While AI advancements have sparked litigation between publishers and tech giants—The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement being the most prominent—some publishers are embracing AI partnerships as an essential revenue driver amid shaky search traffic.

The news: Klarna is now available in-store at over 400 Walmart Canada locations. Canadian Walmart shoppers can scan a QR code at assisted lane checkouts to choose between Pay in Full or Pay in 4. Only purchases over CAD 50 will be eligible for Klarna’s financing. Our take: Klarna’s partnerships with Walmart in the US and Canada are major coups for the BNPL player. Affirm’s dominance stateside is driven by its strategic partnerships and strong Affirm card adoption. Klarna should continue staking out new tie-ups with major retailers and boost Klarna card use to secure a stronger presence in Canada.

Despite recent tariff challenges, Amazon continues to show impressive growth while experimenting with longer Prime Day events and exploring new AI ventures.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how to best decide who to partner with, the right conditions for a successful store-in-a-store relationship, how to approach long-term partnerships versus one-off collaborations. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and guest host, Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Content, Suzy Davidkhanian, and the Founder and CEO of Mack Weldon, Brian Berger. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The news: Netflix is proving its power as the dominant subscription streaming platform with several recent ad wins. The streamer announced that it’s sold all of its available commercial time in preparation for its two Christmas day NFL games, also noting sponsorship deals with partners like Google and FanDuel. Our take: With its strong lead in ad revenue growth, position as the most-used subscription video service in the US, consistently low subscriber churn rate, and content strategy tailored to unique markets, Netflix is likely to continue dominating advertiser investment in connected TV.

In this podcast episode, we discuss if ‘Summerween’ is here to stay, which retail shopping holiday is most likely to expand, and how all of this affects shopping behavior. Listen to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and guest host, Marcus Johnson, Principal Analyst, Sky Canaves, and Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian.

The news: Advertisers are increasing investment in up-and-coming digital advertising channels as the shift away from traditional continues, per a DoubleVerify study. Social media maintains the highest level of investment among North American marketers. Seventy-nine percent are already investing, while 19% have plans to. Our take: High-performing traditional ad formats are being overlooked because they’re harder to measure—but optimizing for attribution over outcomes could come at a cost.

As parents prepare their kids for the new school year, they’re tightening budgets, reusing last year’s supplies, and looking for ways to efficiently check off their lists.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of July. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Vice President of Content and guest host, Suzy Davidkhanian (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Arielle Feger and Suzy Davidkhanian will defend their list against Senior Analyst Blake Droesch, and Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

Payment processing solutions from major US digital commerce platforms are maturing and capturing a greater share of their retail ecommerce sales. Here’s how five platforms are approaching the payment facilitator (payfac) model to catapult their growth.

Last November, our analysts made some predictions about how the retail category would fare in 2025. Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s time to check back in on what has (or hasn’t) happened. "We're seeing many of our predicted trends playing out, though not always in the ways we anticipated," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. "The retail landscape is evolving rapidly, with some developments accelerating faster than expected while others face unexpected headwinds."

In this podcast episode, we discuss the importance of physical touchpoints for brands and explore what attracts younger generations to in-store shopping experiences. We also examine the expectations consumers have for engaging in person experiences. Join our conversation with Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Chief Client Strategy & Integration; President of Quad Agency Services, Tim Maleeny, and Vice President of Content, Suzy Davidkhanian. Listen everywhere you find podcasts and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Holiday shoppers in 2025 aren’t cutting back—they’re prioritizing. According to new research from Inmar Intelligence, 82% of shoppers plan to cut back on everyday essentials to make room for gifts and experiences.

AI is upending every aspect of marketing, from neuro-contextual ads that read emotions to autonomous shopping agents that make purchasing decisions. As tech giants consolidate control of the sector, six pivotal trends are reshaping advertising, search, and commerce.

Retail media is not just for retailers anymore. US commerce media ad spending is projected to hit $118.4 billion by 2029, growing at a 15.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), per a May EMARKETER forecast.

As Walmart celebrates its 63rd birthday this year, the retail giant continues to differentiate itself through data capabilities, technological innovation, and a willingness to experiment with new strategies.

This is the Q2 2025 installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers and brands gauge their sales mix against the market.

This is the Q2 2025 installment of our "Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers and brands calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the Q2 2025 installment of our "Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers and brands calibrate their sales mix against the market.