Although the Cyber Five will hit record ecommerce sales in the US this year at $41.43 billion, the retail event’s share of total retail ecommerce holiday season sales will continue to shrink, per our July 2024 forecast.

NBCU will have to pay extra to keep the Macy’s parade: The retailer wants $60 million for a new Thanksgiving Day broadcast contract.

Consumers turn to genAI to help with holiday shopping: Nearly one-fifth of global Cyber Five sales this year will be influenced by AI agents and other tools, Salesforce says.

Asia-Pacific’s many holiday and seasonal shopping events are hugely popular for finding deals. Traditionally Western and China-originated events are also gaining ground in the region as the consumption culture expands.

Amazon, Best Buy, and Google will launch sales on November 21: The shorter-than-usual period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is driving retailers and brands to start their holiday pushes early.

For Walmart, Black Friday officially starts on November 11: The retailer will offer savings throughout the month, with exclusive deals and early sales access for online shoppers and Walmart+ members.

TikTok Shop leans on top brands, live shopping to boost holiday sales: The platform will feature exclusive products from brands like Benefit Cosmetics and celebrity-led livestreams alongside Cyber Five discounts.

The 2024 holiday season is forecasted to top $1.353 trillion, according to EMARKETER. To thrive in this high-stakes period, businesses must embrace opportunities like AI-driven personalization, seamless payment options, and the longer gift-buying season.

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.

Consumers are turning to their TVs for holiday inspiration: 43% of connected TV (CTV) users say TV ads offer useful information on holiday shopping, and 72% would scan a QR code in a TV ad to make a purchase, according to a report from LG Ad Solutions.

Ecommerce growth accelerated during the 2023 holiday season as US consumers shifted more of their shopping to mobile devices.

As Latin America’s digital revolution marches on, advertisers and retailers must keep pace with how and where consumers are spending their time—and money—if they wish to maintain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving business environment.

Shoppers made a record number of Amazon purchases this holiday season: Strong consumer spending coupled with momentum in its ad business helped propel Amazon’s earnings well past expectations.

In January, the Retail Daily newsletter editors made four retail predictions for 2023. Some we got right (like the proliferation of Amazon Prime Day-type events) while some we missed the mark on a bit (it was not the year of AR).

Black Friday sales totaled $9.8 billion this year, according to Adobe Analytics, just below our June 2023 forecast of $10.4 billion.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the travel rebound and how tech is helping it out, how Black Friday football (with a side of online shopping) performed this year, will X (formerly Twitter) go bankrupt next year, a new way to stream NBA games post-cable, what to expect from ChatGPT next year, why your passport is the color it is, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

Thursday Night Football shows viewership metrics don’t say it all: Amazon’s Black Friday audience was far lower than expected, but DTC opportunities drove brand excitement.

TikTok Shop has rapidly emerged an important channel for some merchants: But whether those early gains are sustainable remains a question given the significant discounts that drove those results.