At the time of this writing, videos with the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt have garnered 10.2 billion global views and counting. For context, we expect 755.0 million people worldwide to use TikTok in 2022, so that’s as if every user viewed the hashtag about 13 times.

Halting regulatory progress remains in flux and faces fragmentation at the global level. Without international agreements, a metaverse intent on connecting the world will not make it across sovereign borders. The myriad of crypto tokens must be shaken out. The metaverse is filled with tokens, and more are created every day.

US retail ecommerce sales will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year as the flexibility and convenience customers found during the pandemic sticks.

We include the following consumer categories in our definition of retail ecommerce sales:.

Amazon faces investigation into use of third-party seller data: As the SEC looks into Amazon business practices, Congress asks the DOJ to investigate the company for obstruction, which could heighten regulatory pressure on Big Tech.

As buy now, pay later becomes a common consumer practice, Klarna has its sights set on expanding its services beyond online commerce. Hear from Klarna’s CMO about how its payment platform has turned into a growth partner for merchants and retailers.

/Deloitte survey, 74% of worldwide at-home AR users had used AR to communicate, and 52% had done so for media/entertainment. According to an October 2021 survey by Wool & Water, 47% of US shoppers had used an AR filter on social media in the past 30 days. “The mass-scale behavior already exists,” said Carolina Arguelles Navas, head of global AR product strategy and product marketing at Snap.

The For You page and trending videos were among the top places TikTok users worldwide discovered products in the food and beverage, luxury, and automotive categories, per an August 2021 Warc survey. The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

Nor is it the only union looking to represent Amazon workers: Should the vote in Bessemer pass, workers would join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, while the new president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has made organizing Amazon employees a top priority.

The pandemic sparked greater global awareness of environmental issues and a renewed commitment to finding solutions. Climate change ranked as the top personal concern of Gen Z adults worldwide, ahead of both unemployment and disease prevention (amid a global pandemic), per Deloitte in February 2021.

Alibaba’s stranglehold on ecommerce in China is loosening: The company’s earnings disappointed amid weakening consumer demand, robust performances from rivals, and more scrutiny from Beijing.