Amex can deepen rewards for its sports-hungry membership.

US sports betting is shifting from adding users to maximizing revenues from higher-margin types of bets. Although operators are earning more from each bet, they face the threats of rising scrutiny, higher user acquisition costs, and new competitors.

In place of the monthly retailer rankings, “Behind the Numbers” has launched the Unofficial Monthly Retailer Awards (UMRAs). Each month, the awards will spotlight retailers that stand out in three key categories: Most impactful campaign, best in-real-life initiative, and best under-the-radar move. Analysts will nominate standout brands, and host Suzy Davidkhanian will select the winners based on their cases.

Fanatics is building a studio to control sports storytelling. Owning content lets the brand deepen engagement, extend athlete partnerships, and avoid bidding wars for live sports rights.

Live shopping sparks interest in younger shoppers: So far, the format is most successful as a community-building exercise for brands.

DraftKings bets on star-studded marketing: Kevin Hart and Ryan Fitzpatrick star in a new ad campaign offering incentives to new users as competition heats up.

QVC and HSN’s parent company makes a play for younger consumers: Qurate’s new Sune mobile app features a personalized video feed to drive product discovery.

Instagram is shutting down its livestream shopping business: The move is the latest sign of US shoppers' disinterest in livestream commerce.

Retailers start to test the waters of generative AI: While companies like Carrefour and Fanatics are using it to improve engagement, Amazon has concerns over data privacy.

On today's episode, we discuss the significance of Google's ChatGPT rival Bard, whether Instacart's shoppable TV QR codes can be a hit, if Fanatics can crack the US livestream shopping code, whether Twitter allegedly shedding users is a short-term issue, where (and how) we listen to music, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha and analysts Blake Droesch and Evelyn Mitchell.

Fanatics raises $700 million: Despite market turmoil, investors continue to pour cash into the sports-merchandising giant.

American Eagle Outfitters’ supply chain business is transforming the company: While the merchant’s retail sales fell in Q1, its supply chain business helped the retailer get into the black.