“We’re showing 20.5% growth for retail media ad spending this year, and 22.9% actually accelerating into next year,” said senior forecaster Ethan Cramer-Flood at our recent “Attention! Seizing the Retail Media Opportunity” summit. That stat assumes inflation will cool some in the second half of this year, which our forecasters currently predict it will.

At least 10% of US ecommerce orders were returned each week from last November through mid-January, according to Salesforce. The return rate was as high as 16% in some weeks, a significant increase over the previous holiday season.

Worldwide, retail sales growth has rebounded after taking a dive in 2020, per our forecast. Though growth rates won’t return to their pre-pandemic levels, they will stay steady through 2026. Meanwhile, ecommerce sales growth has decelerated after a few banner years, falling to single digits from 2022 through the end of our forecast period.

Retail media will be a $45 billion market this year and will continue to grow by about $10 billion in 2024, according to our forecast. Currently, the majority of retail media ad spend is driven by search. But the next phase will be driven by upper-funnel formats and in-store ad opportunities.

Brands were abuzz at eTail West 2023 in Palm Springs this week, talking about tech, loyalty, and integration. Here are our top five takeaways from brands like GNC, Poshmark, and Spanx.

Deal-seeking by consumers, heavy discounting from retailers, and a longer holiday shopping season drove an uptick in returns during the 2022 holiday season. Retailers will need to plan their promotional calendars carefully to manage returns in 2023.

This year, we forecast retail sales of cosmetic and beauty products will reach $86.42 billion, a 7.6% increase from 2022. This increase will be driven in large part by in-store sales and luxury beauty categories. But going forward, technology may play a large role in driving online sales.

Consumer device and behavior trends are affecting payment providers’ strategies across retail, P2P, B2B, disbursement, and cross-border channels. Here’s what that means for the payments ecosystem.

Temu, the recent entrant to the US ecommerce market, has taken the ecommerce world by storm since its September 2022 launch. The China-based etailer went from zero to 44.5 million unique visitors by December 2022, according to Comscore—a virtually unprecedented growth in traffic in just four months.

The 2022 holiday season’s solid retail sales gains were mostly attributable to inflation, but they nevertheless paint a cautiously optimistic picture for the 2023 holiday season.

Click and collect has matured as an ecommerce channel, but growth will slow as pandemic concerns alleviate.

The up-and-coming shopping app Temu made waves with its Super Bowl ad debut this year, airing its 30-second spot with a cheery “Shop Like a Billionaire” tagline several times on Fox during and after the broadcast of the big game. Here’s what you need to know.

The nonalcoholic beverage market has burst open, and many nonalcoholic spirits companies are pushing marketing beyond sobriety to overall health. “We’re not trying to stop anyone from drinking,” said Hebe Mills, marketing manager at Pentire Drinks. Instead, Mills says the alcohol-free brand is “making sure [our customers have] a really good-tasting alternative.”

Online purchases will account for a growing share of total US retail returns.

We asked our analysts which companies they have their eyes on this year and why they’re positioned for potential success (or disaster). The Kroger Co., for example, is leveraging its digital offerings to scale its business, while Nike may pivot back to wholesale to stay competitive.

By putting conversion at the front of a marketing strategy, brands can scale quickly and sustainably. Learn how to leverage the opportunity marketers have today by modernizing the sales funnel.

The new tool, Shopify Magic, uses AI to help merchants generate product descriptions. So far, Amazon has stayed quiet on generative AI, giving Shopify the chance to gain a competitive edge. But it may not last for long if Amazon decides to get in on the AI craze.

“If you’re going to grow a brand, it’s not going to come to loyalty alone. You will have to reach more customers. You will have to have more customers buying more often.” That’s according to Jared Schrieber, co-founder and former CEO of InfoScout (now Numerator), speaking on the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast about his new book, “Breakout Brands: Why Some Brands Take Off...and Others Don't.”

Instacart has had a busy few months. Besides scrapping its plans to go public, the company has cut its valuation a few times, trimmed its workforce, and explored other cost-cutting measures. That being said, Instacart has also made investments to bolster its business, including new technologies for merchants and expanded retail media offerings.

Amazon was the most downloaded mobile shopping app in the US in 2022 as its reach continued to grow. Closing in on Amazon was Shein at No. 2, followed by Walmart, Fetch, and Shopify’s Shop app.