蘑菇AV

Consumer spending will be restrained during the 2025 holiday season as shoppers remain cautious amid ongoing economic uncertainty. That means retail and ecommerce will see the slowest growth since we started tracking the metrics.

And Affirm now boasts that interest-bearing loans鈥攑reviously anathema to the BNPL conceit鈥攎ake up 73% of its product composition. Affirm also hiked its maximum interest rate to 36% last year, well above the 24.7% national average for credit cards. Anti-BNPL pearl-clutching hasn鈥檛 helped.

It can help Google build brand loyalty among Gen Alpha and better compete with Apple Wallet

Shoppers worldwide are flocking to online marketplaces and social commerce for convenience, variety, and competitive pricing. While price remains key, brand trust is becoming a major factor in certain markets. As these platforms drive discovery and sales, brands must adapt to stay competitive. Here are three ways digital shopping habits are evolving among consumers worldwide.

The tech giant discontinued its buy now, pay later (BNPL) service in June and instead partnered with Klarna and Affirm. This was a major turnaround from its grand aspirations to build a suite of in-house financial services dubbed 鈥淏reakout鈥� in 2022. As Apple鈥檚 first independent lending venture, Pay Later was expected to be a key part of this suite鈥攂ut it didn鈥檛 even last a year.

The creator economy, plus CTV and commerce media more recently, have made affiliate marketing more visible among marketers.