The news: Anime is gaining popularity across the globe, per a recent Dentsu report highlighting anime viewership trends, proving that marketers who haven’t yet paid attention to the medium need to tap in. 50% of Gen Z watches anime weekly, with 14% watching daily. Millennials also tune in frequently, with nearly half (48%) watching daily or weekly. Our take: Savvy marketers will pay attention to anime as a prime chance to reach the demographics driving the future—but going beyond a surface-level understanding of the medium will determine which marketers succeed and which fall behind.
The news: Amazon is shutting down its standalone free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform Freevee in August. All Freevee content—including original series and live TV—will migrate to Prime Video. Advertisers take heed: As streaming giants consolidate, ad buyers might see fewer platforms but more fragmented audiences. This centralization of inventory boosts scale but narrows options for niche targeting. Our take: Amazon and its rivals are bundling content into fewer apps to boost ad revenue and reduce churn. But for advertisers, viewer behavior is splintering as audiences jump between services each month, chasing new shows, deals, and lower costs.
The insight: Food delivery has become an ingrained habit, with more consumers turning to the service multiple times per day. Our take: With more restaurant spending being funneled through platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats, operators are having to rethink their acquisition strategy. Companies previously reluctant to sign on to their marketplaces—like Olive Garden and Domino’s—are changing their tune as it becomes clear that consumers’ affinity for delivery is not a pandemic blip. At the same time, DoorDash and its competitors are aiming higher. For them, food delivery is merely the first stepping stone toward becoming a one-stop shop for all of consumers’ needs, from restaurant meals to groceries to pet and home improvement supplies. That’s an ambitious goal, and one that is not yet reflected in shoppers’ behavior—but that could change as people become more accustomed to spending time on delivery apps.
US commerce media ad spending is projected to hit $118.4 billion by 2029, growing at a 15.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), per a May EMARKETER forecast.
The news: The electric vehicle industry hit a rough patch in Q2, with sales slowing across the board—especially for companies focused solely on EVs. Our take: If the so-called Big Beautiful Bill passes—as many expect—and eliminates the EV tax credit, the industry could find itself in a downturn it can’t easily steer out of. Without incentives to offset higher upfront costs, EV adoption may slow even further, leaving automakers stuck with inventory and uncertain demand.
The trend: Scarcity still sells. Even as consumers become more budget-conscious, limited releases continue to spark outsize demand and buzz. Our take: Consumers are drawn to the new, the novel, and the exclusive. That’s why limited releases continue to deliver results. They create urgency and give brands a way to protect margins—even at a time when many shoppers are rethinking their overall spending.
The news: Consumers increasingly trust shopping suggestions from AI, even more than product suggestions from content creators, positioning the technology as a trusted and personalized guide rather than a back-end tool. 27% of US consumers trust AI shopping recommendations, per Walmart’s Retail Rewired Report, compared with 24% who trust suggestions from social media influencers. Our take: AI retail tools are most likely to succeed if they offer both speed and a sense of user control. Retailers should let users set spending caps and offer options to pause or customize recommendations to help AI agents feel more like a trusted assistant than a pushy salesperson.
Almost half of Gen Zers (46%) and Baby Boomers (45%) would switch to less expensive brands or product alternatives if there are price increases related to tariffs, according to March data from Collage Group.
The news: Nearly half of US and UK consumers admit to abusing retailers’ returns policies in the past 12 months, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll. Our take: Retailers face a Catch-22 when it comes to returns. Being too generous opens the door for fraud and can result in retailers being overburdened by reverse logistics costs. But being too restrictive can deter shoppers from opening their wallets.
