Amazon's department stores will let it offer more categories under one roof: The model gives Amazon an advantage for in-store purchases like clothing and apparel.

Amazon’s move into podcasts creates the possibility for massive, networkwide deals: The platform’s recent content acquisitions point to how lucrative podcasts are as a vehicle for ads, even during the pandemic.

We estimate that 1 in 8 digital ad dollars this year will be spent on impressions for ecommerce properties. This week, we discuss our forecast as well as Amazon's rise, which companies are most interesting to watch now, and what we expect as more upper-funnel ads appear in retail media. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman and Nicole Perrin.

About a third of K-12 students have already returned to class amid a fourth COVID-19 wave. While, earlier this year, analysts had predicted a very optimistic back-to-school (BTS) season for retailers and brands, not all is lost: Many parents still want to make school-related firsts and rites of passage as “normal” as possible for their children.

Delivery drones take flight

Procter & Gamble is the world’s top advertiser: The consumer goods giant is expected to beat Amazon this year after losing its title in 2020’s rankings.

If the NSA-AWS deal succeeds, it could make AWS the US government’s preferred cloud provider. But if Microsoft succeeds, the government cloud space might go right back to where it started.

Digital commerce platforms help merchants of all sizes sell online, making them an increasingly big factor in ecommerce payments. This creates new opportunities for processors, gateways, and other payments stakeholders to reach merchants—but also complicates their relationship.

Successful brands are providing a hybrid customer journey that lets shoppers move seamlessly between the online and offline worlds. Tijs van Santen, chief customer officer at Uberall, shares insights with eMarketer editorial director at Insider Intelligence Rimma Kats, on consumer shopping behavior, including engagement with local businesses.

YouTube’s on top and on the go

On today's episode, we discuss Amazon's Q2 advertising performance, the true value of its ad business, and what to expect for the remainder of 2021. We then talk about Twitch's new “Stream Display Ads,” the significance of Amazon's near $1 billion fine, and why Tubi is on the up as Roku cools down a little. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom.

In 2021, Amazon will account for 41.4% of all US retail ecommerce sales. The tech giant will contribute more than 50% of US growth in online sales from 2019 to 2021. We estimate Amazon’s ecommerce sales will rise by $168.53 billion in that time frame, to reach a staggering $386.40 billion by the end of this year.

A different kind of campaign: Some Amazon sellers are tracking down their unhappy customers and pressuring them to edit or remove their reviews.

On today's episode, we discuss Amazon's Q2 performance of its retail business, some takeaways from its Prime offering, and where it stands on its physical stores strategy. We then talk about capitalizing on the subscription box trend, how buy-now-pay-later users are different from credit card users, and if malls really are within striking distance of 2019 traffic levels. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu.

Read on for three new things to know from Insider Intelligence.

See where retail foot traffic tripled in Q2

On today's episode, we discuss Spotify's Q2 performance, what to make of its ad revenue growth, and how its podcast investments are getting on. We then talk about where Amazon wants to take Alexa, social audio's monetization issue, and the significance of the NBA and iHeartMedia podcast partnership. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Amazon fined under GDPR: The tech giant was fined €746 million for using consumer shopping data for ad targeting without consent—which doesn’t bode well for other Big Tech companies that are facing privacy-related scrutiny.

If the new $9.95 fee rolls out nationally, it could help cover Amazon’s expenses—but perhaps at the cost of dominating the US online grocery market as rival Walmart nips at its heels for the lead

EU privacy regulators fined Amazon a record €746 million for alleged GDPR violations. The move marks an uptick in enforcement by Europe’s privacy regulators and may force tech firms to reevaluate their GDPR compliance.