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The news: Klarna partnered with Nift, a gift platform, to offer 鈥済ift鈥�-style rewards for customers鈥� BNPL purchases. Our take: Until they can close that gap, BNPL players will struggle to attract a meaningful share of shoppers. It鈥檚 one reason we forecast BNPL user growth will slow every year through 2029.

The news: Global Payments rolled out a retail point-of-sale (POS) system under its Genius platform targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Our take: Despite that clout, as other merchant service providers also diversify their offerings through verticalized software, hardware, and partnership integrations, Global Payments鈥� Genius will enter a crowded POS space with its offerings nearly indistinguishable from Stripe鈥檚, Square鈥檚, or Toast鈥檚 hardware and software lineups.

The news: Blackhawk Network and Visa will launch physical gift cards with tap to pay capability. Our take: Blackhawk鈥檚 rollout patches a serious security loophole that risked gifters and recipients鈥� money being snatched by fraudsters.

43% of creators and influencers in North America say AI tools help them streamline their workflows, according to April 2025 data from URLgenius. However, nearly a third (30%) say they haven鈥檛 noticed any impact.

National Bank is distinguishing itself as the first major Canadian bank to implement a secure data feed (API) for its retail customers to share financial information with approved fintech applications, putting it ahead of Canada's potential 2026 open banking rollout. This innovative approach significantly reduces security risks by redirecting customers to National Bank's own website for identity verification, eliminating the need for customers to share online banking passwords with third-party aggregators (known as "screen scraping"). By taking an 80% stake in Flinks, a financial data aggregator that now accredits fintechs, National Bank transforms a potential threat to customer loyalty into an opportunity to deepen relationships, ensuring it remains the central hub for customers' financial lives even as they use other apps.

The news: Brazil鈥檚 Supreme Court ruled that social media platforms must be held accountable for illegal user-generated content (UGC), marking a major shift in digital regulation, per Reuters. Six of 11 justices backed fines for non-removal, putting the pressure on platforms to police their content. The decision to place accountability on platform owners could undermine the business and advertising strategies of Meta, YouTube, X, and TikTok. Key takeaway: When governments crack down on platforms, ad environments change fast. If Brazil鈥檚 ruling becomes the norm, social platforms may shift from open forums to tightly controlled spaces鈥攔isking user engagement, discoverability, algorithmic reach, and ad effectiveness.

Over 80% of Gen Z want to unplug, according to new research from Quad and The Harris Poll, sparking demand for tactile brand moments like print catalogs, unboxing rituals, and pop-ups that feel more authentic than scrolling. Marketers who fuse these 鈥渞eturn of touch鈥� experiences with digital convenience can build deeper loyalty and lift sales.

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.

The news: Starbucks is rolling out 鈥淕reen Dot Assist,鈥� a generative AI (genAI) assistant built with Microsoft Azure and OpenAI, to 35 locations this month. The tool, which is accessed through iPads, aims to streamline operations, reduce service times, and improve accuracy for baristas while reducing reliance on manuals or intranet searches. Our take: Competitors and the industry will be keeping an eye on how Starbucks integrates AI assistants at scale. This is a potential blueprint for using AI not just for automation, but to enhance human touchpoints while increasing efficiency鈥攑rovided all the moving parts work together.

The news: Lowe鈥檚 launched a home improvement creator network as part of a strategy to reach younger audiences through social media personalities. The network, which Lowe鈥檚 framed as key to deepening its connection with Gen Z and millennial consumers, features MrBeast as its first high-profile partner. Our take: Reaching younger generations is crucial for sustained growth, and as influencer marketing surges, Lowe鈥檚 strategy could prove effective at bridging the gap with young homeowners. Influencer collaborations are most likely to be effective when the creator is seen as unbiased and honest, authentic, entertaining, and educational.

The news: WPP has lost the $1.7 billion Mars global media account to Publicis, just months after parting with Coca-Cola鈥檚 North America business. The deal encompasses media, social, production, and commerce, and further weakens WPP鈥檚 hold on major global clients. Our take: WPP鈥檚 loss is both financial and reputational鈥攁nd their aggressive counterattack via a client-facing report signals a deeper crisis. As rivals like Publicis gain ground and agency power consolidates, WPP鈥檚 public posture and CEO transition raise questions about future strategy. Winning back trust will require more than critiques of the competition鈥攊t will demand structural clarity and client-first execution.

