Grocery ecommerce is having a moment. Already at an inflection point prior to the pandemic, the migration of essential goods to online has accelerated this trend by three or four years in the span of three or four months.

eMarketer junior analyst Blake Droesch, research analyst Daniel Keyes, principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu discuss Pinterest's latest social commerce moves. They then talk about May retail sales, an app that makes you the model, Shopify's latest deal with Walmart and a Brandless relaunch.

eMarketer principal analysts Nicole Perrin and Andrew Lipsman discuss the state of direct-to-consumer brands and why some major players, such as Brandless and Casper, encountered recent struggles.

Aptly named D2C brand Brandless, an online purveyor of minimalist grocery, wellness and home goods, has oriented its brand around the rise of digital-first shoppers who prefer products that include fewer, more natural ingredients. These shoppers have an evolving view of brands and don’t harbor any particular affinity for household names they grew up with.

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.

eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman talks with Scott Silverman, co-founder of retail conference CommerceNext, about how D2C brands and retailers are earmarking their digital investment dollars. Lipsman also weighs in on Brandless’s new CEO, Nordstrom being a “no-growth” retailer and Starbucks’s new tie-dye Frappuccino.

Grocery is the least penetrated but fastest-growing category in ecommerce today. Traditional brands and retailers need to understand why this channel shift is accelerating and adjust their marketing and selling strategies accordingly.

Direct-to-consumer brands are growing fast and disrupting the retail industry. How are these brands successfully reaching and converting customers, earning their loyalty, and capturing more of their online and offline spending?

The consumer retail economy, buttressed by low unemployment and rising wages, is experiencing its best growth since 2011. And despite the 2018 demise of old-retail stalwarts like Sears and Toys "R" Us, recent gains at retail aren’t only flowing in the direction of digital – although they do increasingly bear hallmarks of its influence.

Only 5% of senior marketers in North America surveyed by CMO Council and RedPoint Global in March 2018 said they could deliver data-driven experiences in real time across channels.