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Holiday traffic surged with AI bots, but trust issues, security concerns, and web design flaws risk halting the agent revolution before it scales.

Low-cost online marketplaces like Temu and Shein have surged in popularity across the US in recent years, and starting today, both retailers have enacted price hikes due to rising import costs As of January 2025, 44% of US adults have shopped on Temu, while 31% have purchased from Shein, according to data from Morning Consult. Competitive pricing is a key draw for consumers.

AI agents will likely limit ad opportunities during the consumer journey's consideration stage, but they will allow for more ad opportunities in the awareness stage, our research shows.

Anticipated tariffs are speeding up purchasing decisions, revealing a tension between economic caution and the desire to avoid future markups.

Consumers stick with Instacart amid uncertainty: The delivery platform’s orders jumped 14% in Q1 thanks to its Uber partnership and a lower minimum for Instacart+ members.

Ä¢¹½AV half of digital buyers use click and collect. We don’t expect this number to increase much in the coming years, as delivery and pickup patterns are well established. In the US, the number of click-and-collect buyers as a percentage of digital buyers is much higher, at 67.9% in 2024. To view the full forecast, click here. Canada’s click-and-collect buyer base is lower than in similar markets.

Growth rates will decline, but digital grocery will remain a key focus for retailers looking to drive incremental sales dollars in ecommerce.

Healthcare and pharma companies are embracing D2C business models to get their medications, treatments, and services to more consumers without industry middlemen restricting access. Concurrently, patients are becoming more price-conscious healthcare shoppers, propelling more D2C activity next year.

AI will become deeply woven into daily life in 2025. Autonomous agents, smart devices, AR glasses, search engines, and digital twins are making AI an ambient presence in how we work, shop, browse, and interact with the world.

This year, most buyer and sales growth will be driven by TikTok Shop, which will convert over 40% of TikTok users into buyers. Social commerce and retail media will converge as Amazon’s ad partnerships with the social platforms start to pack a punch.

Albertsons struggles to fend off competition from mass merchants and club retailers: The grocer is leaning on promotions, private labels, and its pharmacy business to attract value-focused shoppers.

As competition intensifies and consumers continue to seek value, retailers will need to double down on how to differentiate themselves and offer shoppers what they want, wherever they are.

There also may be an influx of click-and-collect buyers seeking to avoid delivery fees. 63% of US digital shoppers have used in-store pickup for online orders to avoid shipping fees, according to April 2024 data from Ryder System. There will be 152.9 million click-and-collect buyers in the US in 2025, up 1.4% YoY, per our forecast. What does it mean for retailers?