Internet memes are not a new phenomenon, but the events of 2020 have spurred their consumption. Despite their popularity among social media users, marketing with memes can still be a risky business for brands.

Programmatic ad spending will account for 93.6% of total UK display ad spending this year, or £7.90 billion ($10.09 billion). Open exchanges, though, will account for a diminishing proportion of that total; spend declined 2.4% in 2020.

After a challenging 2020, which saw big shifts in how digital media was consumed and how marketing adapted, we anticipate five developments will have a lasting impact on Canada’s digital economy.

The pandemic accelerated payments industry digitization across the entire landscape, as merchants turned to ecommerce to keep doors open, consumers eschewed cash in favor of electronic and contactless payments, and payments technology providers rapidly developed and launched new solutions to keep up.

SMS marketing has long remained under the radar. But several tailwinds will make sending text messages to customers a common practice in 2021.

Consumers’ growing willingness to get their financial services from non-FI providers is spurring consumer brands to embed financial elements in their products and services. But this new form of finance will mean dramatic changes for incumbent and startup FIs.

Retail ecommerce sales in Western Europe rose by 26.3% in 2020, to €481.54 billion ($539.18 billion). The pandemic is fueling other shifts in the retail landscape, too, such as a greater focus on buying local.

Even as total worldwide retail sales declined by 3.0% in 2020, retail ecommerce growth boomed to 27.6%. Ecommerce growth will decelerate substantially in 2021 to 14.3% as brick-and-mortar sales recover.

Incumbent insurers have accelerated their use of mature AI deployments in the past year to meet changing customer expectations and better compete with insurtechs. They’ll now need to infuse the tech across their business segments to unlock the full potential—including enhanced personalization, cost cutting, and stronger risk management—of AI-driven digital transformation.

US programmatic display ad spending was up more than 10% in 2020 despite the pandemic-induced recession and will rebound this year as advertisers continue shifting budgets to flexible, measurable media.

From the growth of TikTok and of social commerce to the challenges of brand safety and the cookieless future, 2021 will be another year of big stories for social media.

Buy now, pay later solutions are quickly gaining adoption as consumers look for new financing options and merchants aim to drive sales. But the industry is still unsettled as a number of firms are battling to lead the space, while card networks and issuers are looking to get involved too.

After a tumultuous year, the social platforms will close 2020 on a high note in terms of ad revenues and users—and with features that closely resemble each other.

Hispanic consumers have endured exceptional financial volatility—mostly bad—during the pandemic. Even in normal times, this population is a moving target, with its diverse components evolving in financial strength, degrees of acculturation, and digital engagement.

Increased political ad spending contributed to a banner year for connected TV.

Virtual events became mainstream because of the pandemic. But for long-term success, event organizers and sponsors need a new virtual event playbook with best practices across the event life cycle. Read this report for the checklist.

This inaugural scorecard, weighted based on responses to a primary consumer survey, ranks the four largest US neobanks by user count according to their advanced mobile banking capabilities. The report presents detailed benchmarking data on the availability of 47 mobile features, selected by analysts based on the features’ propensity to help neobanks differentiate themselves from competitors. It is a companion to the 2020 US Mobile Banking Competitive Edge Report, which ranks the 25 largest US financial institutions by assets.

The retail industry is transforming at both physical stores and in digital. This report examines 10 trends that will most shape retail in the year ahead.

This report describes how the pandemic, operating systems, and a new US president will affect mobile advertising.

TikTok’s user base will increase substantially in 2020. Despite a ban on the app in India and efforts to restrict it in the US, TikTok will continue to expand in many countries in 2021.

Digital therapeutics (DTx) were gaining popularity as tools to help slash the US’ $3 trillion annual spending on chronic disease, and the pandemic has vaulted digital therapies into the spotlight. Now, the Teladoc-Livongo megamerger is heating up competition in the DTx space as players race to capture a slice of a market slated to reach $56 billion by 2025.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

As with other social networks, Twitter’s user base grew unexpectedly this year as pandemic-driven stay-at-home orders drove up social media usage overall.