蘑菇AV

CRO Wayne Pommen called the Walmart tie-up one of Affirm鈥檚 鈥渃rown jewel partnerships,鈥� along with its Amazon, Shopify, and Target deals. Affirm鈥檚 stock price tumbled from the news, falling from about $50 a share when the market closed on Friday, March 14, to $43.70 when the market closed on March 18, dragging its market cap down to $13.98 billion, per Yahoo Finance.

Our take: With China鈥檚 economy mired in uncertainty, India鈥檚 large (and youthful) population and growing affluence make it a prime target for brands鈥� global expansion. While the rise of beauty ecommerce may ease the path to launch, companies have to be mindful of competition from homegrown brands that have more insight into local consumer trends.

Older shoppers have been the target audience of live shopping TV channels such as HSN (formerly Home Shopping Network) and QVC, both of which sell luxury goods, and may thus be more willing to engage with similar content on digital platforms. Younger luxury consumers are generally more open to using other emerging shopping tech.

In a time of economic uncertainty and spending pullbacks, shifting attention to target key demographics like Gen Z and Gen Alpha can drive purchases. Social media and YouTube dominate discovery for younger generations and aren鈥檛 vulnerable to spending cuts, making them essential for an effective strategy.

Highlighting its ability to reach these demographics over other platforms could attract advertisers and creates looking to target this audience. The platform can make a push to attract more creators and brands by investing in a TikTok migration option that simplifies cross-platform content adaptation, similar to what YouTube has already done.

During lulls, the most attractive future targets are the agencies that maintain consistent financial health, invest in talent development, and deepen strategic client relationships. Value demonstration will become increasingly critical. Clients will closely scrutinize marketing spend more intensely during uncertain periods, so agencies must clearly articulate ROI.

There is a caveat: a looming economic downturn will likely impact consumer budgets, and non-essentials like movie theater tickets could be an obvious target. While WBD is hoping to profit with upcoming blockbuster releases like 鈥淪uperman鈥� this year, attendance may shrink鈥攑utting the studio at risk of more financial turmoil, despite investing in successful properties.

Fox One targets cord-cutters but intentionally avoids cannibalizing cable subscribers, who will receive access for free. Pricing hasn鈥檛 been revealed but is expected to match or exceed cable rates. The platform will coexist with existing offerings like Tubi, whose ad revenues keep rising, and Fox Nation, the latter of which will also be available as part of the Fox One bundle.

Other players like Instacart, Target, and Etsy trail with less than $1 billion each. Global Meta ad revenues are projected to grow from $160.63 billion in 2024 to $227.90 billion in 2027, but growth rates will slow from 21.7% to 11.4% over that period, according to our forecast.

Bigger priorities: The desire to avoid becoming the target of an anti-ESG campaign is certainly chilling sustainability initiatives鈥攂ut so too are tariffs and their economic impact, which are sucking up retailers鈥� attention and resources. The same applies to consumers, who are largely more concerned about the impact to their wallets than the environment.

And American Express told 蘑菇AV it expanded its rewards program by working with a large grocery retailer to target frequent but not loyal customers, offering discounts to make consumers shop there more often and build larger baskets.

Our take: Tariffs may not target Hollywood directly鈥攂ut their impact could destabilize its most important economic levers. Trump鈥檚 tariff plan risks a one-two punch, constraining consumer wallets and spooking advertisers at a moment when media companies are already bracing for slower growth.

Available at Walmart, Target, and Kroger, the promotion includes a $15 Fandango Movie Reward for those who purchase four packs at once. Oreo鈥檚 special-edition Minecraft cookies come with an interactive AR experience; fans can scan square-shaped bites to unlock exclusive content and win prizes.

Like Best Buy, Target, and virtually every other retailer at this point, Ulta sees its forthcoming marketplace as an opportunity to expand its assortment without having to bulk up inventory鈥攁s well as a chance to beef up ad revenues for its retail media network. It plans to improve the guest experience with deeper personalization, enhancements to its app and website, and better stores.

Why it matters: Retailers like CVS, Target, and Walmart are locking up products to prevent theft鈥攁t the expense of the customer experience. Shoppers wait an average of 7.7 minutes for items to be unlocked, according to data from RDSolutions reported by Retail Brew. Mass retailers have the highest wait time (8.6 minutes) and drug stores have the lowest (6.9 minutes).

An opportunity for advertisers: The breadth of niche content and channels available on FAST services makes it a valuable channel for marketers looking to target specific audiences. The number of US FAST viewers is expected to reach 115.6 million in 2025, per our forecast.

But those conditions are changing fast: Economists expect GDP growth to soften in 2025, while inflation will remain above the Federal Reserve鈥檚 2% target鈥攊gniting stagflation fears. Those worries鈥攃oupled with concerns about the job market and a global trade war鈥攚ill weigh heavily on consumer sentiment and spending this year.

Over half (53%) of executives worldwide say their leading concern regarding their digital advertising strategy is being able to reach target audiences effectively at scale, per IDC.

Our take: The shift represents the need to restructure how advertisers reach their target audiences. Advertisers shifting budgets to social media need to focus on personalized and authentic strategies that are possible with creator-led content.

Target claims its Store Companion tool is a success, but not all the feedback from employees has been positive, per a July 2024 article in Forbes. If using existing handheld devices, retailers need to ensure the technology can be integrated; otherwise, they might need to upgrade. Personalized shopping assistants. Why genAI?

In the next 30 days, the administration will convey price targets to pharma manufacturers to bring US drug prices in line with comparably developed nations. If drugmakers don鈥檛 comply, the government says it will propose a rulemaking plan that imposes most-favored nation pricing while allowing more lower-cost drugs to be imported from overseas.

CTV generally commands higher CPMs than other video channels, per TheViewPoint, and could be an obvious target if ad budgets tighten. Our take: Given the continued growth of streaming services and the threat of CTV market stagnation, advertisers need to continue investing in streaming鈥攂ut remain agile. Advertisers must remember that diversification is essential.

Microsoft said in January that it was on target to spend $80 billion on data centers this fiscal year, which ends in June, but that progress and future investments may slow following the recent tech market crash. Why the withdrawal? Several economic, social, and demand-driven factors could be behind Microsoft鈥檚 pullback, including material shortages and costs.

The research identified four key segments and five consumer targets. The most impactful segments鈥斺�榠nspiring self-expressers鈥� and 鈥榗onvivial belongers鈥欌�攁ccounted for 42% of the overall performance and leisure market.

Generous return policies, once a competitive advantage, have become targets for exploitative behaviors including:. Bracketing: Buying multiple sizes or colors of the same product with the intent to return all but one. Wardrobing: A form of returns fraud where consumers buy clothing, use it, and then return it.