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Supply chain headaches mount for retailers: Disruptions in the Red Sea are driving up shipping rates and creating backups at key ports.

Amazon discourages sellers from stockpiling goods with capacity limits: The strategy aims to prevent overload at its fulfillment centers, but it complicates merchants鈥� tariff mitigation abilities.

It鈥檚 also not unusual for delinquencies and debts to increase in Q4 as consumers ramp up holiday shopping, which means this quarter鈥檚 data release could be more noise than signal. Our take: Issuers likely won鈥檛 see a significant improvement in delinquencies until credit card interest rates come down.

The company鈥檚 ecommerce gains during the 2024 holiday season shows the effectiveness of its AI-driven ad platform in sectors beyond gaming, including fintech and retail. AppLovin plans to expand this success by launching self-service tools to scale its ecommerce revenues and enhance ad performance with AI-driven personalization, which could improve conversion rates.

The news: China retail sales jumped 6.4% YoY in May, per official data. That outpaced expectations for a 5% increase and marked an acceleration from April鈥檚 5.1% growth. What it means: While the stronger-than-expected retail sales are a promising sign for the country鈥檚 beleaguered economy, conditions on the ground remain highly challenging.

North America retail sales grew 9.5% YoY, with record results during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events that contributed to a holiday season that Amazon called its 鈥渕ost successful yet.鈥�. Advertising revenues rose 18% YoY to $17.29 billion, slightly short of the $17.4 billion expected. Earnings per share of $1.86 were up 86% YoY, well ahead of the $1.49 expected.

Traditional in-store activations tied to events like Black Friday are becoming increasingly crowded and predictable. To connect more meaningfully with consumers, brands are rethinking the retail calendar to engage shoppers year-round.

Luxury brands rethink China approach as downturn drags on: Labels like Versace, Valentino, and Balenciaga are dialing back discounts, telegraphing exclusivity to wealthy shoppers.

Amazon鈥檚 earnings follow a familiar pattern: The retailer expects solid sales growth as investments in convenience resonate with shoppers, but profits will be pressured as tariffs take their toll.

The company reportedly told advertisers in mid to late December that it was struggling to reach enough listeners with ads during the holiday season, a busy time for ad buyers. Zooming out: Spotify has made its advertising ambitions clear. It said in 2017 it aimed to be the third-largest ad platform behind Google and Meta and called podcasting a 鈥�$20 billion opportunity鈥� in 2022.

The drop is noteworthy given payment volume typically ticks up in Q4 as consumers ramp up holiday shopping. This is likely in part due to increased point-of-sale (POS) competition from the likes of Toast, Fiserv, and Revolut. What about Cash App? The platform faces slowing volume growth and a flat user base. Cash App鈥檚 total inflows increased 14% YoY in 2024, down from 22% in 2023.

TTD鈥檚 results were a startling miss for a company that had become an ad industry and stock market darling鈥攑articularly during the ad-filled holiday season. 鈥淲e are disappointed that we fell short of our own expectations in the fourth quarter,鈥� CEO Jeff Green said in a press release.

Key stat: 18% of US adults spent more on gifts than they intended to during the 2024 holiday season, per Ipsos鈥� Consumer Tracker data. However, twice as many (37%) said they stuck to their budgets. Nearly half (49%) of consumers did most of their holiday shopping online.

CEO Adam Foroughi highlighted how early success in holiday shopping ads validated the platform鈥檚 ability to drive non-gaming conversions. While the company has yet to break out specific revenue figures for ecommerce, Foroughi noted that demand is outpacing onboarding capacity, prompting the development of self-service tools to scale advertiser adoption.

TikTok is restructuring its governance and experience team: The move affects marketplace safety within TikTok Shop and may be a response to the platform鈥檚 underperformance last year.

Zooming out: The ad market鈥檚 strong end-of-year performance reflects a robust consumer appetite during the holiday season. But the key question is whether that growth will extend into 2025 as economic uncertainties swirl.