US annual social commerce sales per buyer will nearly double from $627.8 in 2023 to $1,223.7 in 2027, according to our forecast.

The vast majority (96%) of Pinterest searches are unbranded, said Brittan Bushman, Pinterst’s director of strategy, during a session at Advertising Week New York 2023. This means that consumers turn to Pinterest to learn what kinds of products are out there, unlike traditional search engines like Google, where they go to refine their search for something they already know exists.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how creators are evolving; why YouTube is white space for many marketers; and how marketers, social platforms, and media companies should shift their strategies. "In Other News," we talk about what freedom of speech actually means on social media and why TikTok and Pinterest are taking different approaches to social commerce. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.

In July and August, the US ad market saw its first consecutive two months of growth in over a year, according to Standard Media’s US Ad Market Tracker. Platforms are focused on keeping that momentum alive with several updates. Multiple platforms are boasting improved AI targeting and enhanced connected TV ad solutions. Here is everything new in September.

Which platforms are Gen Z’s top choice for key social media activities? Our proprietary survey sheds light on how they spend their social media time.

Social networks are ramping up ad loads to rally their stock prices and as they continue to wrestle with AppTrackingTransparency.

Retail’s resilience and its outsized role in digital ad spending will help offset the impact of a broader slowdown in growth in the US digital advertising market.

Amazon's Sponsored Products ads now reach beyond its platform: High-performing format could grow retail media's share of market.

LiveRamp broadens Pinterest collaboration: Global advertisers to benefit from enhanced data integration.

On today's episode, we discuss why Snap's growth continues to stall, what to make of their TikTok-esque short form video feed Spotlight, and what to expect from the company in the second half. "In Other News," we check in on Pinterest and discuss the most interesting trends in social media usage by generation. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.

Consumers of all ages and income levels shopped Amazon Prime Day this year. Shoppers spent more this year compared with 2022, and despite a tough economic climate, Prime Day shoppers didn’t price compare as much as expected.

As the retail media industry evolves, marketers are embracing new formats such as open web, social media, and streaming TV to reach customers earlier in their buying journey and increase brand recognition. To accomplish this, we’ll see retailers form collaborative alliances with social media companies, streaming platforms, and publishers.

TikTok and Meta continue to diverge on social commerce strategies, Pinterest teams up with Wayfair on a data clean room test, and YouTube introduces unskippable ads.

Social search is growing, fueled by consumer behavior and AI—and so are the search ad opportunities on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. But search on social media isn’t the same as traditional search. Here’s what advertisers should know.

The pandemic ecommerce boom that drove online sales is over. But marketplaces will continue to expand their share of US retail ecommerce, contributing almost 40% of the $588 billion in US online sales growth that we forecast over the next five years.

With user penetration nearly complete and time spent starting to plateau or decline on many platforms, social networks have run out of easy paths to incremental budget among their advertisers.

On today's episode, we discuss how we should feel about Amazon's online sales being flat, how its ad business was able to have such a good quarter, and why the company has yet to find a mass grocery format worth expanding. "In Other News," we talk about how Pinterest has been doing and just how popular self-checkout is. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch.

Shoppable media is gaining momentum as brands look for ways to narrow the gap between discovery and purchase. Just this month, Pinterest, NBCUniversal, Meta, and Yahoo announced shoppable media updates. From AI to QR codes, we dive deeper into these developments and why they may give companies an edge.

“Over 50% [of users] say they view Pinterest as a place to shop,” said Pinterest CEO Bill Ready. “Yet we haven’t made it easy for them to shop historically, as shoppable content was not integrated into core experiences.”