This summer, Banana Boat rolled out a creator-led campaign to shine some light on consumer attitudes and to promote its “Sheer Sensitive” sunscreen line with social media, retail media networks, and Major League Baseball media channels.

Social commerce gains value: One-third of Western consumers shop via social as AI referrals convert 31% better, rewarding structured product data.

In today's podcast episode, we discuss how consumer intent changes throughout the year, what actually happens to shoppers in the seconds after they complete a transaction, and what marketing looks like when you're buying a moment rather than media. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Senior Vice President of Strategic Key Accounts at Rokt, Callum Donnelly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

This FAQ explores the scale of the ecommerce returns challenge, the policies that most influence shopper behavior, and the strategies retailers should prioritize in 2026 to reduce costs without sacrificing loyalty.

In-store retail media, which includes digital screens, smart carts, audio, and product sampling inside physical stores, remains the least developed segment of retail media. Yet demand is rising as advertisers seek to reach shoppers in the aisle, where most retail purchases still occur. High infrastructure costs and organizational silos, however, continue to limit the channel's growth. This FAQ covers the market's size, the grocery opportunity, and how retailers and advertisers should invest.

This FAQ covers the recommerce market's size, the consumers driving it, and how brands should respond.

Financial media networks’ transaction data across tens of millions of merchants and retailers gives advertisers a fresh angle when planning and measuring campaigns. This is a crucial value proposition made by PayPal Ads to advertisers looking to convert customers and compare allocations between various retail media networks.

AI shopping assistants such as Amazon's Alexa for Shopping (formerly Rufus), Walmart's Sparky, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini are reshaping how consumers discover and evaluate products. Retailer-owned assistants are already lifting order values and conversion, while standalone AI platforms struggle to convert recommendations into purchases. This FAQ covers how AI shopping assistants work, what they mean for brand loyalty, and how brands earn a place in AI-generated recommendations.

In today’s podcast episode, we discuss the most interesting conversations we expect to hear at Cannes this year: how brands can stay true to their values while operating at a global scale, why marketers should stop advertising and start entertaining, and why you should (perhaps) stop listening to the customer in order to build a brand that lasts forever. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Principal Analysts Nate Elliott and Max Willens. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

Agentic AI locks in walled gardens: 76% of advertisers report gains as automated tools tilt budgets toward closed ecosystems over the open web.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how technology has changed the way Rainbow's customers research, compare, and ultimately make purchasing decisions; what the retailer has learned about serving customers that higher-end, luxury, and mainstream retailers could benefit from; and why "every AI experiment designed to replace a person failed, while every experiment designed to make a talented person better succeeded." Tune in to hear the discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Zak Stambor, and David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Apparel.

AI labels don’t dent ads: MediaScience research shows that AI transparency leaves performance intact—and consumer trust stronger.

On today’s podcast episode, we present our “Unofficial Monthly Retailer Awards” (UMRAs) for May, including “Most Impactful Campaign,” “Best IRL Initiative,” and “Greatest Under-the-Radar Move.” Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Analysts Arielle Feger and Rachel Wolff.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why the mega shopping festival Singles’ Day is so much larger than Prime Day, how the event is more interactive, and how US retailers and brands can start capitalizing on Singles’ Day as a cultural moment, a marketing opportunity, and a demand driver. Tune in to hear the discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Christopher Carl, Head of Marketing & Commercial Strategy for the US at AliExpress (Alibaba Group).

- On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what makes buying furniture so complex from a customer perspective, where in today’s shopping journey people get stuck the most, and which technologies are actually driving the category forward. Listen to the discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser, and Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Furniture.com, Daniel Bennett.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Meta right now: Why isn’t Wall Street satisfied with Meta’s seemingly incomprehensible growth? Where should Meta be focusing its AI efforts? And what happens when the company creates an AI version of CEO Mark Zuckerberg? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Analyst Emmy Liederman and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen everywhere, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The big role that youth sports plays in the lives of many US families gives retailers a unique chance to connect with shoppers.