On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how Amazon has made themselves even more essential to customers, why “they can’t make physical stores work”, and how its advertising business is getting on. Tune in to the episode with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Rachel Wolff, and Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

This earnings season revealed retailers with strong value propositions and efficient omnichannel operations are positioned to outperform, while those relying on middle-market discretionary spending face challenges.

The improved Alexa finally debuts with better conversation skills and smart home features. Can Amazon convince users to pay when smartphones offer similar features for free?

Warby Parker joins forces with Target: The D2C eyewear brand will open five shop-in-shops as it doubles down on physical retail.

Tech giants dominate Hollywood by securing marquee franchises: Companies like Amazon, Apple, and Netflix will outbid legacy media for top intellectual properties.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of February. 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 Analyst Arielle Feger and Senior Analyst Sara Lebow will defend their list against Vice President Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

The challenging retail environment is fuel for TJX: The off-price retailer sees greater opportunities to attract shoppers amid tariff threats and declining consumer confidence.

Walmart recently bought Monroeville Mall near Pittsburgh, signaling either a massive retail expansion plan or a shrewd real estate grab. Either way, the purchase strengthens Walmart's market foothold while adding rental income. This isn't a random acquisition but a calculated move.

Lawmakers pressure Amazon into improving ad transparency: A bipartisan letter stemming from Adalytics highlighted quality issues with DSPs.

Ecommerce penetration of beauty and personal care sales is rising: 41% of category sales take place on platforms like Amazon and TikTok Shop as consumers respond to virality and convenience.

In our exclusive survey with ESW, data from shoppers in 18 countries reveals new twists in the path to purchase, the rising momentum of marketplaces, and the resilience of age-old fundamentals.

Amazon is testing non-endemic ads in its search results, which link out to products on external websites. It's a move that shows Amazon’s need to demonstrate further growth and non-endemic advertising’s potential to meet that need.

Shoppable ads will be a focus for brands in 2025 as they test new formats offered by retail media networks and their media partners.

The digital landscape in Europe is slowing, but opportunities for advertisers, brands, and retailers still exist. Knowing where to look to achieve the best outcomes will be paramount.

The solution will let the network capitalize on the quickly expanding creator economy

While many users sell products via Twitch livestreams, Amazon has yet to position the platform as a rival to other social video commerce sites like TikTok Shop.

Amazon reevaluates social commerce ambitions with Inspire shutdown: The retailer is prioritizing Rufus and shoppable partnerships with TikTok and other platforms.

Latin America’s digital revolution is marching full steam ahead, with consumers spending more than a third of their day online. As social commerce and retail media propel the region’s digital economy to new heights, the runway for growth remains long.​

About one-third of US small businesses charge customers to accept card payments. Bigger retailers doing the same could hurt issuers