On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of September. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Arielle Feger and Sara Lebow will defend their list against analysts Zak Stambor and Rachel Wolff, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

The upgrade can bring in more value-added services revenues for the network and spur greater real-time payments adoption

Digital ad spending in the payments industry is set to surge as consumers start to get through the financial headwinds of the past few years. We look at where payment providers should focus their ad spend to maximize returns.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what would happen if TikTok is (or isn’t) banned in America, what marketers get most wrong about consumers, will AI smartphones be impactful right out of the gate, will most companies eventually ask employees to be in the office five days a week, the world's favorite drinks, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Blake Droesch, Bill Fisher, and Carina Perkins.

Lionsgate breaks down the doors of AI in Hollywood: The studio will feed its films into an AI model in a partnership with Runway.

GenAI search could have a transformative impact on the shopping journey. To satisfy customers and stay competitive, retailers should focus on two essential innovations.

With AI delays and sluggish preorders, the iPhone 16 launch is testing investor patience and could signal trouble ahead for the tech giant.

Major retailers like IKEA, Walmart, and ThredUp are launching peer-to-peer resale marketplaces, aiming to capture a slice of the booming secondhand market. This trend comes as US marketplace ecommerce sales are projected to surpass $500 billion next year, according to our forecast.

Consumers may be concerned about the economy, but the outlook is good for ad spend in the final months of 2024. The share of advertisers concerned about a slowing US economy dropped 11 percentage points (from 49% to 38%) between November 2023 and August 2024, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Retail media’s popularity, an influx of value-based messaging, high political ad spend, and connected TV (CTV) monetization will boost the ad industry the rest of 2024.

OpenAI bets on smarter but slower answers to outpace its rivals in the crowded AI market

Sustained ad industry job losses don't signal a crisis: Sector employment is still about 100,000 jobs stronger than in April 2020.

Generative AI search engine Perplexity said it will launch ads in Q4, but the platform will need to win over advertisers and convince them their search ad spend will go further than it does on Google.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether AI is more like cars or Google search, what's missing from the new AI bill, and what these new rules mean for the rest of the country. Tune into the discussion with host Marcus Johnson, and analysts Jacob Bourne and Grace Harmon.

Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm aim for mass appeal with AI smart glasses: Streamlined genAI eyewear offers a stylish alternative to clunky headsets and expensive standalone devices.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how physicians are thinking about AI, the specific problems in healthcare that AI is trying to solve, and what it should never be used for in the space. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and analyst Rajiv Leventhal.

Top US advertisers have seen their CMOs’ tenures shrink from nearly four years to three years over the past decade, according to April 2024 Spencer Stuart research. This decline stems from increased public scrutiny, pressure to drive revenue growth, and an ever-expanding set of responsibilities.

Digital technologies are reshaping customers' in-store payment experience. Here’s what payment providers must know about in-store payment digitization trends.​

Mass affluent consumers are a $177.2 trillion global market that banks have struggled to serve. Now emerging technologies are finally enabling them to capture this lucrative demographic.

Is AI replacing jobs? Klarna says yes: The company plans to cut 1,800 more jobs after a year of aggressive cost-cutting.

Two factors are converging to drive improvements in PFM tool functions and make them a bigger factor in customer satisfaction and retention.