蘑菇AV

The insight: The gap between Target and its mass merchant competitors Amazon and Walmart is widening. While Amazon and Walmart are consolidating their grip on consumer spending after investments in value and convenience, Target鈥檚 largely discretionary assortment and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) controversies are sharply curbing its appeal. Our take: Shoppers are prioritizing necessities over discretionary goods and favoring retailers that offer value and convenience.

The news: Spirit Halloween canceled its annual kickoff event due to 鈥渋nternational disruptions and supply chain challenges,鈥� it said in a social media post. Our take: While the retailer did not directly cite tariffs, it is the latest warning sign that President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥淟iberation Day鈥� duties could result in emptier shelves during key shopping seasons.

29.5% of consumers say tariff-fueled price hikes would immediately impact their buying habits, and only 2.3% say their buying habits wouldn鈥檛 be impacted at all by price, according to a February 2025 Omnisend survey.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we check in on how retailers鈥� financials are looking this year, different approaches to inventory, and what Q2 is telling us. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analysts Blake Droesch and Zak Stambor.

LinkedIn doubles down on B2B video and CTV: New tools help marketers capture attention and drive full-funnel impact.

FTC investigates ad groups, watchdogs over alleged boycott: Advertisers must navigate a landscape where protecting brand image could carry legal risks.

This follows a longer-term strategy of focusing its operations.

Travel demand is becoming harder to predict: Consumers are waiting until the last moment to make plans as uncertainty complicates spending decisions.

Nonalcoholic beer set to overtake ale as world鈥檚 second-largest beer category: Younger consumers drive the growth as they consume less alcohol.

Klarna鈥檚 later entry into the US debit card space offers it a pathway to seize more payment volume.

Multicultural adtech is becoming essential: Mundial鈥檚 privacy-first model helps brands reach a $4 trillion Hispanic market with precision.

Almost three-fourths (74%) of consumers prefer to shop in-store for alcoholic beverages versus only buying them online (7%), according to March data from ThinkNow Research.

Facetune, the photo editing app from Lightricks, has expanded from digital screens into the physical world with its first out-of-home (OOH) ad campaign in the US.

XChat introduces file sharing, disappearing messages, and calls鈥攂ut user skepticism over privacy and vague 鈥淏itcoin-style鈥� encryption may hinder adoption.

It will rely on automated systems to approve algorithm updates and safety features, potentially sidelining privacy teams and risking half-baked feature launches.

e at last: Microsoft鈥檚 update kills default Edge and Bing prompts, giving rivals room to breathe鈥攁nd forcing marketers to rethink how they reach EU users.

WPP, Publicis, and others are buying data-rich firms to outmaneuver Google and Amazon but risk creating the same closed systems they鈥檙e rebelling against.

Dollar General benefits from 鈥渢rade-in鈥� behavior among wealthier shoppers: The retailer boosted its outlook as discretionary spending from higher-income consumers offset lower-income caution.