The news: OpenAI finalized a deal with Google Cloud to supplement its Microsoft Azure infrastructure, per Reuters. The deal addresses OpenAI鈥檚 growing compute needs as its annual revenues hit $10 billion, up from $5.5 billion in December. OpenAI鈥檚 ChatGPT and Google Gemini are the biggest rivals in the AI industry. The cloud deal effectively ends Microsoft鈥檚 exclusivity as ChatGPT鈥檚 cloud provider and is likely another indicator that the two companies are growing apart. Our take: The OpenAI-Google Cloud alliance signals a new era of pragmatic AI partnerships and the importance of diversified cloud strategies to support the explosion in AI usage.

The insight: Younger consumers are opting out of human interaction when they shop. Our take: While younger consumers tend to adopt new behaviors faster, they鈥檙e also driving the direction of retail innovation. Retailers looking to stay competitive should prioritize the tech-driven, convenience-first features these shoppers now see as table stakes.

The news: DoorDash鈥檚 acquisition spree continued with its $175 million purchase of ad tech firm Symbiosis. The deal will expand the company鈥檚 offsite capabilities, enabling advertisers to run campaigns across search, social and display channels that are integrated with DoorDash鈥檚 closed-loop measurement system. Our take: DoorDash鈥檚 Symbiosis acquisition and ad updates should help the company attract bigger brands and retailers to its ad platform鈥攅specially as demand for its core delivery services remains healthy.

The news: US inflation ticked up 0.1% last month and 2.4% YoY, a softer read than many economists expected but one that kept the pressure on consumers already dealing with a higher cost of living. Our take: Retailers, especially grocers and discounters, can set themselves apart by helping consumers save money and be more financially responsible. Offering digital coupons, using in-store signage spotlighting sales on daily essentials, and rewarding loyal shoppers for repeat purchases can foster smarter spending.

The news: Google鈥檚 search dominance is slipping as AI innovations threaten its ad business. Its global web visits declined 1% YoY in April, according to Similarweb data published by AdWeek, compared with 182% growth for OpenAI鈥檚 ChatGPT and 181% for Perplexity. Google鈥檚 searches on Safari also dropped for the first time ever in April. In March, about 77% of all Google searches that triggered an AI Overview garnered zero clicks, which could dissuade advertisers from spending on the platform. Our take: As AI transforms search and keywords become less important, publishers and brands may need to rethink strategies for how their content is discovered and how they attract search users. AI-optimized content will likely become the next battleground for visibility and performance.

The news: Smartphone makers and developers may be misplacing their focus on on-device AI as consumer interest nose-dives from already low levels. Only 3% of smartphone owners are willing to pay extra for AI features, per CNET鈥檚 2025 Smartphone Innovation Survey, down from 6% in September. Our take: Enterprise customers may be a better bet for on-device AI adoption considering public consumers鈥� disinterest and privacy concerns. To boost use among consumers, smartphone makers could focus on easy-to-use features that are accessible to those new to AI and roll out AI upgrades incrementally rather than all at once to avoid AI overload.

The news: President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration crackdown is chilling consumer spending and reducing the available labor force for key industries like construction and hospitality. Our take: The US economy depends heavily on immigrants, both documented or otherwise. The Trump administration鈥檚 aggressive deportation push could therefore deprive companies of crucial workers鈥攁nd drive up costs for essentials like housing and groceries鈥攁s well as eliminate a considerable source of tax revenues and consumer spending.

The news: President Donald Trump is expected to sign another executive order extending TikTok鈥檚 sale deadline as the current June 19 deadline approaches, marking the third extension since Trump took office. Our take: Trump is likely to continue extending TikTok鈥檚 sale deadline鈥攂ut with each extension, brand confidence plummets further as the platform鈥檚 long term sustainability remains shrouded in uncertainty. The brands that will be most successful aren鈥檛 those that are crossing their fingers for TikTok鈥檚 survival, but those that are investing in contingency plans and platform-agnostic strategies that can pivot quickly.

With economic uncertainty influencing how people shop, marketers and retailers have a prime opportunity to create in-store value. Today鈥檚 shoppers seek more than products鈥攖hey want a shopping experience that delivers immediacy, control, and sensory engagement. Here鈥檚 what retailers need to know about current consumer behavior in physical aisles.

Total media time is decreasing in all three countries. The decline is slightly less pronounced in France and Germany, where relatively strong traditional media usage and steady growth in digital time help balance the drop.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how to get folks to buy something they can鈥檛 go and see in a store, how D2Cs should be thinking about generative AI, and how one DTC is negotiating the tariff minefield. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves and CEO and president of Eyebuydirect Sunny Jiang.

Connected TV (CTV) is booming in households and becoming significantly more important for advertisers.

20% of users who downloaded mobile apps with onboarding campaigns in Q2 2024 returned to the app the next day, compared to just 16% across all apps, according to data from Airship.