In the last of five reports in our “Payments Ecosystem” collection, we look at what’s influencing retail sales growth across in-store, online, and social commerce channels—and what it means for payment providers.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether Snapchat's “Less social media. More Snapchat” is working, how concerned folks should be about its slowing user growth, and what to make of its revenue turnaround. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Minda Smiley.

Total media ad spending growth has stabilized, and digital ad spending is set for an extended period of low double-digit annual increases. Amazon, TikTok, and Instagram will be the main growth drivers this year.

LinkedIn is at a turning point: Users are more engaged than ever, ad revenues are rising, and creators are inking deals on the platform. And LinkedIn’s appeal among both B2B and B2C marketers is growing.

Social video is getting an additional boost in daily time spent this year. It’s mostly coming from a less expected place—Meta—even as TikTok continues to dominate in total time spent.

51% of US teens and parents think teens spend the right amount of time on smartphones, while 64% think they spend the right amount of time on social media, according to October 2023 data from Pew Research Center.

“What will happen next?” That’s the big question marketers have following the signing of a potential TikTok ban into law, according to Liz Cole, chief social officer at VML. While marketers don’t know if parent company ByteDance will sell TikTok, shut the platform down in the US, or find a way to fend off the legislation in court, they can prepare now for what’s to come.

US social media ad spending will ride the momentum platforms built in H2 2023 thanks to AI, social video advertising growth, and a fixation on bottom-funnel outcomes.

In 2024, a perfect storm of technology, business, and consumer behavior trends will conspire to intensify the challenges of protecting brands on digital media.

Time spent on social media by US users is set to plateau in 2025. But there are substantial differences in how different age groups spend time on social platforms.

Here’s what a TikTok-less America would look like for marketers, users, and creators, based on our latest forecasts.

US adults will spend 7 more minutes per day with media in 2024 than they did in 2023, confounding expectations of a post-pandemic reduction in screen and audio time.

As Latin America’s digital revolution marches on, advertisers and retailers must keep pace with how and where consumers are spending their time—and money—if they wish to maintain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving business environment.

Social media is an integral part of the digital lives of US consumers under age 18. What they see and how they behave on social also has real-world impact, which has resulted in increasing scrutiny from consumers and lawmakers.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss in what instances Gen Zers prefer TikTok over Instagram, Snapchat's relevance for young folks, and how much we anticipate young people will soon pull back from social media. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Minda Smiley.

Snap launches new brand campaign: Chief creative officer addresses antisocial media stance in the context of Snap’s creator and content push.

Snapchat champions positivity as Meta faces teen safety challenges: Snap's platform aims to balance user well-being with ad revenue growth.

The US’ second-biggest ad market rallied in 2023 thanks to ad buyers in China and investments in automation paying off.

The pace of change in social media won’t slow in 2024. The rising number of disruptors—whether it’s AI, creators, social search, or TikTok Shop—will both reshape old trends and create new ones.

The ad spending winter of 2022 and early 2023 was mild and short-lived, as we predicted. And after a solid H2 2023, things are looking up across the board for 2024.