“Returns are in, brands are sharing how the holidays really performed on investor calls, and before we know it, we're going to start planning for the next cycle,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of “Reimagining Retail.” As retailers wrap up their analysis of the 2025 holiday season and begin planning for 2026, here’s how consumer behaviors are evolving across channels and what this means for future holiday strategies.

Teens live on their phones, bouncing between short-form video, gaming, shopping, and AI. As social feeds become storefronts and AI doubles as a tool and companion, brands must rethink how they earn attention—and trust—in teen digital life.

The travel co-brand card market is splitting fast. Premium products are pushing upmarket as rewards debit cards pull in younger users, while AI-driven discovery is eroding loyalty—forcing issuers to rethink relevance and clarity to capture spend in 2026.

Claude’s ad-free stance at the Super Bowl drove 11% user growth as trust fears shadowed ChatGPT’s ad plans—but scale gaps remain vast.

Asia-Pacific leads AI adoption worldwide, but penetration varies widely by market. From rapid uptake to cautious testing, markets are taking very different paths.

As conversational AI becomes a new entry point for discovery, advertisers are rethinking how relevance and usefulness show up in these environments. Roundel’s pilot with OpenAI offers an early look at what user-first advertising could mean inside AI-driven conversations.

59% of US teens ages 13-17 say they have used ChatGPT, meaning a majority of the next generation of consumers is already turning to AI chatbots, according to a December report from Pew Research Center.

Early ChatGPT ads favor learning over ROI; high CPMs and limited measurement skew participation toward brands buying influence and insight.

Tech giants and brands leaned hard into AI-led creative, but consumer responses were mixed.

Apple isn’t abandoning AI-powered health guidance, but it’s likely holding back until the tech is useful enough to deliver real value.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss whether “ChatGPT with Ads” will scare users away, the effectiveness of chatbot ads versus traditional search ads, and whether there’s an ethical component to advertising during a search conversation compared with the blue-link format. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Analyst Nate Elliot and Analyst Marisa Jones. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

YouTube now outpaces Reddit in AI citations as models prioritize transcripts, metadata, and explanatory formats over engagement signals.

Adobe lifted its ad spend 30% to $1.4 billion to sell its AI story, signaling a future where marketers must sort real AI innovation from flashy features.

Marketing technology (martech) has entered a new era defined by AI agents, composable architectures, and the rise of buyer-side AI assistants that are fundamentally changing how customers discover brands and B2B vendors.

Testing ChatGPT ads will cost you; OpenAI's $200,000 minimum upfront ad buys are expensive, but these ads may become commonplace in due time.

AI platforms’ long-held anti-advertising stance changed in January 2026. The rising cost of competing in AI has forced OpenAI and Google to launch AI ad pilots, and other platforms will likely follow suit. But advertisers may not be the winners in this gold rush.

The AI Platform Is Closer Than Some Rivals, but It Still Faces Barriers

A new policy bans buy-for-me bots without permission, as the retailer looks to control the agentic shopping experience.

Clinicians and staff adopt “shadow AI” tools to move faster, exposing gaps in hospital AI strategy.