Rounding up news from the last days of 2021: The news cycle didn’t stop over the holidays. These are some of the most notable stories from the last two weeks.

Brands eagerly jump on the retail media network bandwagon: As access to customer data becomes a priority for brands, retailers see an opportunity to diversify their revenue streams.

Walmart is the most popular online alternative to Amazon, with nearly 63% of US Amazon buyers picking up products there when not doing so on Amazon.

We expect retail media advertising to be one of the fastest-growing segments of digital advertising in the US at over 31%. But this is just one of the five key trends that we predict will most shape the retail landscape in the year ahead.

On today's episode, we discuss Amazon's role in the trend of retail media advertising and some of the new advertising features we can expect to see from the online shopping giant. We then talk about Walmart's readiness to take on Amazon and whether America's internet is turning into a QVC-like shopping channel. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman.

As the lines continue to blur between digital and physical channels, retailers will need to master both to entice consumers to continue to return to their brand. Here are five trends they should keep an eye on.

Thanksgiving store closures return thanks to shifting consumer habits: Increasing online shopping and earlier deal-seeking, plus criticism over opening on Thanksgiving Day, could lead many retailers to forgo the trend for good—Target has already committed to doing so.

Instacart delays IPO plans to focus on broadening services: The company believes it may generate as much as $10 billion to $20 billion in annual revenues from its retail media network in the coming years.

On today's episode, we discuss the most interesting takeaways from Amazon's Q3 earnings, why the online store's sales hit the brakes, and how Amazon's ad business is coming along. We then talk about Walmart testing an SMS-assisted ecommerce tool called “Walmart Text to Shop,” how new brick-and-mortar stores might look different, and Pinterest's new shoppable live series called Pinterest TV. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman.

Apple and Chewy will see the fastest ecommerce sales growth of the top 15 online retailers in the US this year, at 25.7% and 25.0% over 2020, respectively.

Amazon maintains its commanding lead in the US retail ecommerce space, generating 41.0% of the sales this year.

OCC pick favors sweeping changes like Fed takeover of accounts: Saule Omarova’s radical proposal has splintered Senate Democratic backing for Biden’s nominee—just as the very nature of banking is also being questioned by market forces.

Walmart tries SMS shopping again, this time backed by AI and customer data: It will use the same conversational commerce tech that helped make its voice-assisted shopping successful.

Retail sales for the 2021 US holiday season will soar as brick-and-mortar shopping returns with a vengeance and ecommerce maintains double-digit growth rates.

Walmart's partnership with digital health benefits startup Transcarent could elevate Walmart’s healthcare play and bring it head to head with the likes of Amazon and CVS.

US consumers generally hold a more positive attitude toward Amazon than to its closest ecommerce rival, Walmart.

Green Dot’s Temenos cloud deal could enhance consumer ties: Features the partnership enables in Green Dot’s direct bank and its banking as a service (BaaS) business could strengthen its bonds with low- to-moderate-income consumers.

The retailers that will be on top this holiday season are those that see mobile apps as the connective tissue between brick-and-mortar and ecommerce shopping experiences.

Walmart’s GoLocal delivery service will need smaller customers to be sustainable: The Home Depot is a good start, but it’s big enough that it’s likely to take delivery in-house in the near future.

Walmart picks Epic to fuel its healthcare ambitions: We explore why Walmart’s recent telehealth expansion could have influenced its decision and how Epic opens the retailer up to more traditional healthcare providers.