In a special Thanksgiving-themed episode of “Behind the Numbers,” we ranked the retail and brand initiatives we’re thankful for this season, from viral merchandise to purpose-driven campaigns. "We're looking at those strategies, launches, and collabs that we're genuinely grateful for, the moves that made us smile, surprised us, or gave us hope for where retail is headed," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian.

Airbnb and Instacart plan to launch a pilot program that would enable guests in select cities to order grocery delivery before and during their stays, per Bloomberg. The partnership is a win-win, offering Airbnb the chance to improve the guest experience, and giving Instacart an opportunity to expand its reach and boost ad revenues. As competition between delivery platforms heats up, deals like these are poised to become more common as companies look for new ways to win over customers.

Amazon is cutting 14,000 roles from its corporate workforce as it reshapes its organization to prepare for an agentic AI future. The layoffs are unusual for a company still posting strong growth, but Amazon framed them as part of a broader move to gain efficiencies from genAI. While most retailers have thus far refrained from citing AI as a reason for mass layoffs, that could change as tariff pressures and other headwinds force companies to cut costs—and headcount—where possible.

Airbnb opted against launching a third-party app integration with ChatGPT because it “didn’t think [the technology] was quite ready,” CEO Brian Chesky told Bloomberg. While the company hasn’t ruled out joining the platform, its measured approach contrasts sharply with the enthusiasm of competitors like Expedia and Booking.com. Airbnb is prudent to have reservations about OpenAI’s commerce capabilities. While chatbots could reshape travel discovery and booking, early reports indicate ChatGPT’s utility for now is hampered by a clunky, finicky interface that is more frustrating than helpful. Rather than forge commerce partnerships with AI companies, Airbnb is focused on making its service an indispensable travel resource to keep its platform sticky.

Airbnb may launch a loyalty program at some point, chief business officer Dave Stephenson told Bloomberg. The company has all the ingredients “that would make a compelling loyalty program,” he said—especially following the launch of Airbnb’s services and experiences booking platform. While it’s hardly surprising that Airbnb, a company that has thoroughly disrupted the travel industry, would be reluctant to copy its competitors’ approach to loyalty, there is something to be said for simplicity. What worked for Amazon may not translate as well to Airbnb, given the number of competing platforms that offer similar services—and the fact that most of what it offers is highly discretionary.

Latin America’s commerce media ecosystem is rapidly evolving. Financial, travel, and other nonretail players are now looking to monetize their own first-party data—following the path retailers have already paved.

By blocking bad bookings and prepping personalized travel planning tools, Airbnb is turning its data into both a policy enforcer and a future revenue engine.

Travel holds up amid headwinds: Consumers continue to prioritize trips, aiding hotel performance and expansion.

Leisure travel demand ticks up ahead of the holiday season: Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking expect reservations to accelerate in Q4.

Airbnb hosts can now hire each other: The official network of seasoned co-hosts, alongside a spate of customer-facing app updates, could help Airbnb recover after its last-quarter earnings miss.

It’s been a complicated year for advertising, punctuated by a slow first half of the year followed by better growth in the back half. Limited budgets mean brands have had to get creative. One form of creativity has been partnerships from names both big and small. Here are five that caught our eye.

Your one-stop-shop for travel industry digital metrics in 2023.

On today's episode, we discuss what to make of Twitter changing its name to X, whether Walmart is crushing Amazon in the grocery wars, what a billboard in your living room would look like, what Gen Z has done to the purchase funnel, why Airbnb doesn't have a loyalty program, what the most popular museums around the world are, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analysts Blake Droesch and Carina Perkins.

Leverage your own data to guide decisions, meet consumers where they are, and find some partnerships outside of your comfort zone—but never forget your brand identity or what made consumers love it in the first place.

Klarna hailed AI’s potential, but it needs to consider how the tech can bring benefits that competitors can’t replicate.

The travel booking site partnered with Stripe and Klarna to offer BNPL and smoother bank transfers.

Retail media provides a significant boost to Instacart’s bottom line: The company’s advertising business reportedly grew 30% last year to $740 million.

On today's episode, we discuss if Twitter is actually getting worse, whether folks will want to become "Meta Verified," what it looks like to digitally insert yourself as a player into a live basketball game, whether Airbnb's recent performance is reflective of the overall travel market, what paid family leave looks like in the US and in different countries, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha, director of forecasting Oscar Orozco, and analyst Max Willens.

Inflation hasn’t made a dent in travel demand: Airbnb, Marriott, and United all reported strong Q4 earnings despite higher prices for airfare and lodging.

On today's episode, we discuss Spotify's impressive Q3, podcast listenership in the US, and how traditional radio is able to be so resilient. "In Other News," we talk about why sports betting will never be free of controversy and why Airbnb says its search-averse marketing strategy is working. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.