The retailer’s new “Alexa for Shopping” assistant unites voice and chatbots to drive discovery and spending.
Walmart, Target, and Dollar General bank on brick-and-mortar to capture tighter wallets.
Energy-driven PPI spike points to steeper retail price hikes ahead.
Discord sweetens rewarded ads: Nitro bonuses tie premium users closer to Quests, offering brands young, engaged fans.
Privacy backlash dents AI targeting: Users dodge tracking and give fake details, leaving marketers with distorted inputs and a ceiling on personalization.
Brox builds behavioral replicas: 60,000 digital twins based on real humans promise insights in hours, not weeks, but the $100,000 entry is prohibitive.
TikTok tests paid ad-free model in UK: While ad revenues remain stable, creator deals could gain value if subscription adoption climbs.
44% of US college sports fans say sponsorship influences their purchase decisions, including 14% who actively prioritize sponsored brands, according to a February study from Big Chalk.
Although the US economy is facing hard financial times due to rising gas prices and other headwinds, consumers expect to up their spending this summer, according to a Spring 2026 survey by Optimove Research.
A direct mail expert identifies optimization opportunities for banks’ direct mail programs.
Banks that meet customers where they are can boost satisfaction and loyalty.
Yet many consumers still engage with their content, pushing marketers to ensure their influencer partners have credibility.
Instagram pushes into the living room: Long-form CTV plans could pit it head-on with YouTube’s cross-device dominance.
Retail strategy is getting more complex, but the customer journey isn’t necessarily getting better. As brands invest in new channels, emerging tech, and reimagined experiences, many are still falling short on the fundamentals that actually drive discovery, conversion, and loyalty.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Meta right now: Why isn’t Wall Street satisfied with Meta’s seemingly incomprehensible growth? Where should Meta be focusing its AI efforts? And what happens when the company creates an AI version of CEO Mark Zuckerberg? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Analyst Emmy Liederman and Principal Analyst Max Willens. Listen everywhere, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Alphabet’s AI stack fuels ad economics: Anthropic’s $200 billion deal boosts Google Cloud, while TPUs and Gemini may lower ad costs.
AI Email A/B testing has an AI quality problem: Without rigor, AI crowns false winners and locks in flawed templates.
Media, events, and LTO buzz double brand recall as revenues climb 31%.
From McDonald’s to Whirlpool repairs, brands feel the impact as consumers run out of money.