Google and PayPal ink multiyear partnership for commerce solution with a focus on agentic AI, per a press release. Google and PayPal’s surprising partnership reflects the ongoing scramble to secure the best positioning in the Wild West of AI development. All players want to have an early mover advantage; that can incentivize unlikely partnerships to avoid falling behind rapidly evolving technology.
Halloween spending will hit a record $13.1 billion this year, per the National Retail Federation (NRF). That’s up nearly 12% YoY, and well above the previous record of $12.2 billion in 2023. The healthy increase in Halloween spending reflects consumers’ growing excitement around the holiday, and retailers’ concerted efforts to cater to it. At a difficult time for retail spending, companies should take note of shoppers’ willingness to spend big on items that get them into the holiday spirit, and carry that enthusiasm forward in their assortments and messaging for the rest of the year.
YouTube is making livestreaming a central pillar of its platform with its most sweeping update yet. More than 30% of logged-in viewers watched live video in Q2 2025, and new features aim to boost engagement and monetization. Updates include YouTube Playables, dual horizontal and vertical streaming with a unified chat, AI-generated highlight Shorts, and side-by-side ad formats that don’t interrupt streams. The company is also enabling midstream exclusivity for members. For creators, livestreaming is now easier to scale and monetize; for brands, it’s a fresh avenue to connect with highly engaged audiences—and increasingly, to drive commerce.
Despite the rise of artificial intelligence in advertising, marketers worldwide still overwhelmingly rely on user-generated content (UGC) for engaging audiences, per a new study from PhotoShelter. Authenticity is the clear differentiator that makes ads connect with audiences, necessitating continued reliance on UGC.
TikTok’s US operations may soon be spun off into a new entity majority-owned by American investors, with Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake leading the deal. The framework, aimed at complying with the 2024 divest-or-ban law, would give US investors roughly 80% control while ByteDance retains under 20%. The sticking point remains TikTok’s algorithm—whether ByteDance licenses its technology or a US-controlled version is rebuilt. For marketers, continuity is key: any disruption in recommendation performance, targeting, or data oversight could alter ad outcomes on one of their most important platforms.
Early Warning Services’ Zelle disclosed double-digit year-over-year (YoY) growth across critical segments during the first half of 2025, per a press release. With P2P’s absence in Zelle’s volume increase list, the platform holds firm hold on essential payments, but seemingly has failed to disrupt established use patterns among users who still differentiate between smaller transactions—Venmoing a friend back for coffee—and large, major payments, such as Zelle-ing a landlord monthly rent.
As brands broadly step away from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments, consumers are looking to those who stay the course. While the pressure to scale back DEI efforts is real, the backlash from doing so can be significant.
Amazon used its annual seller conference, Amazon Accelerate, to unveil new tools and fulfillment capabilities that underscore its ambition to serve as the infrastructure of retail. The retailer is weaving together AI-driven tools, externalized logistics, and its vast seller network to extend its influence beyond its own marketplace. As Amazon extends its reach through MCF and Buy with Prime, it increasingly sees merchants and marketplaces not as rivals but as collaborators.
Physicians’ views on pharmaceutical promotions have soured over the past several years, according to a recently published study in JAMA Health Forum. Doctors rely on drugmakers for resources on the latest medicines, but they don’t want this information to feel overly promotional. Pharma marketers and sales reps need to establish themselves as trustworthy and educational from the very beginning. They must make sure to ask doctors about patients’ needs, conditions, and their experiences with current and past treatments. Marketers can use that information to craft customized materials to show doctors how a drug will help their specific patients.
Gap, Reformation, Balenciaga, and Alo Yoga are expanding into new categories to futureproof their businesses amid uncertainty. As spending trends shift, fashion companies are trying to shift with them. Pushing into resilient categories like beauty and jewelry may look promising on paper, but success is not assured. Brands face considerable competition from companies with more experience, and convincing customers that new offerings deliver quality and value can be a challenge.
