French speakers in Quebec are still slower to adopt aspects of digital like ecommerce and video, something digital marketers must account for when targeting consumers in the province.

Digital retailers bristle at the mere mention of the term “serial returner.” Many have put policies in place to block this apparent scourge. But there’s a difference between someone who consciously games the digital retailing system for their own insidious gain and a strong brand advocate who just wants to try multiple items and buy.

Social ad spending is continuing to rise, and more US marketers—particularly those in retail—will keep funneling money into the channel.

Retailers are well aware of consumers' desire to shop in the most effortless ways possible, but several in-store pain points continue to hinder such experiences, according to an October 2019 survey from Capgemini.

For Alexandra Waldman, launching Universal Standard was a no-brainer. She struggled to find clothes that fit her size-20 frame—even something as simple as a T-shirt that didn’t have a puppy or a "live, laugh, love" affirmation on it.

In June 2019, former Snapchat chief strategy officer Imran Khan set out to shake up the marketplace landscape, including Amazon, when he launched ecommerce platform Verishop. We recently spoke with Khan about how Verishop is helping direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands scale, as well as its ongoing efforts to give consumers a new way to discover products.

Consumers have become more socially conscious in the ways they shop. At the same time, the notoriously unsustainable practice of fast fashion is thriving.

More women are turning to resale sites, including The RealReal and Poshmark, as they continue to compare deals and make more of an effort to spend less.

In a record year for US retail store closures, dollar stores are thriving. Not only are major players opening a significant number of new locations, but more consumers are regularly shopping for groceries at dollar stores than any other time in the past five years. But dollar stores, which have been praised as survivors of the ongoing retail apocalypse, could face new pressure from Amazon come 2020.

"Buy online, pick up in-store" is a retail service that a dominant proportion of today's youngest consumers are taking advantage of, according to Package Concierge.

Last month, Amazon held its fifth annual Prime Day event to honor its Prime members with steep discounts and deals across a range of products and categories. This year’s midsummer shopping event—extended to 48 hours and held on July 15 and 16—racked up record sales, further cementing Amazon’s ecommerce leadership position, while creating incremental opportunities for sellers and competing retailers.

We expect a shift in US digital ad spending next year, as economic factors weigh on certain industries. In 2020, financial services will displace the auto sector, while travel will surpass consumer packaged goods (CPG).

Facebook, Google and Amazon are engaged in a game of thrones—an epic battle for digital supremacy. The anointed one will be whichever company stakes its claim to all three coins of the digital realm: media, advertising and commerce.

Despite protests, technical concerns and stiff competition from ecommerce rivals, Amazon managed to hold its most successful Prime Day yet. Though the company did not disclose its sales figures—or how many new Prime members were added—Amazon announced that it sold 175 million items during the two-day event and surpassed its combined sales total from Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2018.

The retail ecommerce ecosystem in China is extremely diverse. While Alibaba and JD.com are the clear sales leaders, a handful of other players are holding their own, sometimes by carving out a niche market, be it Suning in consumer electronics or Mogujie in women’s apparel.

Americans are poised to spend $586.92 billion in retail ecommerce in 2019, with a year-over-year growth rate of 14.0%.

The global retail market will reach $25.038 trillion in 2019, an increase of 4.5% and a slight acceleration in growth vs. the prior year, per our estimates. At the same time, it represents a marked decline from the five years preceding that, when global retail sales grew at rates between 5.7% and 7.5% each year.

Google's redesigned version of Google Shopping brings its online marketplace center stage. But will the new platform—which merges Google Shopping with the company’s existing retail marketplace, Google Express—be able to compete with the likes of Walmart, eBay and Amazon?

Monthly purchases made via smart speakers rose by 5.4% year over year in the US, per January 2019 data from voice tech companies Voicebot and Voicify. However, those who shopped using voice accounted for less than one-fifth of smart speaker users.

Millennials have long been omnichannel shoppers, but their preference for digital channels is growing alongside the rise of D2C brands and mcommerce.