Subscription models are driving customer loyalty in online sales of groceries and other essential goods, but fatigue among consumers threatens long-term growth.

US smartphone gamers will spend $18.83 billion on virtual goods this year, a massive sum compared with the $0.78 billion they’ll spend on subscriptions. These intangible assets make up a growing industry in the gaming world, especially as more companies—from Nike to Spotify to Chipotle—enter the metaverse via games like Roblox.

Musk says he’d consider turning Twitter into a super app with a strong payments focus and pointed to WeChat as a “good model.”

Jane Ko tried to avoid TikTok. The blogger and creator’s platform of choice is Instagram, where her @atasteofkoko account has about 118,000 followers, and she felt she wasn’t the right fit for an app that burst on the scene with singing and dancing—things she says she isn’t good at.

Thanksgiving store closures return thanks to shifting consumer habits: Increasing online shopping and earlier deal-seeking, plus criticism over opening on Thanksgiving Day, could lead many retailers to forgo the trend for good—Target has already committed to doing so.

Nike files to trademark virtual goods as metaverse inches closer to reality: Many companies have already begun experimenting with branded digital items, but some are starting to take it more seriously as buzz around the metaverse intensifies.

On today's episode, we discuss the most important trends shaping the future of shopping, whether gifting experiences can catch up with physical goods, the best return policies, the "empty promise" of instant delivery, Taco Bell's subscription service, an unpopular opinion about Netflix prices, who invented Monopoly, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst Suzy Davidkhanian, director of forecasting Oscar Orozco, and director of reports editing at Insider Intelligence Rahul Chadha.

On this special edition of the show, we're taking a look back at some of the most notable conversations we've had this year. In this episode, we discuss what it takes to create a good retail site/app and why marketers need to work on their mid-funnel (mid-range) game.

Here’s a breakdown of the online and in-store features that apparel retail shoppers value the most, and a ranking of how 10 leading retailers stack up.

On today's episode, we discuss the real reasons why Elon Musk bought Twitter, the good, the interesting, and the confusing changes we expect to see from the platform, what advertisers should be considering at this point, and what Twitter might look like by next year. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg and Briefings director Jeremy Goldman.

Article: These apps are ahead of the game on virtual goods.

Sony’s service game push could be good for advertisers: The lucrative model could be a platform for its rumored ad program

On today's episode, we discuss how inflation is changing consumer behavior, whether 15-minute delivery is too good to be true, the potential of Apple's realityOS, how much of the information shoppers give retailers is false, the ceiling to spending time on TikTok, an unpopular opinion about buying things from TV ads, pets' roles in Americans' lives, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our senior director of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, director of reports editing Rahul Chadha, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.