蘑菇AV

The news: Meta is planning another VR headset, codenamed Loma, to compete with Apple鈥檚 beleaguered Vision Pro, per The Wall Street Journal. The product will look similar to its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses鈥攔ather than a traditional headset goggles design鈥攁nd feature higher-fidelity video than the Quest line of headsets. Meta is offering millions of dollars to Disney, A24, and others for exclusive IP-based gaming content to avoid the Vision Pro鈥檚 pitfall of lacking compelling content. Our take: Meta鈥檚 renewed headset push shows the company is learning from past missteps, but success will hinge on whether Loma can offer must-have experiences at a justifiable price.

The news: Monthly subscription dog toy company BarkBox is under fire for a leaked Slack message showing the company stepping back from its Pride marketing initiatives. The message claimed that promoting its Pride offerings alienates a large portion of BarkBox鈥檚 audience. Our take: The BarkBox backlash highlights that companies are at an inflection point where submitting to political pressures and pulling back on Pride is just as risky as staying the course鈥攂ut those who remain committed are most likely to benefit in the long run.

The news: To effectively engage Gen Z, banks must offer more than just basic digital experiences. This generation demands instant gratification, expecting rapid account openings, quick loan decisions, and frictionless onboarding. Gen Z also prefers visual learning, gravitating toward video explanations and gamified education for financial literacy. Despite their digital fluency, they still value human connection for problem-solving, requiring quick access to live help. Our take: Banks should move beyond traditional "channels" or "products" and design a responsive, omnichannel ecosystem that delivers education, trust, and personalization in real time, fitting seamlessly into Gen Z鈥檚 lives.

China is a global leader in online shopping, with high digital buyer and retail ecommerce penetration. Shoppers are comfortable buying luxury goods online and embracing livestreaming commerce.

Canadian banks have heavily invested in digital development, yet their mobile apps remain uniform and lack standout features, according to J.D. Power. While mobile apps perform reliably, satisfaction gains are seen mainly in credit card and website platforms. AI integrations like virtual assistants have failed to personalize experiences. Key missing features include clear transaction data, stored debit cards, and Gen Z鈥檚 most demanded functions like electronic direct deposits and subscription controls. To differentiate, banks must enhance mobile app experiences by adding unique, customer-desired features and improving personalization and security.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of May. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Analysts Arielle Feger and Sara Lebow will defend their list against Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

Retailers want richer experiences that still respect guest trust. Katy Hershey, senior director, partner solutions group at Roundel shares how Target鈥檚 165 million guest profiles and 15 years of retail media insight fuels its brand-safe omnichannel campaigns鈥攁nd outlines what鈥檚 next: goal-based buying, AI-driven personalization, and broader reach via off-platform partnerships.

Screen-fatigued shoppers are rediscovering the thrill of real-world discovery by flipping through catalogs, queuing for pop-ups, and going on retail tourism. Josh Golden, CMO at Quad, shares how Gen Z and millennials are craving these encounters, 鈥渞eturn on touch鈥� as a measurable metric, and how blending physical and digital elements can lift loyalty and sales.

Advertisers鈥� push for a unified strategy across retail media, loyalty programs, and merchandising is raising the bar on data and transparency. Paul Lentz, executive director and head of strategic development at CVS Media Exchange, shares how new collaborations鈥攆rom The Trade Desk to social platforms鈥攃an help brands see every ad dollar鈥檚 impact.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss the potential of Amazon鈥檚 new Buy for Me feature, which of its new CTV ads will make the biggest impact, and how much tariffs might slow down the online shopping giant. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst Rachel Wolff. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On this special edition podcast, we examine practical ways to track commerce media ROI鈥攃overing KPI selection, attribution, and cross channel measurement. 蘑菇AV Principal Analyst, Sky鈥疌anaves talks with Maev鈥檚鈥疢ichael鈥疌ampi, PepsiCo鈥檚鈥疢ike鈥疓laser, and LiveRamp鈥檚鈥疌hristine鈥疓rammier in this panel from the May 9th 蘑菇AV virtual summit, Commerce Media Trends 2025. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On this special edition podcast, we explore how top brands master commerce media鈥攃hoosing the right networks, weaving in existing channels, and optimizing for maximum impact. 蘑菇AV鈥檚 Sarah鈥疢arzano hosts InfoSum鈥檚 Senior Vice President, Sales, North America, Marc鈥疌estaro and Kettle鈥�&鈥疐ire鈥檚 Senior Director, Media and Omnichannel, Niccol貌鈥疓loazzo in this live panel from 蘑菇AV鈥檚 May 9th virtual summit, Commerce鈥疢edia鈥疶rends鈥�2025. Listen everywhere you find podcasts, or watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Streaming apps have made the user experience seamless, allowing viewers to pick up where they left off on other devices and in other locations. YouTube is by far the most watched video platform. Its ad-supported content has made it a dominant platform in digital video advertising, accounting for a sizable chunk of Google鈥檚 business in Canada.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss the most likely outcome for the TikTok saga, if LinkedIn is risking its professional identity by pivoting towards being a content platform, Pinterest鈥檚 latest initiative to become the shopping destination, and why Reddit is somewhat of a sleeping giant. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg, and Senior Analyst Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.