The travel and retail industries will post healthy digital ad spending growth figures this year, but many other verticals we track will underperform compared with the national growth average. Next year is looking better for almost all of them.

Smart carts enable brands to put their products right in front of shoppers as they move through the store. Digital cooler screens use bright, informative visuals to pique consumer interest. And digital end caps add an element of interactivity to the old-school format. Here’s how retailers can put them to use to up their retail media game.

Membership-based retailers might have an edge in retail media. While most retail media networks tout first-party data and closeness to purchase as benefits of this burgeoning channel, membership stores like Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and more have rich troves of historical data on its members.

“We all want to create that aura and the air of excitement so the customer across all channels can say, ‘It is indeed my happy place we’ve got here,’” Dhriti Saha, COO of The Container Store, said at eTail Boston this week.

Ecommerce sales growth worldwide is poised to increase by 8.9% in 2023 after increasing by 6.5% in 2022, according to our forecast. While this growth trend will continue in 2024—reaching 9.4%—ecommerce sales growth worldwide will fall to 8.6% in 2025.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss what established brands have to gain by going D2C, the ways digitally native brands sell in brick-and-mortar stores, and how brands are maintaining a digitally native “identity” for marketing purposes while also going wholesale. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank the the digital natives that are primed for success and the ones that need to up their game. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and president of SageBerry Consulting and author of "Remarkable Retail" Steve Dennis.

Digital activity now plays a major role in product discovery, with younger generations driving sizable shifts in the way shoppers find new products.

Casper’s subway ads give commuters fun puzzles to solve while increasing its brand awareness. Albertsons Companies leverages a game to entice consumers to play for discounts and rewards. And Nike’s mobile app earns the brand a spot in consumers’ everyday lives. Here are five ways brands are embracing gamification across different stages.

Retail media partnerships are the future of TV.

Digital ad spending growth in Canada continues apace, driven in large part by key industries tied most closely to the digital economy. Our rankings show that retail and CPG lead the way, while sectors like travel and automotive are still recovering from hard times during the pandemic.

While the retail media opportunity is massive, it requires reaching consumers across a growing number of channels and adapting in real time. Google—which receives billions of searches daily—can help capture new demand, and turn that demand into purchases, by bringing in valuable first-party data to a brand’s retail media program.

Though growth is slowing, digital grocery will continue to fuel overall ecommerce growth in the US. “Growth is no longer driven by new adopters, but heavy digital grocery users,” our analyst Blake Droesch said on a recent “Reimagining Retail” podcast episode. Here’s how retailers like Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart can capitalize on frequent buyers.

Instead of trying to compete with Amazon, Barnes & Noble is changing to appeal to consumers looking for the experience of an independent bookstore with the resources of a large chain. Leaning on local inspiration and a store layout that optimizes discovery, Barnes & Noble is revamping its 596 locations, as well as its membership program.

In the two years since our inaugural “Power of Amazon” report, Amazon has remained a retail and tech powerhouse—but it hasn’t been immune to economic uncertainty, shifting consumer behaviors, or increased competition. We examine how Amazon’s 19 business divisions have changed and how these new developments might affect your industry.

After three years of wild fluctuations in retail and ecommerce sales growth, a sense of stability and normalcy is slowly emerging. A healthy if unspectacular rebound for ecommerce is in the cards, and most national markets are heading in the right direction.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss the opportunity for China-based companies like Shein, Temu, and TikTok in the US, and how they can compete with Amazon. Then for "Red-Hot Retail," our analysts give us some spicy predictions about how fashion retail will change in the US as a direct result of Chinese manufacturers. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Sky Canaves and researcher and Asia-Pacific lead Man-Chung Cheung.

Retail media has been buoyed by consumer packaged goods companies and grocery brands looking to get their products in front of shoppers closer to the point of purchase. But now, other categories are looking to join the party: nonendemic advertisers.

On a July 28 earnings call, Procter & Gamble CFO Andre Schulten emphasized retail media’s position as one of many marketing strategies.