Retail Trends & Statistics

EMARKETER offers market research, trends and statistics for a variety of topics and industries. Here you will find a collection of reports, articles and other resources for Retail

Measuring what matters in retail media’s boom with incrementality

Article
May 29, 2025

Retail media will reach $60.81 billion in 2025—adding more new dollars than Meta and Alphabet combined—and brands now rank incrementality as a top KPI. In this interview, Tinuiti’s Elizabeth Marsten lays out how to prove incremental sales, pick smarter tools, and keep measurement future-ready.

The Rise of Off-Site Retail Media Advertising | Behind the Numbers Special Edition

Audio
May 29, 2025

On this special edition podcast episode, learn about the rise of off-site retail media advertising with EMARKETER Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano and Google’s Head of Retail Media, Shawn McGahee. This conversation is from the May 9th EMARKETER virtual summit, Commerce Media Trends 2025. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List (May) | Reimagining Retail

Audio
May 28, 2025

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of May. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (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 Analysts Arielle Feger and Sara Lebow will defend their list against Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

Amazon’s ‘Buy for Me’ and Smart CTV Ads Could Drive Growth — If Tariffs Don’t Get in the Way | Behind the Numbers

Audio
May 23, 2025

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the potential of Amazon’s new Buy for Me feature, which of its new CTV ads will make the biggest impact, and how much tariffs might slow down the online shopping giant. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst Rachel Wolff. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Ecommerce to account for more than 20% of worldwide retail sales despite slowdown

Ecommerce to account for more than 20% of worldwide retail sales despite slowdown

Article
May 22, 2025

Retail ecommerce sales worldwide will reach $6.419 trillion in 2025, growing 6.8% YoY—the slowest pace since 2022, per our February 2025 forecast.

Impact of Tariffs on US Social Ad Spending

Impact of Tariffs on US Social Ad Spending

Report
May 21, 2025

US social ad spend will grow YoY in 2025, even as platforms grapple with tariff-related budget cuts from industries that spend heavily on social channels, like CPG and retail.

First-party data and omnichannel strategies drive retail media's future

Article
May 19, 2025

"Retail media could have a key role to continue driving growth for advertisers which sell products through retail," said Jonathan Fasano, business development director at Walmart Connect Mexico and Central America, during a recent EMARKETER Summit on commerce media.

State of the Card Payment Ecosystem 2025

State of the Card Payment Ecosystem 2025

Report
May 19, 2025

The global payments industry will be a $2.3 trillion revenue opportunity in 2028. But shifting business models, new technologies, and alternative payment methods are changing how key card players compete for a share of this revenue.

Can GenAI actually change how people shop? | Reimagining Retail

Audio
May 14, 2025

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss where GenAI is being used along the current shopper journey, how agents can help, the most overhyped piece of this, and one thing retailers and brands are paying enough attention to as a result. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Carina Perkins and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser.

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Affirm partners with World Market to boost home furnishings spend

Article
May 13, 2025

The partnership highlights the importance of individual merchant deals and larger platform tie-ups

Commerce media landscape evolves as competition intensifies in 2025

Article
May 12, 2025

Commerce media is expanding in terms of numbers of players, but ad spend patterns remain the same.

Google’s head of retail media makes the case for off-site expansion

Article
May 12, 2025

“Shopper journeys are very complex, and retail media networks (RMNs) need scale to reach those shoppers, wherever they may be,” said Shawn McGahee, head of retail media at Google, during last week’s EMARKETER Summit on commerce media.

Klarna backtracks AI customer service plans

Klarna backtracks AI customer service plans

Article
May 08, 2025

Despite being a leader in AI use, the BNPL provider said leaning on AI for customer service lowered support quality

Price Wars: Attack of the Private Labels | Reimagining Retail

Audio
May 07, 2025

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how tariffs will impact private labels, if private label still a synonym for “affordable”, and some unofficial awards for the 5 most interesting private label players. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves and Analyst Arielle Feger.

How digital twins can help retailers navigate tariffs and disruptions

Article
May 02, 2025

In retail, digital twins are virtual replicas of real-world products, stores, or processes, helping retailers model everything from supply chains to store layouts. Digital twins may play an even bigger role in retail now that retailers must navigate the uncertainty around tariffs. Here are four ways they can help retailers prepare and respond.

Microsoft embraces a passwordless future with passkeys by default

Article
May 02, 2025

Microsoft moves to kill the password for good: New accounts skip passwords entirely, and users can delete old ones—part of a bigger push to make passkeys the new normal.

Banks are not interested in stablecoins for the reasons you think

Article
May 01, 2025

A flurry of interest and an unexpected announcement from PayPal show where banks see the biggest value of their own stablecoins.

UK Digital Ad Spending Benchmarks: H1 2025

UK Digital Ad Spending Benchmarks: H1 2025

Report
Apr 30, 2025

This is the first installment of our “UK Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

UK Total Media Ad Spending Benchmarks: H1 2025

UK Total Media Ad Spending Benchmarks: H1 2025

Report
Apr 30, 2025

This is the first installment of our “UK Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

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