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This week, small businesses express concerns about President Trump鈥檚 policies, private label brands gain traction, and Gen Z embraces AI for shopping. Meanwhile, TikTok music influences purchases, and excessive advertising drives cart abandonment.

Over half of Gen Zers discover products primarily on TikTok and Instagram: Google鈥檚 relevance is fading as social search takes over.

A dedicated Instagram Reels app could give Meta an edge over TikTok鈥攐r fragment its audience. If users resist another app, Instagram鈥檚 video dominance could take a hit.

Ecommerce penetration of beauty and personal care sales is rising: 41% of category sales take place on platforms like Amazon and TikTok Shop as consumers respond to virality and convenience.

Less disruptive mid-roll ads could make YouTube more competitive and potentially draw advertiser attention and prevent users from turning to other platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, which it currently lags behind in digital ad revenues.

Contrary to popular belief, not every creator has a podcast. But those who do are a driving force behind the roughly $1.50 billion US creators will generate from digital audio distribution channels this year.

TikTok Shop鈥檚 sales soared 153% in January: The video app鈥檚 social commerce arm is eating into Shein鈥檚 market share, adding to the hurdles facing the fast fashion company.

The uncertain future of TikTok and the changing social media landscape has made complicated partnerships and engagement measurement in the creator economy. But creators are ready.

The news: The TikTok mobile app returned to Apple鈥檚 and Google鈥檚 US app stores last week. US Attorney General Pam Bondi reassured smartphone platform owners that they would not be fined for hosting the app after President Donald Trump paused its scheduled ban for 75 days. The ByteDance-owned service had been removed from app stores in January to comply with the law calling for its sale or ban.

TikTok opened up access to its affiliate program to maintain TikTok Shop鈥檚 momentum. TikTok鈥檚 affiliate program for TikTok Shop has become an essential component for advertisers hoping to reach younger consumers. In May, TikTok dropped the number of followers users had to have in order to participate in its affiliate program to 1,000, down from 5,000.

In seven charts, this report tells the story of some of the most critical trends that digital leaders need to know about in 2024 and beyond.

With Facebook鈥檚 ad growth slowing, Meta is paying influencers to revive the platform鈥攂ut can cash alone compete with TikTok and Instagram鈥檚 cultural dominance?

TikTok users frequent the like button鈥攖he average number of likes per post on TikTok is about 3,092, while Instagram posts receive approximately 395 likes on average, according to the study. Brands still turn to Instagram more than TikTok, posting an average of five times per week versus two times per week on TikTok, according to the study.

While many users sell products via Twitch livestreams, Amazon has yet to position the platform as a rival to other social video commerce sites like TikTok Shop.

Amazon reevaluates social commerce ambitions with Inspire shutdown: The retailer is prioritizing Rufus and shoppable partnerships with TikTok and other platforms.

Use TikTok as a testing ground. Even with the threat of a potential ban, TikTok remains useful both for creating content and for social listening. Insights from TikTok often translate to other platforms, helping brands fine-tune messaging and strategize new creative. 鈥淯se TikTok to discover what resonates with other platforms and people in general,鈥� Crockett said.

Gen Z鈥檚 complicated path to purchase leans heavily on digital platforms and channels. But offline resources still play a key role.

As with Snapchat, there was a relatively small sample of respondents that left us with a high margin of error.

US internet users鈥攅specially younger ones鈥攈ave grown comfortable buying goods while using social networks. But substantial differences between what they buy鈥攁nd where鈥攁re clear.

US retail and ecommerce sales will maintain stable growth over the next five years, with pockets of opportunity emerging from new digital consumers and mobile-first online shopping trends.