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The news: More than half (51%) of customer service journeys start on search engines and third-party platforms like Google, YouTube, Reddit, and ChatGPT鈥攔ather than company websites鈥攑rompting businesses to meet customers where they are, per a recent Gartner survey. Our take: Brands need to research and identify the platforms their customers rely on and establish fast, responsive service on those channels. The goal isn鈥檛 to pull users back to official websites鈥攊t鈥檚 to meet them where they already are, with the answers they need, when they need them. Using generative engine optimization (GEO) best practices to boost customer service answers in genAI outputs could help younger consumers get digestible, fast answers in their preferred channel.

In 2025, we expect that automation will play a role in an even larger share of media buys. That doesn鈥檛 mean the ability to customize campaigns is going away; catalog ads will still allow buyers to retarget consumers or create custom audiences, granting advertisers a best-of-both-worlds approach that leaves automation to cover potential blind spots.

And what that means is as you access Mint, you buy your first three months as sort of like a trial period. You get the best rate on that three month plan, but then you need to renew.

The latter, however, is best known as a source of dupe and counterfeit goods. While TikTok has been removing videos that promote infringing goods, they continue to proliferate on the platform. Which retailers and brands could come out ahead as tariffs take hold?

Media buyers should evaluate these tools to determine which ones are the best part of their planning and make sure they鈥檙e using them to maximize ad buys on the platforms where they advertise. 5. Retail media buyers will need to make smart choices about their smaller network investments.

AI is best when it supplements human creativity rather than replaces it. Implementing AI tools for select tasks while maintaining the human edge that makes ads connect is most likely to be effective.

For example, if someone asks an AI assistant for a birthday present recommendation, the agent can use Mastercard鈥檚 tech to make the purchase and recommend the best payment method to use for the transaction. The program also used Mastercard Agentic Tokens, which will initiate tokenized payments through a conversational interface conducted across its merchant network.

Brands put a lot of thought into how to get consumers to discover and buy their products, but not as much into what happens after a purchase is made. However, data suggests that the post-purchase experience, which includes everything from shipping to customer feedback surveys, may have more of an impact than retailers think.

Brands must show up authentically for the best results and adopt a bespoke approach. What works on other platforms won鈥檛 succeed on Reddit鈥攎eaning advertisers must go beyond traditional approaches while having a deep understanding of the culture and communities that make Reddit a trusted source for users.

Keeping people engaged with the site all day as they watch the price of that new TV that they won't go up or down and they try to figure out when's the best time to buy it. You buy it maybe at $200 because you think it's not going to get any lower and maybe it keeps going to 100 and you're gutted because you're like, oh, I should have waited. Maybe it gets more expensive.

These are things that people buy regularly," said Wolff. "Clearly, they're just using these sales, taking advantage of these sales to buy those everyday products.". This practical approach to Prime Day shopping reflects broader economic concerns, with consumers looking to maximize value on items they would buy anyway.

Or you buy a lot of shoes. Lauren Ashcraft (11:22):. You keep that Netflix login. Rob Rubin (11:26):. Netflix will work that out. Lauren Ashcraft (11:28):. True. Rob Rubin (11:31):. All right, so it's my turn in the barrel. We're going to transition to investing. And I just want to say before we start that we haven't painted the best picture, in my opinion. Grace Broadbent (11:41):. I know.

Most (94%) of consumers say product availability is a critical factor when shopping for holiday gifts, per a recent Cin7 survey. 7 in 10 (70%) say they have abandoned an entire purchase when even one of the items they intended to buy was out of stock. Our take: With significant uncertainty looming this holiday season, retailers should hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

Heavy tariffs on Chinese goods, combined with the ending of the so-called de minimis exemption, will either badly dent those companies鈥� profit margins, raise the price of their goods high enough that fewer consumers will want to buy them, or both. Retail media will sit somewhere between search and social.

Consumers will need assurance that AI agents are selecting products based on their best interests rather than commercial relationships. What retailers should prioritize now. Here are three key recommendations for retailers navigating the genAI landscape:. 1. Focus on fixing everyday frictions first.

How publishers can best use genAI. Focus on your data first. GenAI will work best when it gets the highest quality data, which will limit content errors and deviations from house style. This requires reducing data silos but will also make sure that any proprietary information remains secure. Get buy-in from content creators.

As shoppers buy more via their smartphones, the retailers and brands offering the best mobile experience will have the competitive edge. Social commerce could gain traction. Social buyer numbers are already rising across the former EU-5, per our forecast.

Additionally, DoorDash's partnership with Topsort will enable advertisers to buy inventory across DoorDash and other retailers in a single media buy. For advertisers, this provides a simple way to scale ad buys. For retailers, DoorDash offers access to its infrastructure and to high-demand, engaged consumers, Marzano explained.

Marketers no longer have to fight for executive buy-in, but they are under increasing pressure to prove the impact of their growing investments. The days of unchecked spending are over. Brands are spending more than ever on influencer marketing. In 2025, we expect US marketers to spend $10.52 billion on sponsored content on social media, up by 15.0% YoY.

The majority of users showed high trust in Reddit, with 82% saying they trust Reddit to inform app download decisions and 75% saying that Reddit helps them make faster decisions on what to download or buy.

Samsung makes high-quality OLEDs, and even if Apple doesn鈥檛 like depending on others, its hardware may be the best path to a successful iPhone Fold. What about the price tag? An iPhone that costs 2x more than the iPhone 16 Pro could be a hard sell, especially considering foldable phones鈥� high repair costs.

The news: Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, is set to recoup control of the company after outbidding Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a bankruptcy action. Our take: 23andMe will have a brand reputation problem assuming Wojcicki regains control. The company鈥檚 best path forward, considering past mistakes, is tapping into new consumer health and wellness categories rather than enterprise partnerships with pharma.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what the high-income shoppers path-to-purchase looks like and how best to market to them. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Sky Canaves and Analyst Paola Flores-Marquez.

Automation is essential, but the best outcomes come when smart technology is paired with strategic thinking.鈥�. Who stands to gain? Even if Big Tech moves away, the open web isn鈥檛 going anywhere鈥攎eaning smaller ad tech and ad exchange firms could fill the vacuum.

What's the best array of stuff that I can buy by spending under 500 bucks?" And just trusting what the answer is and just going... Oh, and then at the bottom, there's just a button you can click to buy it all from REI or from Amazon or whatever it happens to be.