The trend: Walmart has begun rolling out “Summer Frights” Halloween displays in about 1,000 stores across the US, featuring quirky early-season items like watermelon jack-o’-lanterns and ghost plushies in Hawaiian shirts. Our take: Walmart is smart to embrace offbeat retail moments like Summerween. While consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending, they continue to splurge on seasonal celebrations like Halloween and the holidays. Halloween alone has become a major retail event, with spending hitting $11.6 billion last year—a 31.8% increase from pre-pandemic 2019. Summerween pulls some of that spending forward and gives budget-conscious shoppers a playful reason to open their wallets—even if they’re feeling spooked by the economy.
The news: Verizon customers can now pay-by-bank through Trustly in Verizon’s brick-and-mortar stores. Our take: As long as the cost of accepting credit cards remains sizable, merchants who have the means to dodge fees will find ways to make pay-by-bank accessible.
The news: Sezzle debuted a suite of payment and deal-hunting features, per a press release. Our take: Sezzle needs to find any kind of foothold in the BNPL space, as its market share is massively outstripped by competitors like Klarna and Affirm.
The news: Klarna will be the default payment option for Bolt’s CheckoutOS merchants, per a press release. Our take: Klarna faces multiple challenges. It has to increase its availability to US consumers while also rivaling credit cards that offer both installment plans and cash back or points that likely exceed the value of Klarna’s gift-based rewards system through Nift
The milestone: Amazon recently deployed its 1 millionth robot in its fulfillment centers—a figure approaching the number of human workers at those facilities. Our take: Automation is a central element within Amazon’s relentless push to narrow the gap between click and doorstep. Fast delivery isn’t just about convenience; it transforms how consumers shop. The faster Amazon gets everyday essentials like toothpaste into customers’ hands—especially with free delivery for Prime members—the harder it becomes for other retailers to compete. That gives Amazon a durable edge as it looks to expand its share of US ecommerce sales.
The news: Lululemon is suing Costco for selling dupes. In a lawsuit filed June 25, the athleisure brand accuses the wholesale giant of infringing on its design patents by selling knockoff sweatshirts, jackets, and other activewear. Lululemon seeks an immediate halt to sales of the disputed products and unspecified monetary damages. Our take: For nearly as long as there have been name brands, there have been knockoffs. But the rise of dupe culture on TikTok—combined with increasingly cost-conscious consumers looking—is pushing more shoppers toward cheaper alternatives and more brands to the brink. It's become a growing headache for companies like Estée Lauder, which have struggled as buyers opt for low-priced lookalikes. Lululemon’s lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the brand’s efforts to protect its designs. If it succeeds, it could set a precedent—and signal that the era of unchecked dupes may be nearing a turning point.
Despite the rise of digital shopping, brick-and-mortar still dominates retail. This makes in-store digital advertising attractive for marketers, but a new EMARKETER and Placer.ai study reveals critical disconnects between marketers' assumptions and consumer reality.
The news: US shopper interest in generative AI (genAI) assistants has spiked 223% between 2023 and 2025, per Chain Store Age. 69% of US consumers surveyed by CouponFollow have used AI assistants for shopping. Our take: Retail AI strategies must match their audiences. Those geared toward younger consumers should highlight AI use and innovation and even let AI guide purchases. For older consumers, focus on AI to inform, not take control.
The situation: Low-income Americans are feeling squeezed by high prices, declining pay, and public assistance that doesn’t go far enough. Bottom line: Declining after-tax income and tariff-driven inflation mean relief for low-income Americans is unlikely anytime soon. Their budgets will tighten, shrinking grocery baskets and curbing discretionary spending. While Walmart, Dollar General, and other value retailers are currently propped up by higher-income shoppers, that cushion could quickly disappear if those customers expect tax-cut windfalls and return to old spending habits.
The trend: A growing parade of retailers are front-loading July promotions to capture sales before the start of Amazon’s Prime Day event, which will run from July 8 at 12:01am PDT through July 11. Our take: There's a good reason that more retailers are joining Walmart and Target in attempting to get a head start on Prime Day. Amazon typically garners an outsized share of sales during its marquee event; we expect Amazon will account for 75% of US ecommerce sales during Prime Day this year.