It should come as little surprise that Amazon was the top US shopping app in 2021, downloaded 40.0 million times that year. More remarkable is Shein’s leap to the No. 2 spot, up from seventh place in 2020. The Chinese fashion giant had 32.0 million US downloads under its belt in 2021, 68% more than the year prior.

Food and grocery delivery has spiked during the pandemic. Apps like SkipTheDishes, Uber Eats, and Instacart have gained new users who turned to delivery out of necessity. For marketers, these apps present a new opportunity to reach consumers with ad products rich in intent and location data.

Gopuff’s labor challenges underscore the dark side of rapid delivery: The company is likely trying to cut costs ahead of a potential IPO but must contend with increased government scrutiny and worker activism.

Netflix is the top US streaming service when it comes to original content, with 38% of the country’s adults agreeing the platform offers the best selection of original shows and movies. Amazon Prime Video comes in second, trailing by a sizable margin with 11%, while Hulu and HBO Max rank third and fourth.

Amazon Fresh is on a rapid growth curve: Grocery is a key element within Amazon’s offline push.

Twitter invested in Bitcoin payment provider OpenNode’s $20 million funding round.

The Great Resignation is having a significant impact on retail: Retailers are feeling pressure to boost pay and benefits for both corporate workers and store employees.

Payments Ecosystem: Acquirers and processors, networks, and issuers each play distinct roles in the payments purchasing chain. But those roles are shifting amid commoditization, new competitive dynamics, and technological innovation.

Payments Ecosystem: This year will reveal how providers must adapt to lasting pandemic-driven digitization across payments channels, ranging from in-store retail to B2B ecommerce.

Payments Ecosystem: Diminishing analog payment use—as well as the battle for share between entrenched electronic payment methods and emerging challengers—will intensify the battle for customer spending this year.

Payments Ecosystem: POS hardware, POS software, and gateway providers are working to become one-stop shops for merchants. Offering simple, robust access to front- and back-end solutions across industries lets them better serve merchants demanding integrated solutions.

On today's episode, we discuss the reasons the metaverse will get held back and why it might not end up being the next version of the internet. Then for "In Other News," we talk about the main reason shoppers abandon their carts and why people buy things on Amazon. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Andrew Lipsman.

Amazon lifts the veil over its advertising business: The retailer’s 2021 ad revenues outpaced YouTube’s and are poised for continued growth.

Amazon is boosting its Prime membership fee: As subscriber growth slows and ecommerce costs rise, the retail behemoth banks on loyalty and a wide array of services to keep users from canceling.

On this episode of our new Behind the Numbers show, Reimagining Retail, our analyst Andrew Lipsman hosts Russ Dieringer, founder of Stratably, to discuss intrigue in the executive ranks at key retail media platforms Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart. They also rank their top four retail media trends for 2022.

In Southeast Asia, total media ad spending snapped back to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 and will continue rising strongly this year. The growth in digital ad spending, though tamer in 2022, will again outpace that of the overall ad market.

Amazon’s expanded agreements with Universal Music Group chip away at long-standing tensions: Creators on Twitch have grown increasingly frustrated with harsh music rebroadcasting rules.

The use of voice assistants among US adults is growing as both consumers and companies find more use cases for conversational AI technologies.

Buyer's remorse intensified in 2021 as ecommerce adoption rose: High return rates are cutting into retailers’ margins and increasing inventory pressure.

Fueled by connected TV, programmatic video has expanded significantly. However, there remain concerns over difficulties with cross-platform measurement, ad fraud, and the lack of uniform standards.