In 2026, the number of internet of things (IoT) mobile connections worldwide will more than double from 2021. The markets that are driving growth include China, Western Europe, and North America.

Brands working with influencers are focused on generating interactions and leads. More than 60% of US social media marketers partner with creators primarily to foster engagement, and roughly the same share do so to reach new audiences.

For most internet users in the US, online orders typically come in two to three days—a delivery time popularized by Amazon’s Prime program. Just 3% of internet users are used to same-day delivery, which is increasingly offered by nongrocery retailers as well.

US back-to-college retail spending will reach a new high of $73.9 billion this year, beating last year’s record of $71.0 billion and eclipsing the pre-pandemic figure of $54.5 billion in 2019.

The cost of school supplies is weighing heavily on US parents. Between May and June, 40% of those planning to do back-to-school shopping considered it a significant concern in their budget, compared with 30% last August. Meanwhile, 19% said they could not afford it, up from 14%.

More than half of US adults shop online at least once a week, and 16% do so at least once a day. Overall, online shopping is on the rise and moving to mobile.

US banking digital ad spend will hit $13.54 billion in 2022, up 20.4% year over year. Growth was even faster in 2021, when banks anticipated an upswing in consumer spend. In the coming years, growth will decelerate but remain in the double digits.

Content creators offer brands the opportunity to advertise in an inexpensive, targeted, and authentic way on social media. In order to focus on authenticity, US social media marketers are most inclined to hire creators for educational content, testimonials, and product unboxings, which allow followers to learn and discover alongside their favorite influencers.

More than anything else, cash-back credit card customers want security and control. Free identity theft insurance and Social Security number monitoring are by far the most valued features among potential users of these cards in the US. These consumers also look for ease of earning and redeeming rewards.

Fintech companies worldwide garnered $50.7 billion in funding during H1 2022, down nearly 23% year over year. Still, this sum is already higher than 2020’s total of $49.5 billion, indicating a greater trend of increased funding.

Just 7% of US consumers who exercise expect to work out entirely at a gym or studio for the next year. By comparison, 42% plan to exercise only at home, while the rest anticipate using some combination of the two.

When it comes to online shopping, 61% of US consumers begin their product hunt on Amazon, close to half on a search engine like Google, and 32% on Walmart.com.

China leads the world in retail ecommerce share, with 45.3% of the country’s retail sales occurring online this year. The UK will take the No. 2 spot, with a 35.9% share, followed by South Korea, where 30.1% of retail sales will be via ecommerce.

This year, 42.6 million US adults will use a connected fitness platform such as Peloton at least once a month. This figure ballooned from 24.0 million in 2019.

YouTube is the most trusted US platform for social commerce.

About half of internet users ages 10 to 41 spend money on video games worldwide, and younger users are more likely to cough up.

Southeast Asia is home to the three fastest-growing ecommerce markets in the world. This year, Singapore will post 36.0% digital sales growth, while Indonesia will see an increase of 34.0% and the Philippines, 25.9%.

Advertisers use a different strategy on YouTube than on other digital video platforms. In Q1 2022, more than 40% of US video ads on the Alphabet-owned platform were post-rolls, and almost 30% were mid-roll ads. On other video platforms, 97% played before video content.

Around the world, some 60% of consumer interactions with companies take place online. This figure has risen significantly since the onset of the pandemic, up from about 40% in 2019.

Around one-quarter of people in the US ages 13 to 34 are fans of the metaverse. But for every person who gives it a thumbs-up, there are about two in that age group who dislike or have never heard of the concept.