Payment providers are tapping genAI to personalize marketing offers and virtual assistants while streamlining customer checkout. These tools could help providers monetize transaction data and help merchants drive sales.

Walmart makes a huge acquisition in hopes of taking on Amazon’s retail media dominance, while Amazon keeps churning out generative AI innovations. Plus, Target tries to steal share from Walmart’s prowess on attracting deal-seeking shoppers. Find out who else earned a spot in our Unofficial” Most Interesting Retailers List, a monthly ranking revealed on an episode of the “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

Acquirers, networks, and issuers each play distinct roles in the payments purchasing chain. But those roles are shifting as providers adapt to the rise of software and value-added services, increased payment method choice, and cloud-based innovation.

What is shoppable media and which formats have the most potential?

This report presents five of the most intriguing and/or under-the-radar positive forecasts for 2024 that clients should be aware of, as compiled by our forecasting team.

YouTube keeps rolling out shopping tools: The latest update enables creators to make the shopping button appear at relevant points in their videos.

Klaviyo's IPO shines a spotlight on email marketing's vast reach: AI and personalization emerge as key strategies for brand engagement.

Retail media networks may be working on standardization, but a universal measurement system is still a dream. Aside from a sluggish move toward standardization, here are four predictions about the future of retail media networks our analysts gave on our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

Shopify looks to competitors for help as growth slows: The company’s partnerships with TikTok and Amazon should help with customer retention and acquisition.

ByteDance is dead set on building up TikTok Shop in the US: Its aggressive moves to build a robust shopping service could lead to a $500 million loss this year.

Digital commerce platforms are leaning heavily into payment processing to grow revenues and enhance customer engagement. But it’s still early innings: They are ripe for payment provider partnerships that can evolve as the platforms grow.

The initial wave of excitement over generative AI is fading, leaving many retailers asking, “Now what?” Some might want to look toward Shopify, which is incorporating generative AI capabilities across its platform to help sellers build and scale their businesses more quickly. Or maybe take a cue from eBay, which is using the tech to make more accurate and helpful product recommendations. Meanwhile, Etsy is working to democratize access to machine learning models to help speed up deployment across its organization.

“Barbie” is the top-searched term on Amazon. Shopify has seen a 56% increase in doll sales. And despite a fall in Q2 Barbie doll sales, Mattel believes there will be significant growth for the property in the coming months and years. All of this has Greta Gerwig’s movie to thank.

NBCUniversal and Roku experiment with shoppable ads to reach viewers in their homes, while Netflix courts customers in the real world. Here’s how each company is leaning into commerce to diversify revenue streams.

Roku and Shopify team up on shoppable ads: Viewers will be able to purchase items from Shopify merchants directly from their TVs.

Behind the hype around composable commerce, there are pros and cons that retailers should consider before shaking up their business operations.

Powered by cloud-based APIs, modern card issuing leapfrogs traditional issuer processing to help non-financial services companies launch and customize card programs. Here’s where their offerings will be most disruptive.

Marketplaces are fighting for the crown in US ecommerce. Though Amazon remains solidly atop ecommerce sales, Walmart and Shopify are attempting to carve into Amazon’s revenues. Here are the latest updates in ecommerce, advertising, and partnerships from these major players.

A year in, Buy with Prime is struggling to attract retailers: Opposition from Shopify and UX limitations are keeping merchants away, despite the opportunity to reach Amazon Prime users.

Total US retail return volume will reach $627.34 billion this year, a 2.2% increase YoY, according to our forecast. Some retailers are turning to return fees to make up for increased costs, but that’s a risky move that may end up alienating customers. Here are three alternatives to return fees, ranging from the short term (building out product descriptions and customer reviews) to the long term (creating a returns as a service offering).