Stablecoins are moving from crypto rails to mainstream payments infrastructure. Regulatory support and institutional investment are accelerating adoption, but consumer trust gaps, fragmentation, and liquidity risks pose near-term hurdles for digital payments.

This FAQ explores how marketers can reach Gen Alpha amid tightening privacy rules and growing household influence.

This FAQ explores the main types of loyalty programs and how retailers can use them to drive lasting customer relationships.

Retail media networks rely heavily on first-party data, but those datasets capture only part of the customer journey. As advertisers push for broader reach and measurement, gaps in that data are becoming harder to overlook.

“Returns are in, brands are sharing how the holidays really performed on investor calls, and before we know it, we're going to start planning for the next cycle,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Reimagining Retail.” As retailers wrap up their analysis of the 2025 holiday season and begin planning for 2026, here’s how consumer behaviors are evolving across channels and what this means for future holiday strategies.

The retailer is betting on Levi’s brand heat to lure shoppers, while the denim company expects Target’s reach to support its lifestyle ambitions.

Nearly 25% of US sales are now online, fueled by speed and scale

Walmart’s ad business is entering its scale phase: Growth is moderating, but monetization is broadening across search, display, offsite, and CTV.

The marketplace is pausing plans to force merchants to use its fulfillment services after considerable backlash.

The warehouse club’s pursuit of wealthier shoppers, localized product strategy, and competitive pricing are driving outsize growth.

Estée Lauder sued the retailer over counterfeits, alleging lax oversight.

US grocery ecommerce will continue to grow through 2029, but at a slower pace as the market matures and in-store sales remain dominant. As growth cools, delivery, retailer-owned channels, and a few larger players will lead the gains.

On February 20, eBay’s updated user agreement goes into effect, banning third-party AI agents that autonomously buy for consumers, targeting the emerging “buy-for-me” tools designed to handle discovery, decisioning, and checkout.

Retail is entering a more complex, multichannel era, testing retail media strategies as a result. In this video, Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano examines the structural shifts reshaping how consumers discover and purchase, and what those changes signal for growth.

In 2026, economic uncertainty is quietly reshaping consumer payment behavior, driving shifts across cards, cash, BNPL, and emerging alternatives as households adapt how they manage spending and access liquidity.

US fashion ecommerce is maturing just as AI, social commerce, and resale gain traction. Slower growth and costly returns are raising the stakes, reshaping how consumers discover, decide, and buy.

Amazon’s strong Q4 results were tempered by uncertainty as a $200 billion 2026 spending plan rattled investors.

Brands court affluent consumers with upgrades while discounting to retain price-sensitive buyers, hedging for the next rebound.

Brands from PepsiCo to Ulta are leaning on wellness framing to nudge cautious consumers to spend.