Retail sales for the 2021 US holiday season will soar as brick-and-mortar shopping returns with a vengeance and ecommerce maintains double-digit growth rates.

On today's episode, we discuss what the pandemic did to the time we spend on our smartphones, which mobile activities people do more of, and what app category has emerged as a dark horse. We then talk about how a product's first review can impact the rest, how retailers can get returns under control, and whether it's better to be more, or less, like Amazon. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Yory Wurmser.

While we’re still in the early stages of understanding augmented reality’s (AR’s) impact on conversion and return rates, it’s already a way for brands to improve the social commerce experience and remove some of the pain points of shopping digitally. Here are three reasons why marketers should consider incorporating AR into their social commerce strategies today:. Consumer interest is rising.

Can AR Reduce the Social Commerce Return Rate? Returns are a real problem. US consumers returned $428.01 billion in merchandise to retailers in 2020, per data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Appriss Retail. While the total 2020 return rate was in line with recent years, the rate of returns for digital purchases more than doubled from 2019, amounting to $102 billion.

Attribution innovations have brought the focus away from video completion rates and toward return on ad spend (ROAS) and cost-per-action (CPA) metrics

CVS’ plans to expand its in-person mental health services are likely a strategy to cater to patients who would prefer low-cost in-person visits, considering CVS saw a “surprisingly high return rate” for customers who had an in-person consultation, per WSJ.

The chip and component shortage, higher vaccination rates, and the return to the physical workplace and schools are some of key the reasons cited for the slowdown. Chromebooks saw a tremendous 275% YoY growth in Q1 2021 per Canalys. That demand has since plummeted significantly. Trendforce still expects 36 million Chromebook unit sales for 2021 in light of waning demand.

In the UK, 27 clothing retailers polled in 2020 by the IMRG and Metapack reported return rates between 22% and 44%—higher than for any other category. On the other hand, there are clear signs that consumers’ views are changing as they become more aware of environmental impacts.

Digital channels are the frontier for post-pandemic customer onboarding as pent-up demand for accounts and the return to normalcy fuel a DAO spike. But app abandonment rates remain too high, damaging banks’ customer acquisition efforts.

Oak Street Health says it doubles the typical time spent with patients, which is likely fostering the patient-physician relationship and driving patients to return back to their offices:. The company boasts a 97% patient retention rate, for instance. A high retention rate like means patients are recommending the organization to their family and friends—a key way Medicare patients find care options:.