While our 2019 prediction of digital’s influence on the reinvention of brick-and-mortar has materialized, it may have also undersold Amazon’s omnipresence in the space. The 800-pound gorilla of retail will continue to cast a wide shadow.

In this year’s Key Digital Trends report, we identify what changes are coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2020 and why they matter to marketers.

Advertisers are embracing the popularity of connected TV by allocating more money to streaming platforms.

Consumers’ use and acceptance of biometric technology—especially facial recognition—varies widely, depending on which part of the world you’re in.

Apple launched its subscription gaming service Arcade in late September as part of the company’s wider iOS 13 release, betting big on subscription gaming services and joining others like Google and Microsoft. As more adults spend time with mobile gaming apps daily, these companies are steadily developing their mobile gaming strategies.

The growing US search ad market is dominated by Google. But Amazon and smaller players have the ad giant in their crosshairs. According to our latest US ad spending forecast, Google’s share of search ad revenues will drop, while that of Amazon will grow over the next two years.

eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discusses our latest ad spend numbers for Amazon and how it’s maintaining its lead on Microsoft and Verizon.

Although not strictly social media, game streaming properties such as Amazon’s Twitch and Microsoft’s Mixer are playing an increasing role in the video creator space. They are competing with YouTube—and each other—for top video streamers and the audiences those streamers command. They are also becoming more important places for advertising. For our latest report, “Video Ads in Social Media 2019,” we take a look at monetization offerings from Twitch, Mixer and DLive.

This report features our latest forecasts for US voice assistant users, including those who use voice assistants on smartphones and smart speakers. It also provides an analysis of the trends shaping the market.

Apple is expanding its digital media presence at a time when iPhone sales have slowed. Earlier this week, Apple unveiled several new media products, including a subscription news app, gaming platform and video streaming service.

Half of US internet users have concerns about facial recognition, according to data from The Brookings Institution.

As new voice tech has emerged, functions normally embedded in phones have begun shifting to smart headphones, aka hearables.

This report includes our forecast for smart speaker users in Canada, China, France, Germany, the UK and the US, along with a focus on adoption trends for Amazon and Google.

Among the $327.28 billion spent worldwide on digital advertising in 2019, 61.2% will go toward advertising on Google, Facebook and Alibaba. This report includes our latest global ad spending forecast by country, region and company.

The glut of big tech deals and consolidation is, in some ways, reflective of what’s going on in the broader economy. According to Dealogic, global M&A deals are on pace to reach $4.8 trillion this year, which would set a record.

Our updated US ad spending forecast shows digital ad spending outpacing expectations. Digital media will capture $111.14 billion in ad dollars in 2018 and surpass traditional media ad spending by 2019, according to our latest estimates.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt tweeted last fall that Canada “quadrupled down” on AI with a smart mix of four key elements: government, universities, large companies and startups.

Canada’s AI scene is hot and centers around a few key cities that are home to universities, startups and large enterprises determined to change digital marketing for the better.

While augmented reality is still in the early adoption phase, usage is growing quickly. Recent hardware and software advancements—and backing from big tech companies—are spurring advertisers and marketers to create engaging new experiences for their customers.

Recent improvements in computer-vision technology have finally made this dream a reality, and the biggest technology companies, including Pinterest, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and eBay, now have visual search tools.