Experimenting with advertising channels can yield up to 3% better advertising performance, research shows.

Buy now, pay later solutions are quickly gaining adoption as consumers look for new financing options and merchants aim to drive sales. But the industry is still unsettled as a number of firms are battling to lead the space, while card networks and issuers are looking to get involved too.

One of the major themes to emerge from the pandemic has been the growing divide between the haves and have-nots. Some trends that have deepened the divide—such as the shift to ecommerce—are hardly new. But others will be short-lived trends that none of us could have predicted at the beginning of 2020. It remains to be seen when things will return to normal, but one thing is for certain: New habits formed in 2020 have altered the future of retail.

Increased political ad spending contributed to a banner year for connected TV.

The retail industry is transforming at both physical stores and in digital. This report examines 10 trends that will most shape retail in the year ahead.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

The pandemic has shifted the grocery landscape this year, accelerating digital groceries faster than we previously anticipated. Kroger—who’s digital investments over the years have helped the company navigate amid the pandemic—will see its ecommerce sales surpass $11 billion this year, growing over 79% in 2020.

Amazon’s ad revenues along with its retail sales have increased as consumers continue to shift to ecommerce at elevated rates.

A majority share of consumers are now taking to marketplaces first when shopping online. According an August 2020 survey from ecommerce ad agency ChannelAdvisor conducted by Dynata, 53% of US adults said they began product searches at Amazon when planning to make a digital purchase.

When the UK government announced a nationwide lockdown for November, the impetus for retail holiday ecommerce shopping was ratcheted up another notch, given that Black Friday shopping falls within this period.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the we-used-to-share-things economy, Amazon's new online pharmacy, Twitter keeping some election tactics, the sudden surge in disappearing messages, the share of Facebook content that's political, why movie previews are called "trailers," and more.

Grocery ecommerce is continuing to have a moment as more consumers get in the habit of shopping this way.

Business Insider Intelligence research analyst Daniel Keyes and eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman discuss how Amazon tripled its revenues during an economic recession. They then talk about how Pinterest posted such strong Q3 growth, Walmart converting some stores into ecommerce labs, and Under Armour selling its smartphone app MyFitnessPal.

During a year where investments in most advertising channels shrunk or stalled, connected TV ad spending is poised to keep growing.

The UK is something of a global leader when it comes to retail ecommerce. As a proportion of total retail sales, only China will trump the UK in ecommerce sales penetration this year (41.2% versus 30.9%, respectively). The UK’s fulfillment and delivery infrastructure is, as one would expect, quite mature.

Ecommerce channel advertising is having a big year, with eMarketer forecasting accelerated growth for 2020. Profitero CEO Bryan Wiener joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss consumers' massive shift to ecommerce, how it's benefited the ad businesses of Amazon and other marketplaces, and what online sellers should consider as they strategize for Q4 and beyond.

The 2020 US holiday season, set amid the backdrop of a pandemic-driven consumer economy, will see an unprecedented shift to ecommerce.