British pharma company GSK plans to invest $30 billion in US drug manufacturing and R&D, coinciding with President Trump’s UK state visit and a broader pullback on UK investments by other drugmakers. Since taking office, Trump has issued executive orders and warnings aimed at spurring more US manufacturing and lowering drug prices. While his approach is boosting manufacturing, it doesn’t necessarily translate to lower drug prices. For increased US manufacturing to truly benefit consumers, it needs to be coupled with reforms in how drugs are priced, negotiated, and reimbursed. Without cooperation from the full supply chain—from pharma companies to providers, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, and federal and state governments—manufacturing growth alone won’t guarantee lower prices for patients.
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a statement that its member health insurers will cover vaccines that were previously recommended by the CDC’s advisory committee with no cost-sharing for patients through the end of 2026. AHIP’s commitment is the first real market signal that major insurers will keep paying for children’s immunizations, as well as updated formulations of COVID-19 and flu vaccines, even if the government’s vaccine advisory panel changes its recommendations. Insurers should partner up with medical associations, pharmacies, and vaccine makers to disseminate information at a local level that makes folks aware of their right to vaccine coverage under their health plan.
Younger generations' trust in drug companies is dropping. A new survey shows that many pharma companies are failing to connect with this audience on social media, where they look for health information. To win them back, pharma brands should create social media videos that highlight their history of innovation, rather than focusing on specific products. They can also partner with doctor influencers to create content that removes the stigma around topics like mental health and educates people on treatment options.
Nvidia is putting $5 billion into Intel, buying common stock at $23.28 per share for a 4%–5% stake. The two companies plan to co-develop custom PC and data center chips that blend Nvidia’s GPUs with Intel’s x86 CPUs and manufacturing muscle, per ABC News. For Intel, it’s a last chance to remain relevant in advanced computing. For Nvidia, it’s a strategic hedge—ensuring supply resilience and expanding influence over x86 chip design. The partnership will reshape the semiconductor industry and strengthen US tech leadership.
Marketers agree creative drives results, but many still struggle to define and scale it. Taylor Stewart, global head of retail media engagement at TripleLift, joins EMARKETER’s Arielle Feger to discuss how brands are closing the creative gap by using AI, testing roadmaps, and full-funnel strategies to turn ideas into measurable performance.
Meta is back in licensing talks with publishers like Axel Springer, Fox Corp., and News Corp., marking a reversal from its 2022 exit from news payments. The move comes as AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews cut publisher traffic, pushing outlets to secure compensation. Meanwhile, Reddit is pressing Google for richer terms, citing undervaluation of its human-authored content under existing $203 million contracts. For publishers, licensing deals provide revenue but risk cementing dependence on platforms that control discovery. For marketers, the shift highlights how AI-driven answers—rather than search results or feeds—are becoming the gateways to consumer attention and content discovery.
Nvidia is putting $5 billion into Intel, buying common stock at $23.28 per share for a 4%–5% stake. The two companies plan to co-develop custom PC and data center chips that blend Nvidia’s GPUs with Intel’s x86 CPUs and manufacturing muscle, per ABC News. For Intel, it’s a last chance to remain relevant in advanced computing. For Nvidia, it’s a strategic hedge—ensuring supply resilience and expanding influence over x86 chip design. The partnership will reshape the semiconductor industry and strengthen US tech leadership.
Jimmy Kimmel Live has been pulled off the air after FCC chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, threatened Disney and ABC over the host’s political monologue. Carr called Kimmel “talentless” and suggested the FCC could leverage broadcast license renewals to punish Disney, a move critics see as regulatory overreach. The standoff highlights the growing risk of political retaliation in broadcast media. Advertisers and networks now face new uncertainty: satire has long defined late-night programming, yet even the suggestion of FCC intervention could pressure networks to self-censor and brands to reconsider ad placements.
Olive Garden is testing lower-priced entrées with smaller portion sizes, parent Darden said, to woo consumers who are price-conscious as well as those on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. Darden’s investments in pricing are helping it win spending from value-conscious consumers, who are looking to get more bang for their buck—and a clear idea of what a night out will cost them. While keeping prices low may hurt short-term profits, the company is confident that its value focus will position it to boost sales and take share.