Big media acquisitions and streaming integrations will contribute to consolidation in connected TV (CTV) ad spending.

We expect US holiday sales to rise 3.6% in the final two months of the year, a slowdown from last year’s 4.4% gain, but much stronger than our May outlook, when we anticipated just 1.2% growth. The shift stems from consumers’ surprising resilience despite tariffs, inflation, and a softening labor market. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon have reported steady demand, with tariffs adding only modest price pressures. However, spending remains uneven across income groups as higher earners benefit from wage and wealth gains. Retailers will need to emphasize affordability and value to attract cautious middle- and lower-income shoppers this season.

Amazon beat expectations in Q3, helped by an extended Prime Day sale, expanded rural access to same- and next-day delivery, and healthy cloud and advertising growth. The company's AI investments are taking center stage as the company looks to improve efficiency, boost engagement, and keep third-party AI agents at bay. From a retail standpoint, Amazon is on firm footing. The retailer’s ability to offer unparalleled convenience, wide selection, and Prime membership perks are enabling it to gain share in an uncertain environment.

Amazon is continuing to see success with its maturing ad offerings. Q3 advertising services reached $17.7 billion, up 24% YoY, while net sales increased 13% to $180.2 billion. Q4 guidance points to continued confidence, with Amazon expecting growth between 10% and 13% YoY. Amazon’s ad success indicates that it will continue to be a promising opportunity for marketers that offers a unique proposition combining data-driven targeting, commerce integration, innovative ad formats, and the ability to reach consumers both onsite and offsite.

As the market for personal luxury goods emerges from a prolonged period of recalibration, growth hinges on fostering innovation and engagement with core consumers across the globe.

Fintechs, big tech, and payment players are using genAI to redefine finance. To compete, banks must pair strategic genAI investment with hyper-personalization and human support to earn customer trust and loyalty.

Online marketplaces are a crucial channel for growth in Europe. But brands need a nuanced strategy to navigate the complex, fragmented landscape.

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.

The ad industry has reached a tipping point in its approach to measurement, shifting from a slower, siloed approach to one that’s more dynamic and allows advertisers to shift their spending more quickly than they had in years past.

By the end of 2025, CTV will overtake linear TV in key metrics like viewing share, viewing households, time spent, and content spending. CTV ad spend with then be set to surpass traditional TV spend in 2028.

The NBA is experiencing one of its biggest advertising booms in decades following a record $76 billion media rights deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon. Ad spend on NBA programming jumped 15% last season to $1.52 billion, with NBCUniversal selling out its first-year inventory after returning to coverage for the first time in 23 years. ESPN, ABC, and Prime Video are also thriving—drawing hundreds of advertisers across broadcast and streaming. Amazon is fusing ecommerce and live sports with shoppable ad formats, while NBC and Disney leverage cross-platform studio content. The result: the NBA is redefining what live sports monetization looks like.

Shopping for fun was one of the top reasons consumers shopped Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale last month, cited by 30% of Prime Day shoppers, according to October data from CivicScience.

Search advertising is entering a new era where Amazon and other retail media players are reshaping how discovery and intent are monetized. Brands must revisit their “search mix.” Google may remain indispensable, but allocating more spend to retail media will future-proof campaigns against cookie loss and capitalize on where shopping intent now begins.

Walmart is now the first retailer to sell Abbott’s over-the-counter blood sugar monitor in stores. Its rollout of Abbott’s Lingo CGM brings real-time health tracking to mainstream retail, helping to make advanced health tech part of everyday life. For marketers, the rollout highlights a growing opportunity to reach proactive health seekers who want personalized insights about nutrition, exercise, and stress.

Twitch introduced livestream shopping ads powered by Amazon’s advertising platform. The ad launch reflects the burgeoning popularity of livestream commerce, which despite being slow to take off in the US is now gaining traction thanks to TikTok, a booming collectibles market, and the rise of “shoppertainment.” Amazon is betting that an easier path to purchase will encourage more viewers to pull the trigger on products they discover via livestreams. However, a successful live shopping strategy requires thinking about the channel less as an avenue for direct conversions and more as an opportunity to engage potential customers and build lasting relationships.

Walmart Inc. announced a partnership with OpenAI to enable Walmart and Sam’s Club customers to make purchases within ChatGPT using the latter’s Instant Commerce feature. Even if agentic commerce’s adoption is gradual, early movers like Walmart will have the outsize advantage. Being discoverable in channels where users conduct product and pricing research could help retailers reinforce their value proposition and stay top-of-mind with prospective customers as this commerce scales up.

Amazon will hire 250,000 workers this holiday season, the same number it brought on each of the past two years. The retailer could account for more than half of all seasonal hires in the last three months of the year, as other companies pare back hiring plans in the face of considerable uncertainty. Amazon’s consistent hiring plans illustrate its (relative) optimism heading into what could be a difficult season.

Amazon added JPMorgan Chase, Santander, and Wells Fargo as financing partners for used vehicles on Amazon Auto, per Automotive News. Those banks now offer auto loans through the platform, which lets buyers apply for auto loans via Amazon in cities where sellers list used vehicles. The latest Amazon Auto partnerships illustrate embedded finance’s ascendancy into the mainstream. Megabanks and large regional banks will continue to participate in dedicated embedded finance partnerships, particularly with partners that need scale—demonstrating the maturity of a business model that 10 years ago didn’t even have a name.

The Bank of North Dakota and Fiserv launch the “Roughrider Coin,” the first stablecoin from the state of North Dakota. While its individual use case may be limited, it opens the door for a stablecoin issued by Fiserv on behalf of a major retailer with significant use case for processing sales. A retailer like Starbucks would be a prime candidate—it’s already ingrained the habit of loading a wallet that can only be used at Starbucks in its most loyal customers. In that case, a limited network isn’t nearly as much of a liability—it’s the whole point.