The news: Southwest Airlines made sweeping changes to its Chase co-branded credit cards, per a press release. Our take: Southwest cardholders are essentially earning back classic Southwest perks stripped from regular travelers. The airline likely could use the gains from higher fees on its credit cards: the budget airline sector stands to struggle as lower income Americans tighten their purse strings for personal travel—and Southwest earned 13% of its revenue from its co-brand cards Q3 2024.
As more consumers start GLP-1 treatments, some CPG brands must work harder to stay in shopping carts. As many GLP-1 users eat less and change their diets, it opens new challenges and opportunities for retailers and marketers.
LVMH’s sales fell more than expected in Q2 in yet another sign of trouble for the luxury industry. 2025 is shaping up to be another difficult year for the luxury industry—and not only because of tariffs. While the duties are certainly hitting consumer sentiment and buying power, limited innovation and a perceived lack of value are diminishing luxury’s appeal, even among shoppers who can afford it.
Q2 earnings revealed turbulence across the travel sector as American Airlines and Southwest reported lower net income and reduced their outlooks. With US airlines and hotels likely to face more headwinds amid uncertainty over tariffs and trade policy, companies need to adjust their strategies.
In this podcast episode, we discuss Amazon’s yearly discount sales drive, Prime Day, and how it morphed into a 4-day shopping spree, the number of sales revealed on each day of shopping, how other retailers responded, and what should we expect when the holiday season approaches. Listen to the discussion with Analyst and guest host, Arielle Feger, Senior Analyst Zak Stambor, and Analyst Rachel Wolff.
The news: Capital One’s net revenues increased 25% QoQ to $12.5 billion—one of the many dramatic changes after its merger with Discover.Our take: The scale of Capital One’s merger is eyewatering. As the issuer looking to maximize its yields, it can both offer more attractive credit and debit products within a regulatory environment that is friendly to ambitious growth.
Retailers have been quietly sidelining plus-size clothing and reducing in-store quantities, even though most US women wear larger sizes. This shrinking presence isn't just a bad business decision; it's out of step with consumer preferences.
Athleisure brands lululemon athletica and Vuori are expanding their presence overseas as the US market cools. With the US market looking increasingly uncertain, it’s no surprise that brands like lululemon and Vuori are looking to international markets to shift growth into a new gear. This trend will likely pick up among apparel brands this year, as they look for ways to mitigate the impact of tariffs and reduce their reliance on US shoppers.
The news: Synchrony’s net revenues fell 2% YoY in Q2 2025, per its earnings release. Our take: Synchrony came off of a rocky Q1 2025 but locked down significant deals over the course of Q2 that will help drive growth through the rest of the year.
The news: 79.64% of consumers prefer going straight to their bank to resolve a dispute rather than engaging the merchant in question, per a survey by Chargebacks911. Our take: Both banks and merchants want to reserve the chargeback process for exceptional circumstances in customer care.
40.6% of US adults have researched a product or company after encountering an ad for it in-store, according to March 2025 data from Placer.ai and Ģą˝AV.
In-store retail media has long been a mysterious black box for marketers—hard to measure and optimize. But thanks to first-party shopper data and AI-driven measurement tools, that’s changing. Marketers can now pinpoint how shoppers engage with in-store campaigns and tie those interactions directly to sales.
Key stat: The number of retail media networks (RMNs) worldwide offering competitive conquesting (the ability to target campaigns to competitors’ shoppers) has risen from 10 in Q2 2024 to 15 in Q2 2025, a 50% increase, according to data from Mars United Commerce.
Starbucks is taking a different approach to its much-hyped Pumpkin Spice Latte this year. Rather than pulling the launch forward, as it has done for the past several years, the drink will make its debut on August 26—four days later than in 2024, and the PSL’s latest launch date since 2022. Delaying the launch slightly could build excitement over Starbucks’ fall menu, and encourage customers to visit more often once the PSL hits stores. The move might also lift sales for Starbucks’ grocery assortment—especially given the current popularity of at-home coffee brewing—which could in turn help offset the company’s in-store softness. Still, the enduring popularity of the PSL alone won’t be enough to lift Starbucks out of its slump.
The strategy: Despite ongoing economic headwinds, Domino’s delivered solid Q2 growth across all income levels by doubling down on value and innovation—key pillars of its Hungry for More growth strategy. CEO Russell Weiner noted during the company’s earnings call that Domino’s has consistently gained about 1 percentage point of market share annually over the past decade—and sees ample opportunity to build on that momentum and further outpace rivals. Our take: Domino’s is proving that even in a challenging, price-sensitive environment, smart innovation and a sharp value proposition can drive growth across income cohorts. By blending crave-worthy new items like stuffed crust pizza with a more personalized loyalty experience and increased delivery flexibility, the brand is positioning itself to win market share from slower-moving rivals.
Last November, our analysts made some predictions about how the retail category would fare in 2025. Now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s time to check back in on what has (or hasn’t) happened. "We're seeing many of our predicted trends playing out, though not always in the ways we anticipated," said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. "The retail landscape is evolving rapidly, with some developments accelerating faster than expected while others face unexpected headwinds."
Criteo is modernizing retail media by launching a global auction-based ad platform and integrating with Mirakl to enable self-serve advertising for over 100,000 third-party sellers. This dual move addresses two persistent challenges: outdated fixed-price ad systems used by most retailers, and untapped ad spend from marketplace sellers. The auction system gives advertisers more control and performance insights, while Mirakl opens up a scalable, automated path for small sellers. Criteo also brings standardized attribution and reporting across retail partners—fixing transparency gaps. These changes position Criteo as a full-spectrum solution for brands, retailers, and sellers looking to compete in a fast-evolving market.
Holiday shoppers in 2025 aren’t cutting back—they’re prioritizing. According to new research from Inmar Intelligence, 82% of shoppers plan to cut back on everyday essentials to make room for gifts and experiences.
The news: More than half (55.3%) of Gen Zers use advanced budgeting tools—a greater share than any other generation, per a PYMNTS Intelligence report. Our take: Payment providers, issuers, and banks can embed more advanced tools within their apps to reach Gen Zers actively seeking sophisticated ways to plot out their spending and saving habits.