Cracker Barrel led all US flowers, gifts, and greetings retailers with 5.8 million unique visitors in November 2024, according to Comscore.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how the election influenced consumers' shopping habits, why returns spiked, and some way too early predictions for the 2025 holiday season. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

Amazon’s new Retail Ad Service, announced last week, is certainly the biggest retail media news of the year so far. In offering its ad-tech to power other retailers' media networks (RMNs), Amazon could disrupt how retail media operates for retailers, advertisers, vendors, and consumers alike.

Over half of retailer executives say that they implemented a return fee to discourage customers from initiating returns, according to October 2024 data from Optoro. Thirty-nine percent of executives said they launched a fee to discourage excessive or abusive returns, while 20% said it is to make it difficult or discourage customers from returning products.

Growth rates will decline, but digital grocery will remain a key focus for retailers looking to drive incremental sales dollars in ecommerce.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how retailers are giving customers more bang for their buck with discounts and freebies, how gamified loyalty programs are becoming more sophisticated, and more. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Vice President Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.

In 2025, retailers will redefine value by blending discounts with innovation, empathy, and personalization. Brands will prioritize authentic connections, engaging audiences through in-person experiences, and highly targeted campaigns powered by advanced technologies like AI. Let’s look at three key marketing themes industry experts believe will shape 2025.

Halfway through the current decade, retail media has bled into the wider concept of commerce media, which will be a $68.69 billion industry in the US this year, per our December 2024 forecast.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts tomorrow, but companies have already begun announcing their latest consumer technology innovations. Here are two recent announcements and what they could mean for retail media.

Despite rapid digitization, providers shouldn’t close their retail doors just yet

Value was the name of the game in 2024 as retailers scrambled to keep consumers shopping. But that wasn’t the only thing on retailers’ minds this year.

On today's podcast episode, we give out some 2024 retail awards for the most must-visit store, the Gen Z darling, the best innovator, the small stuff worth sweating award, and the comeback story of the year. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.

Providers can invest in features like one-click checkout to boost their competitive positioning

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why now might be the exact right time for Meta to bring back live shopping, who would be the most likely candidate to buy Party City, and why Disney thinks that now is the right time to pull the trigger on a big change. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

Almost half of adults worldwide (49%) have cut back on nonessential purchases over the last three months due to increasing prices for goods and services, per October data from Boston Consulting Group.

Worldwide sales of personal luxury goods will only grow by 3.2% in 2024 to reach $429.15 billion, weighed down by slower growth in the US and China, according to an August 2024 EMARKETER forecast.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss which retailers have the most to gain from New Year's resolution making, attitudes towards them, and how they can capitalize on them. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Sky Canaves and Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

In our exclusive survey, CPG and general merchandise ad buyers shared their opinions of retail media network attributes across metrics including traffic, targeting, and ad cost.

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed 10% to 20% tariffs could cause double-digit price hikes across six retail categories, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis from November 2024.

Trump’s tariffs on key trade partners may drive up prices for semiconductors, EVs, and phones, threatening global supply chains and inflating costs for consumers.