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The news: US Gen Zers鈥� rising interest in financial independence is driving them to favor banking websites over beauty, gaming, or news websites, according to our industry KPI data provided by Comscore. The number of unique visitors ages 18鈥�24 to banking industry websites grew from 15.0 million to 15.7 million between January and June 2025. Other industries saw a drop in unique visitors of that age bracket over the same period. Our take: Financial institutions (FIs) must adapt their strategies to align with Gen Z's priorities and behaviors, because their competitors clearly have.This will require them to rethink the user experience, shift from products to value, and embrace socially native communication.

The Ulta Beauty at Target partnership, which put more than 600 Ulta mini-stores inside Target locations, will end in August 2026 when the current agreement expires. The companies said they mutually agreed not to renew the deal, which launched in 2021. With this business venture set to end, Ulta will focus on new growth opportunities, while Target will gain space to focus on operational improvements and refine its retail strategy.

The news: Klarna鈥檚 revenues jumped 20% YoY to $823 million in the latest earnings released ahead of its IPO this fall. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) spiked 19% to $31.2 billion鈥攏early four times the size of competitor Affirm鈥檚 $8.6 billion. Klarna鈥檚 US GMV growth is even more impressive, at 37% YoY. Our take: Klarna will have an uphill battle if it wants to dethrone Affirm as the dominant BNPL provider in the US. Given Affirm鈥檚 recent partnership with Stripe, Klarna may not be able to rely on the fintech for such rapid growth anymore鈥攅specially considering Affirm鈥檚 more direct integrations with Stripe in-store.

The news: Affirm will be available as a payment option for in-store shoppers on Stripe Terminal for US and Canadian merchants, per a press release. Our take: Snagging a Stripe Terminal integration is a big win for Affirm. This can help expand its lead in the US, where it holds $35.69 billion in payment value鈥攁 $4 billion dollar lead over Klarna.

Quick-service chains like Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Potbelly are leaning into secret menus as a low-risk, high-reward strategy to spark buzz, drive app engagement, and crowdsource product innovation. 鈥淪ecret鈥� is one of the most powerful words in the marketing playbook鈥攊t signals exclusivity, discovery, and insider access. For QSRs, secret menus turn that intrigue into action, gamifying loyalty, testing new flavors, and tapping into cultural trends鈥攁ll without disrupting operations. By inviting fans to co-create, brands get viral traction and fresh product ideas, often using ingredients already in stock. It鈥檚 a low-lift, scalable strategy to boost visits and stay relevant in a crowded, fast-moving category.

The news: 26.5% of US adults with type 2 diabetes used a GLP-1 injectable drug last year, per CDC data published Thursday. Our take: While type 2 diabetes is still driving most GLP-1 prescribing today, there鈥檚 a healthcare opportunity to address obesity at the same time. Providers need to proactively educate patients with obesity about the risk for type 2 diabetes, while marketers can message GLP-1s as preventive care. Partner with physicians who鈥檝e seen the benefits for their patients and social influencers touting health benefits they鈥檝e gained after starting GLP-1s for weight loss.

The news: Eli Lilly is hiking the UK price of its diabetes and weight loss drug Mounjaro by as much as 170% starting next month, depending on the dose size. The drugmaker also said it鈥檚 been working on raising prices of its medications in Europe and other developed countries. Our take: Drug pricing is so complicated that it could benefit pharma manufacturers, because it will be hard to know whether they鈥檙e truly equalizing prices or just finding ways around the Trump administration鈥檚 demands that other drugmakers could copy.

More than a dozen food manufacturers have pledged to remove artificial dyes from their products in response to pressure from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. The shift from artificial dyes underscores the increased sway of public health advocates and consumer demand for cleaner labels鈥攅ven in the absence of conclusive science. It puts food manufacturers in a tough spot: They are under pressure to reformulate without compromising appearance or taste, all while facing steep costs and limited upside for benefits that may be more symbolic than nutritional.

Three in four US online shoppers consider fast delivery to be important, per a YouGov survey. Just 8% believe it to be unimportant. Thanks to Amazon Prime and similar offerings, consumers have come to expect free and fast shipping. But if forced to pick between the two, shoppers will accept slower delivery speeds if it means no extra cost. That鈥檚 good news for brands that can鈥檛 afford to compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart on speed.

The news: Western Union will acquire International Money Express (Intermex) in a deal with a total equity and enterprise value of $500 million, per a press release. Our take: Increasing its retail footprint in the US positions can help Western Union capture more remittance outflow from the US, which we forecast to hit $92.58 billion this year.

