Value was the name of the game in 2024 as retailers scrambled to keep consumers shopping. But that wasn’t the only thing on retailers’ minds this year.

Word-of-mouth marketing is critical to the customer acquisition process for credit cards

Retailers had a whirlwind 2024 that saw consumers seeking value, rising in-store visits, and widespread technological experimentation. To honor individual retailers who stood out, our analysts voted on a number of categories and discussed the winners on a new episode of the "Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail" podcast.

In January, our EMARKETER Daily newsletter team made some advertising and marketing predictions for 2024 on everything from AI to attention metrics.

TikTok is driving social commerce sales and buyer growth: The platform’s popularity and influence with Gen Zers contributed to its 2024 successes. We look at how that could change in 2025.

On today's podcast episode, we give out some 2024 retail awards for the most must-visit store, the Gen Z darling, the best innovator, the small stuff worth sweating award, and the comeback story of the year. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.

Our second annual study of US banking consumers reveals the key characteristics that make each generation’s customer journey unique. Banks can tailor their acquisition and retention strategies accordingly.

From Temu’s rise to their interest in dupes, Gen Z prioritized affordability and convenience in 2024. Gen Z consumers also showed interest in in-person shopping, but crowded stores may be limiting their trips to brick-and-mortar retail.

As penetration weakens and margins shrink, insurers across business lines will prioritize emerging growth areas in 2025—including novel technologies—strategic marketing efforts, and leveraging favorable legislative changes.

Gen Z is the first mobile payments-native generation. By 2028, 67.8% of US adults will be mobile wallet users, per our forecast. Gen Zers are already way ahead: 85.1% made an in-store or online payment using their phone in 2023, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Though beauty is a crowded category,11:11 Beauty is hoping Paris Hilton’s multigenerational appeal could help it break through the noise, and power a content flywheel.

Shoppers are more comfortable than ever using BNPL—and not just during the holidays. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) volume will hit $18.5 billion this holiday season, with Cyber Monday alone accounting for just shy of $1 billion in spend, per Adobe. That’s 27.6% more than BNPL holiday sales volume in 2022.

Consumers feel it’s the US government’s responsibility to ensure health coverage: But a for-profit healthcare system that incentivizes insurers to make coverage decisions based on what’s best for business means it’s unlikely to happen.

Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year’s Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there’s lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers—from Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

While most Gen Zers are managing their debts, relying on credit cards for everyday spending could spell trouble

In November, retailers made strategic moves across grocery, apparel, and beauty. Amazon turned Black Friday into a weeklong event and launched its Shein competitor, Haul. Meanwhile, e.l.f. Beauty strengthened its value proposition through a new Dollar General partnership, while Kroger announced plans for specialized Asian experience stores in North Texas. Here are our eight unofficial picks for the most interesting retailers in November.

Gen Zers are driving growth in both emerging and traditional payment methods as they embrace cards, BNPL, and digital wallets. Payment providers must now align their offerings with Gen Z’s preferences as the cohort’s spending power grows.

GenAI and social are set to heavily influence the UK commerce and advertising landscape in 2025, while thrifty consumer behaviors persist and video viewing shifts to mostly digital.

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.

High-income consumers, those earning $150,000+ annually, are charting a unique "discovery-to-purchase" journey that begins in physical stores but frequently concludes in digital channels, according to new EMARKETER research. "These consumers demonstrate more technological comfort than their peers," our analyst Paola Flores-Marquez said on the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. "They're willing to explore multiple channels before making purchase decisions."