The trend: Walmart and Amazon are determined to take drone delivery mainstream. Our take: It’s easy to understand the sci-fi appeal of drone delivery—but whether it’s feasible remains a question that retailers are still struggling to answer.

The news: Amazon is testing humanoid delivery robots, per The Information, which could work in tandem with human drivers or as part of an autonomous fleet of delivery vehicles. The humanoid robotics team is working on incorporating large language models (LLMs) from Chinese companies DeepSeek and Alibaba so the bots can contextualize real-world surroundings. Our take: Delivery bots could help with heavy loads and ease the burden on human drivers, but Amazon might be better served with a less human form factor, such as a platform with walking legs to carry packages. The focus on humanoids could limit functionality, and bringing the uncanny valley to consumers’ front door could be off-putting.

The news: The NBA held steady at 4,668 brand sponsors between 2023 and 2024, but total sponsorship revenues rose 8% to $1.62 billion, thanks to jersey patch deals, venue launches like the Intuit Dome, and record-breaking player endorsements. The Golden State Warriors alone brought in over $200 million, and rookie Jared McCain set a league record with 30 personal brand deals. Our take: The NBA is deepening its value to advertisers, not just expanding reach. With media rights deals and Amazon integration elevating its commercial footprint, the league is fast becoming one of the most lucrative platforms for modern marketers.

The insight: The gap between Target and its mass merchant competitors Amazon and Walmart is widening. While Amazon and Walmart are consolidating their grip on consumer spending after investments in value and convenience, Target’s largely discretionary assortment and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) controversies are sharply curbing its appeal. Our take: Shoppers are prioritizing necessities over discretionary goods and favoring retailers that offer value and convenience.

There are now more than 80 retail media networks (RMNs) in the US. The volume of RMNs, combined with the dominance of Amazon and other established competitors, makes it challenging for new and niche RMNs to capture share.

Amazon faces renewed antitrust scrutiny in Europe: The retailer is under fire from German regulators concerned that its price controls limit competition.

“There are lots of shiny new pennies in marketing, so it's very easy to get distracted,” said Nicklaus Hasselberg, VP of growth marketing and ecommerce at Every Man Jack, at The Lead Summit in New York City last week. “It’s about ‘What do we reasonably believe will have the biggest impact on our business?' And let’s do it as well as we can."

Publishers are shifting from ad-driven models to licensing and subscriptions: AI is accelerating the end of traffic-chasing media economics.

The New York Times will license its journalism to Amazon: The deal supports AI training while signaling a shift toward paid data partnerships.

Retail media will reach $60.81 billion in 2025—adding more new dollars than Meta and Alphabet combined—and brands now rank incrementality as a top KPI. In this interview, Tinuiti’s Elizabeth Marsten lays out how to prove incremental sales, pick smarter tools, and keep measurement future-ready.

The outlook for retail media ad spending remains bright throughout most of the world, even as ad budgets are increasingly constrained in the face of economic storm clouds.

Inside Amazon’s partnerships with InfoSum and Magnite: The new integrations highlight Amazon’s goal to be an essential platform for advertisers.

With origins in performance advertising and a focus on efficiency, retail media is likely to remain resilient, even amid an economic upheaval exacerbated by US tariffs. However, impacts won’t be evenly felt, leaving some players better positioned to withstand headwinds.

Amazon breaks its silence on grocery business: CEO Andy Jassy is “very bullish” about retailer’s prospects as more customers stock up on everyday essentials.

General Medicine debuts as a platform where consumers can shop for medical care: While the healthcare marketplace concept isn’t new, the startup could have an upper hand by allowing people to see prices for medical care based on their unique health insurance details.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the potential of Amazon’s new Buy for Me feature, which of its new CTV ads will make the biggest impact, and how much tariffs might slow down the online shopping giant. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst Rachel Wolff. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

By snapping up staff and software without a full buyout, Google may have found a gray zone. Regulators want to know if it’s a loophole or a land grab.

Tariff uncertainty puts retailers in a tough spot: Merchants are rushing to import goods, risking excess inventory, shortages, or mismatches with consumer preferences.

Amazon shrugs off economic pressure: The retail giant says it hasn’t seen any meaningful average selling price increases, nor have shoppers pulled back spending.

Nike resumes selling on Amazon as tariffs threaten its turnaround: The brand is betting that an expanded retail presence will soften the blow of higher prices.