Threads tests feature allowing users to select interests: The move could help the platform address its retention problem and draw creators.

Shoppers worldwide are flocking to online marketplaces and social commerce for convenience, variety, and competitive pricing. While price remains key, brand trust is becoming a major factor in certain markets. As these platforms drive discovery and sales, brands must adapt to stay competitive. Here are three ways digital shopping habits are evolving among consumers worldwide.

Twitch expands sponsorship opportunities: While the change might attract creators, whether brands will buy in is debatable.

While teens retain digital habits from childhood (such as a strong preference for YouTube), their newfound independence and desire to connect with peers has led them to new habits.

Medical misinformation ‘infodemic’ on social media: Influencers are promoting misleading information about medical tests. Here’s what healthcare and pharma brands should be doing to combat it.

Reels may get its own app: Instagram is reportedly exploring a standalone platform as it vies to draw attention away from TikTok.

Top-line time spent with media will grow very little in the US going forward, making it essential to identify which formats and platforms are winning the newly zero-sum competition for consumer attention.

A dedicated Instagram Reels app could give Meta an edge over TikTok—or fragment its audience. If users resist another app, Instagram’s video dominance could take a hit.

YouTube strives to make ads less disruptive: The platform is changing its approach to mid-roll ads to appease viewers, creators, and brands alike.

In our exclusive survey with ESW, data from shoppers in 18 countries reveals new twists in the path to purchase, the rising momentum of marketplaces, and the resilience of age-old fundamentals.

Instagram introduces Testimonials: The addition to Partnership Ads lets creators get paid for sponsored comments to boost Instagram’s influencer marketing ecosystem.

With Facebook’s ad growth slowing, Meta is paying influencers to revive the platform—but can cash alone compete with TikTok and Instagram’s cultural dominance?

Latin America’s digital revolution is marching full steam ahead, with consumers spending more than a third of their day online. As social commerce and retail media propel the region’s digital economy to new heights, the runway for growth remains long.​

Meta’s EU Marketplace ad change shifts power to regulators: The company will allow rivals to buy ads on Marketplace in compliance with EU rules

Tariffs on Chinese goods could hurt Google, Meta: Chinese retailers Temu and Shein are two of the companies’ top ad spenders.

Short-form video offerings signal the platform’s push to become more than just a job-hunting site as it aims to compete for screen time with TikTok and Instagram.

Meta Advantage+ is increasingly relying on AI: Some campaigns will lose the ability to manually target consumers in an effort to lean on automation.

Meta wants 1 billion Meta AI users this year: The company is hoping its strong Q4 performance can propel it through a year rife with challenges.