On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how anti-US sentiment, live tourism, and tariffs are all shaping people’s 2025 summer travel plans. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President of Research Jennifer Pearson and Analyst Rachel Wolff. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

In Q3, retailers struggled with shopping trends upended by extreme summer weather along with a threat of incoming tariffs. Here’s how they addressed these challenges in their Q3 earnings calls and what it could mean for the industry heading into 2025.

The nation’s largest fast- food chains race to the bottom: Taco Bell and Sonic joined Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s in rolling out low-cost value meals to attract cost-conscious consumers.

Amazon Prime Day conditioned shoppers to expect bargains in July: That’s driven Google, Target, Walmart, and others to seize on the opportunity to drive consumers to spend.

Key stat: Nearly half (49%) of US adults will begin back-to-school shopping by early July, according to a March 2024 survey by LTK.

On today's episode, we discuss whether the summer travel boom will last, how the economic climate is influencing how people think about vacations, and the changes in how people choose where they go on vacation. "In Other News," we discuss whether folks want gamified shopping experiences and how brands should—and shouldn't—text you. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Zach Goldner and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

Back to class: US back-to-school ecommerce sales will grow more than 13% this year, even after last year’s spike, increasing their share of total back-to-school sales this season.

Travel's on the up: With US adults' demand for domestic travel on the rise, prices are following. But there are still a few ways for marketers to capture that demand among price-conscious travelers.