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Walmart has also ventured into shoppable entertainment over the past few years, including with the debut of its first shoppable feature film, 鈥淛ingle Bell Love,鈥� on the Roku Channel last holiday season and a shoppable rom-com 鈥淎dd to Heart鈥� in 2023.

Alibaba鈥檚 domestic ecommerce growth signals promise for China鈥檚 retail landscape: However, price-conscious consumers and a trade war could derail recovery.

The trend: Scarcity still sells. Even as consumers become more budget-conscious, limited releases continue to spark outsize demand and buzz. Our take: Consumers are drawn to the new, the novel, and the exclusive. That鈥檚 why limited releases continue to deliver results. They create urgency and give brands a way to protect margins鈥攅ven at a time when many shoppers are rethinking their overall spending.

These swings can likely be attributed to TikTok Shop, which is seeing increased advertiser interest鈥攑articularly during the holiday season鈥攆ollowing its debut in September 2023. The difference in CPMs among platforms will only slightly narrow YoY. In Q1 2025, the gap between CPMs on Meta and Snapchat will be $8.34, according to our forecast.

The news: The NBA held steady at 4,668 brand sponsors between 2023 and 2024, but total sponsorship revenues rose 8% to $1.62 billion, thanks to jersey patch deals, venue launches like the Intuit Dome, and record-breaking player endorsements. The Golden State Warriors alone brought in over $200 million, and rookie Jared McCain set a league record with 30 personal brand deals. Our take: The NBA is deepening its value to advertisers, not just expanding reach. With media rights deals and Amazon integration elevating its commercial footprint, the league is fast becoming one of the most lucrative platforms for modern marketers.

Walmart promises support for tariff-hit Chinese manufacturers: The retailer will help suppliers get in front of domestic shoppers as it tries to stay on Beijing鈥檚 good side.

The move may have hurt the retailer鈥檚 sales during the 2023 holiday season, its lawyers suggested, and was 鈥渁 brazen pressure tactic鈥� to force Walgreens to agree to Cooler Screens鈥� demands.

Worsening economic conditions will be felt deeply by issuers if the tariffs remain in their current form

Shoppers鈥� snack budgets are shrinking due to economic uncertainty: With little relief in sight, Mondelez, Kellanova, and Hershey鈥檚 are bracing for impact

The news: Google blamed a faulty, untested policy update鈥攏ot overloaded infrastructure鈥攆or triggering a Google Cloud outage that took down Gmail, Cloudflare, Shopify, and many others. It admitted to skipping standard risk safeguards, per CNBC. Our take: The next outage is a matter of when, not if鈥攁nd the time to prepare is now. CMOs should pressure vendors for transparency, diversify martech stacks to reduce dependency, and ensure business continuity plans cover cloud failures and system disruptions.

And consumers will also be put to the test as they face paying off debts from holiday shopping鈥攚hich was only partially captured in the latest Fed data. 36% of US consumers took on holiday debt, per Lending Tree. Average holiday debt hit $1,181, up from $1,028 in 2023.

Retailers cut 6,419 jobs in January: That鈥檚 up 20% YoY, with more to come as chains like Joann plan to close hundreds of stores.

Mother鈥檚 Day campaigns are shifting toward personal storytelling, creator partnerships, and emotionally resonant content to deepen consumer connection. For marketers, it鈥檚 a reminder that authenticity and brand values can drive both engagement and sales.

I would say just down to a strong holiday season overall. I mean, we saw this across the board with plenty of retailers. I mean, even struggling retailers like Target had a good quarter, and overall people were just really enthusiastic about spending this year either because there was just a whole lot of deals out there for them to take advantage of, and it was a shorter holiday season.

Amazon expands Prime Video鈥檚 sports portfolio with NBA deal: The addition will boost its live sports offering and create new opportunities for advertisers to run cross-league campaigns.

We expect holiday sales to grow 4.3% this year, as a broad array of deals and the desire to get ahead of tariffs drive shoppers to open their wallets. Go further: Read our US Holiday Shopping 2024 report. This article is part of 蘑菇AV鈥檚 client-only subscription Briefings鈥攄aily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends.

Social platforms vie for attention at NewFronts: Meta, TikTok, and Snap all debuted ad updates designed to remain competitive amid a backdrop of uncertainty.

The company鈥檚 acquisition spree could help accelerate growth despite an uncertain economic climate

Understanding the nuances of how and where Latin America鈥檚 293.2 million digital buyers spend their money online is key for brands and retailers to succeed in the world鈥檚 second-fastest-growing region for ecommerce.

Understanding the nuances of how and where Colombia鈥檚 13.4 million digital buyers spend online is crucial for brands and retailers seeking a competitive edge in this emerging market.