbase directly to their bank accounts, buy crypto with Chase credit cards, and convert rewards points to USDC, per a press release. Why this matters: This partnership is a big step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto. By letting customers use their credit cards to buy crypto or redeem their Chase Ultimate Rewards points for USDC, the companies could accelerate crypto adoption. It’s also another salvo from JPMorgan against data aggregators and open banking firms after the bank announced that it would charge these companies to access customer data—particularly around payments. JPMorgan is integrating directly with Coinbase rather than using APIs from a company like Plaid.
The news: United is hosting five days’ worth of exclusive deals for United Chase cardholders beginning August 4. Each day will have its own exclusive, time-sensitive international travel offer. Cardholders will have the chance to fly one way to a mystery location for only 30,000 miles (plus about $35 in taxes and fees). Our take: United, along with its competitors, are looking for ways to reverse slumping sales. Targeting international and premium products, while also strengthening its loyalty program, could be a sage way to turn things around.
The news: Klarna might push its IPO date up as late as September, per a report from Bloomberg. Our take: Whenever Klarna schedules its IPO, it can bank on the strength of its partnerships—like DoorDash, Walmart, Stripe, and Walmart—to sustain its growth. Fintechs have faced a tough environment for IPOs ever since the high-water mark of 2021. Firms are now required to demonstrate better pathways to profitability before going public. However, despite tariffs and geopolitical disturbances, fintechs have the ability to outperform expectations: Take Circle’s blockbuster IPO back in June. With investors hungry for AI-focused companies, Klarna may be well positioned to ride the wave of its peers’ earlier success in the market.
The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors’ shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.
As parents prepare their kids for the new school year, they’re tightening budgets, reusing last year’s supplies, and looking for ways to efficiently check off their lists.
Etsy and eBay see opportunity to gain share as tariffs burden their competitors and consumers adjust their spending habits. Both companies are well-positioned to benefit from renewed interest in resale as tariffs make buying new more expensive for shoppers. The two platforms also now face less competition from Shein, Temu, and Amazon in online ad auctions—allowing them to be more efficient with marketing spend and reach more potential customers. While neither eBay nor Etsy is fully immune from the effects of tariffs—and their potential drag on the economy and consumer confidence—they are less exposed than most other retailers.
The news: Mastercard and Visa reported strong revenue growth in their most recent quarters. Visa’s net revenues rose 14% YoY in its fiscal year Q3 (ended June 30, 2025). Mastercard’s net revenues for the period rose 17% YoY. Our take: Both Visa and Mastercard understand that they need to innovate to keep their infrastructure competitive in light of the explosion of alternative payment rails—most recently stablecoin initiatives, made possible by the recent passage of the Genius Act.
The news: PayPal posted net revenue growth of 5% YoY at $8.3 billion due to strong performances of Venmo, its debit card, and Braintree, per its earnings report. Our take: PayPal is leaning into its branded experience and tech innovations to power its way through 2025.
The news: JPMorgan Chase is reportedly in late-stage talks to take over the Apple Card portfolio from Goldman Sachs, per The Wall Street Journal. Our take: Apple needs a stable financial partner after a rough road with Goldman Sachs’ regulatory scrutiny and failed experiment with consumer banking.
Consumer goods giants Kraft Heinz and Unilever are moving to stimulate demand in a challenging sales climate by increasing marketing spending on their most popular products. Both companies are betting on marketing to spur demand and improve brand equity in a slower-growth climate. But the question is whether stepped-up marketing will be enough to overcome rising consumer caution, particularly in categories like snacks and personal care, where purchases are more discretionary in a tariff-driven environment. Increased investments in promotions could pressure margins in coming quarters.
The data: US consumer spending inched up just 1.4% YoY in Q2, per the US Commerce Department. While that’s up from the tepid 0.5% in Q1, it’s well below the 2.8% growth in spending in 2024, and the fifth-slowest rate since Q3 2021. Goods spending rose 2.2% YoY, up from 0.1% the prior quarter, while services spending increased 1.1% YoY, ahead of the 0.6% in Q1. Our take: Eliminating the de minimis exemption levels the playing field between international ecommerce sellers and domestic retailers—but could also drive up prices for consumers.
As tariffs push prices up, consumers are reevaluating their brand loyalties—and many are walking away for good. What once felt like long-term relationships are now being tested by sticker shock, with even high-income shoppers turning to discount retailers and finding satisfaction in switching.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of July. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Arielle Feger and Suzy Davidkhanian will defend their list against Senior Analyst Blake Droesch, and Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.
The challenges: UPS’ turnaround remains in the early innings due to structural inefficiencies, operational missteps, and mounting macroeconomic headwinds. Our take: UPS faces a difficult road ahead. The company is actively trying to streamline operations—planning to shutter up to 10% of its buildings, downsize its fleet, and reduce its US workforce to better align with leaner volumes. It’s also trimming low-margin business, notably cutting back on Amazon deliveries, which made up as much as 11.8% of its total revenues last year, in an effort to prioritize more profitable shipments. Still, with demand under pressure and cost headwinds mounting, stabilizing performance will be an uphill climb.
The news: Citigroup unveiled the Citi Strata Elite Card, its new premium card, per a press release. However, its rewards package lacks some of the flexibility that its peer card, Sapphire Reserve, holds in travel booking. While Reserve cardholders are more handsomely rewarded when booking through Chase travel platforms, members still receive points for booking travel directly—Strata Elite members lack that privilege.
This year, Amazon extended its July Prime Day event from two to four days, giving consumers more time to shop, brands more opportunities to advertise, and Amazon more time to generate sales.
Ocado Ads has partnered with data collaboration platform Permutive to make its first-party purchase data available to select UK publishers.
The contrast: At a time when many big box retailers are struggling, Tractor Supply Co. bucked the trend by delivering its strongest sales growth in two years—up 4.5% YoY to $4.44 billion—driven in part by solid momentum in big-ticket purchases. That performance stands in stark contrast to peers like Target and Home Depot, which have seen consumers pull back on discretionary and high-priced items. Our take: Tractor Supply’s formula is simple: high-quality experience + strong loyalty program + scale = growth. It delights shoppers, rewards them, and keeps expanding its footprint. That approach is helping it outrun the macro headwinds—and its largely US-sourced assortment leaves it better insulated from tariff and supply shocks than many other merchants.
The volatile macroeconomic environment is causing most shoppers to be more cautious with their spending, but it’s also driving a subset to spend more in search of comfort. Roughly 2 in 5 shoppers (38%) say that the current stress of economic uncertainty is making them spend more, according to a June LendingTree survey. Consumers may be choosing to spend more of their money on essentials, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be swayed to spend a little extra on the occasional indulgence—particularly if there’s an element of novelty, or if the purchase offers a sense of emotional comfort. While the Labubu craze is likely to fizzle out as quickly as it started, shoppers will remain as eager as ever to splurge on small luxuries that bring them satisfaction.
The news: Fiserv’s organic revenues grew 8% in Q2, per its earnings release. Our take: Fiserv’s Clover faces a stacked market with Shift4, Square, and Toast all offering competitive POS solutions for SMBs.