The trend: Summer retail sales are starting earlier and stretching longer than ever. Our take: Retailers aren’t just chasing summer sales—they’re building revenue engines that integrate ecommerce, loyalty programs, and retail media into a more durable flywheel. By making sales events exclusive to members or offering perks like early access to deals, they’re encouraging sign-ups, deepening engagement, and boosting long-term customer value. The longer promotional windows give retailers more time to drive discretionary spending, alleviate fulfillment bottlenecks, and monetize digital traffic through advertising. That’s especially critical this year, as economic uncertainty prompts more consumers to pull back on nonessential purchases.

Grocery delivery intermediaries like DoorDash and Uber are gaining ground, offering new ways to reach high-intent shoppers. Meanwhile, retailers like Walmart and Amazon continue to lead with strong delivery infrastructure and valuable customer data.

Private label brands are set for another surge in momentum as consumers become increasingly concerned about the impact of tariffs.

First-party data makes personalization possible in the wake of signal loss from privacy restrictions, but taking full advantage of the opportunity requires overcoming a series of obstacles.

Retailers face big hurdles in 2025. From competing with Amazon's advertising empire to figuring out generative AI (genAI) technology to keeping shoppers on apps, these challenges are forcing retailers to adapt quickly. Here's what these problems look like today—and how they could potentially be resolved.

As competition intensifies and consumers continue to seek value, retailers will need to double down on how to differentiate themselves and offer shoppers what they want, wherever they are.

How can retailers in grocery, the second-largest ecommerce category, optimize their online business to succeed?

Cava’s brand positioning resonates with consumers: It stands in stark contrast with Sweetgreen, which is adding new proteins and testing fries to broaden its appeal.

DoorDash partners with Lyft: The combination should make the delivery service a stronger competitor to Uber, which offers members of its Uber One service free food delivery and discounted rides.

Dollar General’s Popshelf format announces app, loyalty, and store updates to attract wealthier shoppers: The retailer will also close all locations in DG Market stores after the assortment failed to win over the dollar store’s core customer base.

US consumers overwhelmed by marketing content: 40% unsubscribe weekly, driven by frequent messaging and privacy concerns, raising questions about responsible data practices.

GenAI gives banks unprecedented tools to create a more personalized experience for their customers, but some use cases are easier to implement than others.

Loyalty programs are back in the spotlight in Western Europe as consumers seek savings and brands look to boost revenues and gather first-party data.

Not all assumptions about how Gen Z consumers shop are correct. While it’s true that they’re motivated by sustainability, they’re also limited by their budgets. It may be difficult to earn their loyalty, but they still have brand affinities. Here are four assumptions about Gen Z and whether there’s any truth to them—straight from members of Berns Communications’ Z Suite network of Gen Z consumers.

Five Below is using price cuts to appeal to low-income households, while Bath & Body Works is leveraging its loyalty program to keep customers coming back. AI is a valuable tool for Stitch Fix, helping the company to optimize its inventory. Here are three key stats from each retailer’s most recent earnings and what they mean for the industry at large.

The proliferation of loyalty programs has heightened competition, so retailers will have to dig deeper into their customer data to drive active participation.

“The restaurant industry is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic,” our content director Becky Schilling said on an episode of “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. On top of that, inflation and economic uncertainty has made for a tough four years. In face of these persisting challenges, restaurants are turning to AI and unified commerce solutions to improve the customer experience, build loyalty, and supercharge personalization.

Amazon and Walmart follow a similar playbook: The retailers use exclusive access to events like Prime Day and Walmart+ Early Access to showcase the value of their membership programs.

Restaurants are investing in AI and unified commerce to enhance personalization and the customer experience.

As Latin America’s digital revolution marches on, advertisers and retailers must keep pace with how and where consumers are spending their time—and money—if they wish to maintain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving business environment.