蘑菇AV

The challenge: Chocolate makers are feeling the squeeze as cocoa powder prices have jumped nearly 16% YoY due to a global shortage, per Bloomberg. Our take: Small price increases add up鈥攅specially in an environment where consumers are still scarred by the coronavirus-era wave of inflation. Today鈥檚 shoppers are hyperaware of price hikes and increasingly willing to switch brands, delay purchases, or trade down. That puts added pressure on retailers and manufacturers to either justify price increases through quality and innovation鈥攐r find new ways to absorb rising costs without compromising brand trust.

The news: Generative AI (genAI) is expected to play a bigger role than ever in ecommerce during Amazon鈥檚 Prime Day event this week. Adobe predicts that genAI-driven traffic will surge 3,200% YoY as more consumers use AI for searching for products, price matching, and purchasing decisions. Our take: While still trailing traditional channels like paid search and email, AI is winning consumer trust and influencing higher-consideration purchases鈥嬧��. Marketers that can tailor shopping content around AI search could help their clients gain visibility. Structure product data, promotions, and sales content for AI interfaces like chatbots, shopping agents, and search for more conversational browsing with a higher conversion rate.

The insight: Prime Day got off to a strong start, according to Adobe data, despite alternative reports of a dip in spending. Our take: The early Prime Day enthusiasm is an encouraging sign for Amazon, which is counting on the event to not only boost sales but also unlock additional ad revenues. It could also be a good sign for retailers running competing sales. While we ultimately expect the longer sales period to benefit the ecommerce giant, shoppers鈥� growing awareness of other events鈥攁nd propensity to comparison-shop鈥攃ould help retailers like Walmart and Target grow their share of an increasingly lucrative shopping period.

The news: Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Elon Musk鈥檚 X, left the company Wednesday as the social platform faced a major AI controversy鈥攔aising questions about the platform鈥檚 future and how advertisers will navigate the shift. Yaccarino, who became CEO of X in 2023, announced her decision to leave on Wednesday. Our take: X鈥檚 future is increasingly rocky. Yaccarino鈥檚 departure reaffirms many advertisers鈥� fears that the platform is far from stable, and the Grok mishap indicates that it isn鈥檛 yet brand safe鈥攎eaning major advertisers could retreat once again.

The news: Meta purchased a $3.51 billion stake in eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica, signaling its long-term commitment to AI-powered smart glasses. It now holds about a 3% share but is considering a larger investment that would increase its share to 5%, per Bloomberg. EssilorLuxottica鈥檚 stock rose about 6% Wednesday after the announcement. Our take: Marketers should view smart glasses as more than a casual consumer device. Start developing internal tools such as training and simulation applications and user-facing offerings like personalized experiences and voice-activated product walkthroughs.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce is evolving, driven by Gen Z鈥檚 shopping habits and the rise of powerful AI tools.

The news: In February, we covered Bankrate鈥檚 2025 Emergency Savings Report. It has since updated its survey results, which highlight Gen Z鈥檚 lack of savings. Gen Zers as a whole are living in the moment and setting their financial goals and woes aside. Our take: To attract these young consumers, banks should develop tailored, accessible, user-friendly savings products and educational resources that resonate with them. Such resources should encourage small, automatic, and consistent savings while acknowledging the generation鈥檚 desire for flexibility. Offering gamified savings challenges or linking savings directly to short-term, aspirational goals could also motivate this generation to build a financial safety net.

The news: Seventy-one percent of US parents with children ages 1 to 17 give them an allowance, averaging $37 per week, per a recent Wells Fargo study. But not all are confident that they鈥檙e able to teach their children about banking or savings. Banks have a clear opportunity to support parents in teaching their children about money鈥攁nd by doing so, they鈥檙e strengthening their ties with their next generation of customers. They should develop engaging, age-appropriate digital tools and educational content that simplify complex concepts and encourage responsible money management. Additionally, banks can offer resources and workshops for parents to equip them with the confidence and knowledge to guide their children's financial journeys.