The news: YouTube is facing user backlash after rolling out its AI-powered age-verification system in the US. Many users are furious, per TechRadar, citing concerns about 鈥渕ass surveillance and data control.鈥� The age-verification AI estimates a user鈥檚 age based on viewing patterns, search history, and account age. If it flags a user as under 18, YouTube automatically applies teen safety restrictions like disabling personalized ads, limiting content availability, and turning on digital well-being tools. Our take: Disabling personalized advertising for flagged accounts will disrupt retargeting models and reduce audience reach. Marketers focused on Gen 鈥痁ers on YouTube should prepare for reduced targeting precision and to shift toward context-driven campaigns or diversify across other platforms.

The trend: Even amid the surging popularity of weight loss drugs, 60% of respondents to a recent Tebra survey admitted they鈥檙e hesitant to ask physicians about GLP-1 medications. Our take: Healthcare and pharma players in the GLP-1 space will want to double down on messaging that obesity is a chronic condition that often requires medication, while integrating testimonials from GLP-1 patients who are proud of their weight loss achievements. Marketers should also craft content that addresses physicians鈥� specific biases against weight loss drugs and refutes common misconceptions.

AI-fueled gains kept Google, Meta, and Amazon atop Q2鈥檚 ad market, but slowing engagement, murky ROI, and macro risks leave the triopoly鈥檚 future growth story more complex than the headlines suggest.

This report compares our 2025 US ad spending and time spent with media forecasts. It identifies incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

The news: OpenAI鈥檚 GPT-5 could be the start of ChatGPT becoming a transaction-driven super app that monetizes user intent, not attention. GPT-5鈥檚 router鈥攚hich analyzes queries and decides how hard to 鈥渢hink鈥� based on complexity鈥攍ets OpenAI invest more resources during high-intent moments like 鈥渃ompare hiking boots under $200鈥� or 鈥渂est smart TVs for co-op gaming.鈥� Prioritizing queries with high commercial value could help OpenAI monetize users not through ads but via affiliate or take-rate revenues, per SemiAnalysis. Partnerships with Shopify and others suggest that monetization stack is already on the way. Our take: A full-service ChatGPT that鈥檚 intuitive enough to guide full shopping journeys inside a chatbot while keeping backend costs minimal could rewrite the AI platform鈥檚 business model. Brands should be working to optimize for AI-native commerce and integrate with agentic tools.

The news: Google announced an expanded use of AI to combat invalid ad traffic in a bid to help advertisers preserve budgets and maintain trust, per a recent blog post. Though Google has previously used AI to prevent invalid traffic (IVT), the company has updated its 鈥渋ndustry-leading defenses powered by large language models,鈥� with the goal of better analyzing ad placements, suspicious user interactions, and app and web content. Our take: By taking concrete steps to reduce IVT and address transparency concerns, Google may begin to rebuild trust with advertisers.

The news: Advertisers are broadening how they use AI tools for marketing campaigns beyond data analysis, per a report from DoubleVerify. Nearly half (46%) of advertisers plan to use AI for creating media strategies in 2025, up slightly from 2024. An equal percentage of marketers are using AI for bidding optimization and mid-flight plan optimization. Our take: Widespread AI adoption in marketing is inevitable as AI tools proliferate across industries. Success hinges on how, not if, marketers implement the technology. Consumers are more likely to trust brands that are transparent about how they use AI in their ad materials.

Spotify鈥檚 Ad Exchange is reshaping podcast monetization by moving beyond one-to-one sponsorships toward scalable, automated buying. With adoption up 60% since spring and expanded DSP integrations via Google DV360, Magnite, and The Trade Desk, the platform is positioning itself to capture a larger share of the $5.5B global podcast ad market. While CPM and performance gaps remain compared with host-read ads, programmatic鈥檚 potential for reach and efficiency could push rivals to upgrade their own offerings.

Roughly two-thirds (64%) of Gen Z consumers have cut spending in the past year due to higher living costs, according to an April Ipsos survey for Bank of America.Uncertainty is beginning to shape Gen Z鈥檚 purchasing decisions. Brands will need to work harder to earn their dollars鈥攑ossibly by appealing to the generation鈥檚 tendency to shop for emotional relief.

Amazon is expanding same-day delivery for fresh groceries to over 1,000 US cities, with plans to reach 2,300 by late 2025. The rollout integrates perishables into its core app for single-cart checkout alongside other goods, offering Prime members free delivery on orders over $25. Early pilots saw strong adoption, especially from first-time grocery buyers who shopped more frequently after trying fresh food. The move pressures rivals like Walmart, Instacart, and Kroger in a slowing but sizable $271 billion online grocery market. If Amazon can convert trial users into loyal customers, it could reshape expectations for grocery delivery speed and convenience.

The news: As budgets tighten, consumers are altering their streaming habits, per Hub Research鈥檚 annual Monetizing Video report. While the average user is unwilling to pay much more than they鈥檙e already paying for streaming subscriptions, 42% say they are much more likely to maintain bundled subscriptions compared with individual streaming subscriptions. Our take: Advertisers must pay attention to platforms that offer bundle packages as key areas for investment due to their lower churn. Bundles consolidate audience attention and offer more predictable engagement.