Integrations with smaller FIs’ mobile apps could encourage more Gen Z loyalty.

Accessing a HELOC is just a step toward the next frontier.

Nearly half (48%) of North American CX leaders plan to add two-way SMS/text as a customer service channel in the short to near term, making it the most-planned CX investment on the list, according to a December 2025 survey from Execs In The Know.

A free myDG Delivery offer is part of a bigger ecommerce and media play.

Grocery shopping is more digital than ever, but the physical store remains the cornerstone of the experience, amplified by digital tools and touchpoints. Shoppers blend in-store visits with online discovery, opening new opportunities for brands and retailers to connect with them at every stage. Here’s what marketers need to know about today’s grocery shoppers and what it means for retail media strategies.

As credit card loyalty wanes, staying top-of-wallet is getting harder for issuers. Our fifth annual study dives into which emerging features will help cash-back credit card programs meet customers' growing expectations.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will publish its final print edition on December 31, 2025, before becoming a digital-only outlet on January 1, 2026. Publisher Andrew Morse said the move will allow resources to flow into newsletters, podcasts, video, and a new mobile app. The 157-year-old paper has already posted double-digit digital subscription growth and expanded statewide reach. The shift mirrors broader industry trends: nearly half of US adults never read print newspapers, while digital ad spend continues to climb. AJC’s farewell to print underscores the inevitable math: audiences and advertisers are digital, and adaptation is survival.

The news: Apple is bringing back blood oxygen monitoring for Apple Watch as part of its health and wellness features. Apple discontinued the feature in the US in 2023 after a patent dispute and court ruling forced the halt. The takeaway: Apple still leads smartwatch brands with a 22% market share, but its dominance has slipped. Health and wellness features incorporating AI assistance are key for future growth. Tech companies should market wearables as health tools for consumers, especially to older demographics who have greater health needs but lower smartwatch adoption rates.

Pinterest reported a breakout Q2 2025 with $998 million in revenue, up 17% YoY—beating guidance and analyst expectations. Monthly active users hit an all-time high of 578 million, with profitability improving and ARPU rising globally. Gains were driven by GenAI tools like auto-collages, stronger commerce integration via Instacart, and a lean ad tech approach powered by Magnite. Pinterest’s ad business continues to grow steadily, with advertiser spending up and margins expanding to 25%. While still underweight in media plans, Pinterest is proving itself as a differentiated, performance-ready platform with rising traction among Gen Z and global users.

For the first time in its history, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awarded medals in retail media—a sign that commerce-driven creativity has fully arrived on the global stage.

Truist is making significant strides in optimizing its digital onboarding process, prioritizing increased personalization and a smoother customer journey to attract new clients. This multi-pronged strategy includes enabling mobile ID verification to boost conversion rates among younger generations, seamlessly integrating new clients with services like direct deposit and Zelle to establish Truist as their primary bank, and allowing personalized mobile app dashboards. These digital improvements, supported by AI for feedback aggregation, aim to offset the impact of branch closures and meet the demand for digital convenience, particularly from Gen Z. Truist should amplify marketing efforts to highlight the ease and speed of their fully digital onboarding, emphasizing that no in-person ID verification is required.

There are now more than 80 retail media networks (RMNs) in the US. The volume of RMNs, combined with the dominance of Amazon and other established competitors, makes it challenging for new and niche RMNs to capture share.

The transition risks alienating customers who are frustrated by the app or uncomfortable with the AI surveillance tech

As the digital grocery landscape grows more crowded, retailers must meet consumers' expectations around product selection, mobile app features, and fulfillment. “Digital grocery is no longer an emerging category,” said our analyst Blake Droesch. “It’s grown really fast over the last couple of years, and the market is pretty mature at this point.” Here are three ways retailers can stay competitive, according to our Digital Grocery Opportunity report.

Today’s consumers have high expectations of brands and retailers. They want to shop seamlessly across digital and physical channels, they want to get from inspiration to purchase as quickly as possible, and they prioritize value above all else.

Starbucks was once considered the go-to “third place” where people could relax, work, and socialize over a cup of coffee. However, the rise of mobile ordering has compromised the company’s core identity, our analysts said. In North America, Starbucks saw a 6% drop in foot traffic, and a 2% decline in same-store sales YoY, according to its July earnings call.

Aldi is partnering with Instacart to deploy the latter’s Connected Stores solution. The partnership comes at a time when consumers are increasingly turning to discount retailers for low prices amid a tough economic climate.

Mattel is banking on in-store retail to uplift holiday sales, while Kimberly-Clark is building its profile through storytelling-driven ads. McDonald’s drawing customers to its loyalty program thanks to gamified features in its mobile app. Here are three insights from each company’s most recent earnings and what marketers can learn.

McDonald’s sales fell for the first time since 2020: The company’s overreliance on price hikes led it to lose its “value leadership” positioning. Reestablishing that role is the key to its turnaround.