Retail ended 2024 on a high note as mobile shopping drove ecommerce sales and stores staged a comeback. Will the 2025 holiday season be as fruitful?

Shopify’s Q4 sales accelerate 31%: The company expects Q1 sales to grow in the mid-20% range as it ramps up efforts to attract major brands like Goop and Reebok to its ecosystem.

Amazon sees storm clouds ahead: The retailer's weak guidance raises red flags for a broad swath of companies—suggesting that retail headwinds could be more widespread than expected.

November retail sales surge past expectations: Shoppers shifted their spending up a gear amid a flurry of deals and concerns over tariff-related price hikes.

Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop are winning this holiday season: Sales growth for all three outpaced larger players like Amazon and Target in November.

Mall traffic jumped in November as shoppers’ search for deals brought them back to stores: Efforts to turn shopping centers into lifestyle destinations are also resonating, but long-term challenges remain.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how folks viewed big ticket items over the Thanksgiving holiday shopping period, how in-store foot traffic shook out, and the impact of buy now, pay later (BNPL). Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

TikTok offers users Shop credits in last-ditch attempt to boost sales, downloads before US ban: The platform is dangling hundreds of dollars in incentives to increase engagement.

Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year’s Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there’s lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers—from Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

TikTok Shop drove $100 million in Black Friday sales: Efforts to introduce social commerce to users are working, but the ban looms large.

But fraud still remained rampant across the holiday weekend, showing payment providers have more work to do to step up their protections

But the payment method’s volume grew slower than overall retail sales, suggesting providers need to do more to amp up growth

The company used its two-sided network to capitalize on the holiday weekend

The buy button has been on a growth tear since Shopify opened it up to enterprise customers outside of its ecosystem

Amazon, Target, and malls were among this year’s Cyber Five winners: Roughly 197 million people shopped this year’s sales, leading to a surge in online and in-store spending.

Amazon’s shoppable video ads faced first big test: Marketers watched their performance over the holiday weekend to mull bigger commitments.

Steep discounts drove shoppers to splurge on Black Friday: Consumers scooped up bargains across several categories, helping online sales jump 14.6% YoY the day after Thanksgiving.

Cyber Monday will generate $13.93 billion in US ecommerce sales this year, the highest of any Cyber Five day, according to a July 2024 EMARKETER forecast.

Temu and Shein’s ad bidding war drove spending away from search: CPCs spiked after the two retailers claimed in-demand search ad space.

TikTok Shop gears up for busy holiday season in the US, UK: The platform expects hefty ecommerce and ad growth this year as shoppers get used to transacting on the app