Retailers are cautiously optimistic as they look ahead to the holiday season: Imports are expected to be slightly higher YoY as companies bring in more mid-priced items.

Physical stores are the new frontier for retail media. But undeveloped tech capabilities, competing priorities, and unproven new formats are hurdles retailers need to address.

Walmart’s market share gains continued in Q1 as the retailer emphasizes value and convenience: The company continues to draw in more high-income shoppers, while its advertising and marketplace offerings boost revenues.

Ryan Mayward, senior vice president of retail media sales at Walmart Connect, shared three ways retail media is evolving and how Walmart is keeping up on our Reimaging Retail podcast.

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.

Retailers like Dollar General, Walmart, and Target are rethinking the self-checkout experience, scaling back on kiosks or removing self-checkout from their locations altogether. But considering 55% of US adults prefer to get through their in-store grocery shopping as fast as possible (according to a November 2023 survey from Kearney) it’s unlikely self-checkout will be leaving stores anytime soon. Here are five stats on self-checkout, including how and why consumers like to use it, the reason some retailers are pulling back, and what the future holds for the technology.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how retail media is meeting the demand for full funnel campaigns, what folks are building to help with measurement, and how in-store audio can upgrade the experience. "In Other News," we talk about whether there is enough money to go around in retail media and why performance marketers are shifting their priorities to brand building. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Sarah Marzano and Ryan Mayward, SVP of retail sales at Walmart Connect.

Retail media has matured greatly since our 5 retail media networks (RMNs) worth watching. That evolution has come from growth in spend (we forecast US omnichannel retail media ad spend growth at 26.0% this year, with larger increases in off-site and connected TV), in-store innovations, and new entrants from other non-retailers.

Amazon and Walmart follow a similar playbook: The retailers use exclusive access to events like Prime Day and Walmart+ Early Access to showcase the value of their membership programs.

Thanks to its growing retail media business, Walmart keeps its top spot on our “Unofficial Most interesting Retailers List” for April 2024. Meanwhile, newcomer Home Depot and returning member TikTok Shop make the list for equipping advertisers with more data.

Consumers are using the internet and social media to a great extent for healthcare purposes. Here’s what healthcare and pharma marketers need to know about how online-acquired information influences patient action.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of April. 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 Arielle Feger and Sara Lebow will defend their list against vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analyst Blake Droesch, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

Amazon rolls out US grocery subscription as it tries to halt Walmart’s momentum: But the offering’s high cost relative to those of competitors could limit its impact on Amazon’s grocery business.

Nearly a third (32%) of US consumers decreased online spending in Q1 2024, according to Jungle Scout’s latest Consumer Trends Report. Here are five insights into how and where consumers shopped over the first quarter of 2024.

Amazon will account for 40.4% of US retail ecommerce sales or a total of $491.65 billion this year, according to our February 2024 forecast.

Sales growth for cosmetics and beauty will increase at more than twice the rate online than through physical retail channels this year, according to our February 2024 forecast. While ecommerce is stealing market share, its sales only tell a portion of the buying story. Physical stores are still key to discovering beauty products and brands, finding the right shades, and testing formulations—and Walmart is making use of its omnichannel footprint to take advantage. Here’s how.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the takeaway's from this years March Madness NCAA basketball tournaments, what's most fueling a revolution in women's sports, who will rule the new pay TV world by 2026, the likelihood that sports betting faces a reckoning in the next 12-months, the best-selling cars in America, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss the role of the store for the beauty space, Walmart's involvement in this product category, and how TikTok is changing things. Then, for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank the top three social media trends that have influenced beauty products and how they're marketed. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Sky Canaves and Carina Perkins.

Amazon is ditching Just Walk Out in favor of Dash Carts. Not only will the move satisfy customers’ desire for familiar technology, but it’s also creating more ad inventory. Walmart Connect also emphasized its in-store retail media potential last week, with a focus on expanding familiar strategies like sampling and TV screens. This back-to-basics approach might spark more in-store retail media ad spend.

Retail media complicates price talks between retailers and suppliers: Hardline tactics like pulling products from shelves can make brands reluctant to invest in RMNs, forcing concessions.