For the first time, Insider Intelligence forecasts digital advertising spending for five industries in France: retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), auto, financial services, and travel. Digital ad spending is growing strongly in France this year. This Analyst Take gives a closer look at these inaugural forecasts.

European consumers are changing their buying habits vis-à-vis inflation: The war in Ukraine is impacting economic conditions in numerous European markets, driving up prices to near-record levels and reversing recent gains in consumer confidence.

Mineral arms race dives deep: The future of clean energy and ocean ecosystems hangs in the balance of the UN’s closed-door decision-making on deep-sea mining. Yet there are greener trajectories.

Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies is opposed by Germany’s largest publishers: The fight illustrates the tension between the overlapping priorities of antitrust concerns and privacy protections.

Revisiting what we saw in the crystal ball: We made five predictions last year about what would happen in fintech. Today, we look at three we got right.

Since early March, the coronavirus crisis has posed an unprecedented threat to the retail industry across Western Europe. In most countries, only retailers that sell food, drugs and other essential items can do so in physical stores.

Germany’s auto industry is central to the economy of the country and the region. But because of macroeconomic trends—like the volatility of the US-China trade negotiations and US President Donald Trump’s mixed trade signals on German cars—the automotive sector in Germany is underspending on ads compared with other industries. The medium-term prognosis remains uncertain.

eMarketer has downgraded Facebook user growth in both France and Germany, due to declines among younger age groups as they shift their usage to other platforms. Total user growth for the platform will essentially be flat in both countries, according to our latest social user forecast.

Digital ad spending in Germany will approach €7.3 billion ($8.6 billion) this year—nearly 10% more than in 2018. The sectors we analyze—including automotive, consumer packaged goods (CPG), financial services, healthcare/pharma, retail and travel—will all see much higher spending on mobile ads.

Global trends shifting shopping, including omnichannel selling, the rise of “New Retail,” cross-border ecommerce, social commerce, and top ecommerce players like Amazon and Alibaba and why marketplaces are dominating worldwide.

Last year, 81.4% of global consumers reported ordering items online for in-store pickup (up nearly 30% from the year prior) as more consumers are drawn to the service’s convenience and speed.

Singles’ Day is the world’s biggest shopping event, and Black Friday is just around the corner. Holiday shopping is a major driver of retail and ecommerce around the world, but spending and which holidays drive the most activity vary by region.

Growing numbers of internet users in France and Germany now watch digital video, stream music and play games online. Younger people are leading this digital charge, while many older residents are more loyal to traditional media.

Total media ad spending worldwide will reach $628.63 billion in 2018, a 7.4% gain over last year. Mobile advertising’s share of spend is expected to climb to 29.2% this year.

The share of consumers using mobile devices for retail purchases is lower in France and Germany than in several other nations in Western Europe. Yet together, the two countries will account for over $45 billion in mobile sales in 2018.