Walmart partners with Burger King to beef up Walmart+ perks: While the retailer focuses on appealing to its core customer base, Amazon makes a move for holiday and grocery sales.

Voice assistant adoption continues to grow, but the pace has slowed. Gen Z and seniors are key growth drivers, while smartphones and smart speakers remain central to the ecosystem as innovation and fresh competition shake up the sector.

More than 181 million people in the US will be Amazon Prime members this year, representing nearly 7 in 10 (73.7%) US internet users, according to our July 2024 forecast. Many of them turn to influencers before checking out; others can be won over by better discounts from competitor retailers; while some favor Amazon for fashion over groceries.

Amid shifting consumer priorities, competitive promotional activity, and an unusual calendar, brands and retailers must fine-tune their holiday 2024 marketing strategies to maximize sales during this critical period.

Amazon tests removing product reviews and ratings from search: The retailer claims it will enhance the browsing experience, but it creates friction for the majority of shoppers who rely on customer feedback.

The close tie between Amazon's ecommerce and advertising businesses presents both opportunities and challenges. "When ecommerce sales are growing, retail media dollars are going to go up,” our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. “But when ecommerce dollars aren’t growing that much, it's harder to get the retail media dollars to grow because they’re so intertwined."

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

But usage of the payment option remained quite limited compared with the share of buyers who use BNPL at any point during the year

Product safety issues could derail Chinese ecommerce platforms’ growth ambitions: Shein and Temu are struggling to keep products with high levels of toxic substances—as well as those hazardous to babies and children—off their marketplaces.

From the staying power of self-checkouts to the growing integration of mobile, here are three trends shaping the way consumers are completing their in-store purchases.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

Walmart's ad business drives 26% revenue growth: Walmart Connect leads with 30% increase, outpacing Amazon's ad unit.

Fast shipping, the vast selection of products, and high-quality customer service add to consumers’ growing attraction to online retail marketplaces, our analyst Sky Canaves said. “If there are any issues with the order, for example, there’s a trusted intermediary between the buyer and seller, which is why consumers may often feel that they have greater trust in marketplaces,” she said.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what's driving online store sales for Amazon, its outlook on brick-and-mortar, and how its ad business is continuing to outperform the market. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson, director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman and analyst Rachel Wolff.

The US consumer is holding up, according to Walmart: The retailer raised its full-year outlook after solid spending from value-seeking shoppers drove it to a Q2 earnings beat—although it warned of uncertainty heading into election season.

Our annual report on ecommerce in Canada highlights our most recent forecasts for all flavors of retail, including brick-and-mortar, digital buying, and mobile commerce.

As ecommerce grows in back-to-school shopping (34.9% of total back-to school sales this year versus 33.5% in 2023), content creators are playing a pivotal role in how consumers find school supplies. This shift is driven by younger parents buying classroom supplies for K-12 children and college students outfitting their dorm rooms. Both groups favor online shopping for its convenience and the ability to compare prices, our analyst Sarah Marzano said in a recent edition of our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.