41% of US Amazon Prime members will spend more time shopping on Amazon due to a longer Prime Day event this year, according to May 2025 data from Tinuiti.

As Walmart celebrates its 63rd birthday this year, the retail giant continues to differentiate itself through data capabilities, technological innovation, and a willingness to experiment with new strategies.

While consumers are always looking for more efficient ways to shop and engage with brands, they aren't always ready to trade that efficiency for relinquished control. Marketers seeking to enhance engagement with AI have an evolving tightrope to walk.

In today鈥檚 episode, we talk about how AI has changed finserv鈥檚 approach to advertising and which areas of bank marketing will be affected the most. Join the discussion with host and Head of Business Development Rob Rubin, Analysts Lauren Ashcraft and Jacob Bourne.

The news: TikTok is reportedly exploring a US-only version of its app amid ongoing discussions of a US ban and selloff, per The Information. Known internally as 鈥淢2,鈥� the app will reportedly launch in September and require users to download a new version to use TikTok in the US鈥攖hough users will have several months to make the switch. Our take: We will continue to monitor closely for further developments, particularly the specifics of user data and algorithm migration, which will directly dictate the app's future efficacy for bank marketing. For now, FIs should maintain their Gen Z outreach strategies on TikTok with a high degree of adaptability.

The news: Gen Z鈥檚 media habits are changing fast鈥攁nd most brands aren鈥檛 keeping up. New data shows Gen Z spends hours on social media daily, but not passively: they鈥檙e engaging in participatory, creator-led environments where trust and relatability matter more than production polish. Fifty-two percent say they feel closer to creators than celebrities. Gaming platforms like Roblox are central, with adults 25鈥�34 averaging 100 minutes per session. Our take: legacy ad formats don鈥檛 cut it anymore. To earn Gen Z鈥檚 attention, brands need to integrate into native experiences, empower creators as collaborators, and measure more than just impressions.

The news: Fortnite-maker Epic Games settled its antitrust lawsuit against Samsung, ending claims that Samsung and Google blocked rival app stores, per Bloomberg. Epic had accused Samsung鈥檚 鈥淎uto Blocker鈥� of preventing third-party app store downloads, alleging collusion with Google. Samsung and Google previously denied wrongdoing, calling Epic鈥檚 claims 鈥渂aseless鈥� and 鈥渕eritless.鈥� Our take: With Epic鈥檚 continued disruption of app store ecosystems, marketers should prepare for a fragmented but freer market鈥攁lternative app stores allow more control over promotions, subscriptions, and bundled offerings.

The news: Several leading medical associations representing hundreds of thousands of US clinicians, as well as scientists, researchers, and public health workers, have sued HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top health officials over the government鈥檚 recent decision to make COVID-19 vaccines more restrictive. The big takeaway: Kennedy is running out of allies in the medical and pharma communities. If nothing else, the lawsuit could force Kennedy and his team to adhere to the legal framework in place for making sudden changes that disrupt the public鈥檚 access to vaccines.

The news: Amazon has partnered with delivery firm Gopuff to bring ultra-fast delivery to several UK markets, including Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London, and Manchester. Our take: Amazon鈥檚 focus is crystal clear: Get orders to shoppers鈥� doors as fast as possible. In the US, it has pushed next-day delivery as the new standard鈥攅ven as it rapidly expands same-day service. In some cases, delivery happens within hours (for example, a Prime Day order we placed at 6 am today arrived at our door by noon.) To extend that promise beyond urban hubs, Amazon is investing over $4 billion through 2026 to triple the size of its rural delivery network. By year-end, it expects to bring same- or next-day delivery to more than 4,000 smaller cities and rural communities. Speed isn鈥檛 just a perk. It is the key component within Amazon鈥檚 growth strategy. The faster the company delivers, the more frequently consumers turn to Amazon for their everyday needs鈥攁nd the harder it becomes for competitors to keep up.