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China鈥檚 struggling economy will continue to frustrate retailers in 2025: We expect retail sales to grow just 3.5% in the absence of stimulus measures to boost consumption and sentiment.

Deckers relies on scarcity to drive Ugg, Hoka growth: That tactic paid off with record sales and profits during the holiday quarter.

The events help retailers kick off the crucial Q4, even if only a fraction of shoppers use the sales to purchase holiday gifts. Go further: Read our US Holiday Shopping 2024 report.

As the world's largest toy company, LEGO has built a retail empire that outpaces competitors Mattel and Hasbro combined through a sophisticated, centered multichannel strategy.

Victoria鈥檚 Secret鈥檚 rebooted fashion show resonated with Gen Z: That, alongside the company鈥檚 efforts to expand and refresh its assortment, resulted in a solid holiday performance.

The news: Apple鈥檚 M4 chips arrived in its computers at an opportune time to help promote sales ahead of the holiday season and reduce reliance on hardware from competitors. M4 versions of the MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac are available for preorder this week.

Connected TV (CTV) and streaming services will make new inroads this year to further capture audiences and enhance offerings to marketers. Precise measurement and predictable buys are giving those that opted out of linear TV the confidence to invest in streaming.

ACI expects this bump to carry into the holiday shopping season: Many consumers want flexible payment options to ease their financial concerns. But consumers may be stretching themselves thin. More than a quarter (27%) of US consumers said they plan to take on debt during the holiday season, Bankrate.

Extensive delays and limited language support for its genAI product are dampening iPhone 16 sales going into the holiday season. Apple鈥檚 current plan to profit from AI relies on using it to drive sales and interest in other hardware offerings. However, 25% of US smartphone owners don鈥檛 want AI integrations on their phones, per YouGov.

But fraud still remained rampant across the holiday weekend, showing payment providers have more work to do to step up their protections

They鈥檙e more convenient for shoppers, which can boost loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. 83% of shoppers sometimes or always check a retailer鈥檚 returns policy while doing their holiday shopping, per Narvar data cited by Chain Store Age.

The news: Strikes at Canada鈥檚 three largest ports are the latest potential shock to retailers鈥� supply chains鈥攁nd the fight against inflation鈥攁s the holiday shopping season ramps up. Two key ports on Canada鈥檚 West Coast鈥擵ancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert鈥攕hut down after employers locked out striking workers. The two account for roughly 20% of US trade.

The biggest Prime Day on record gave loyal consumers even more of a reason to love Amazon. Millennials shopped more conservatively during the sale this year, yet continued spending at other retailers. Meanwhile, retail competitors rode the wave of heightened buying intent. Here are five key stats on Prime Day that you didn鈥檛 know.

Amazon鈥檚 shoppable video ads faced first big test: Marketers watched their performance over the holiday weekend to mull bigger commitments.

Providers are leaning on AI to stop bad actors while also maintaining an easy and quick checkout process

The trend: Travel bookings for the holiday season are trending up, according to United Airlines and Delta Air Lines鈥攚ith the exception of some softness around the presidential election in November, as uncertainty drives some consumers to hold off on discretionary spending.

It gets to the point where it's like talking about the holiday shopping timeframe, where there's not as much new stuff to talk about. So I'll be curious to see whether the competitive landscape is able to shake things up.

鈥淎mazon is in such a unique position to give us an idea of broader consumer sentiment because of their scale and reach,鈥� our analyst Sarah Marzano said on an episode of the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast. This year, nearly three-quarters (72.7%) of all US households will be Prime members, according to our July 2024 forecast. 鈥淚f we examine the behaviors that emerge from Prime Day, we get a good sense of how consumers are feeling.鈥�

Walmart+ Week member participation rose thanks to popularity with wealthy shoppers: While Amazon鈥檚 Prime Day sale attracted twice as many participants, its lead is narrowing.

A lot happens in a week, so every Friday we're going to analyze all the new data and provide you with some of the key takeaways. Welcome to the Friday 5. This week, Temu and Shein get a scare, consumers use buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps to discover new products, and Super Bowl viewers don鈥檛 really care about ads for AI products or services.

Are millennials pulling away from Amazon? While they were the one demographic group whose Prime Day spending dropped year over year, they continued to spend on other retailers鈥� sites.

The folks who are right that say that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, they are happier people, and happier in their overall lives, particularly around the holiday season when they pop in a 1980s classic action movie to enjoy the festivities of the season. Marcus Johnson:. Why some records are unbreakable. Paul Verna:.

Netflix鈥檚 ad business reaches maturity: The company is launching its own ad tech stack ahead of Upfronts.

Pushing to release the Switch 2 before the holiday season and ensuring its price and capabilities can compete with the Steam Deck should be a higher priority than home electronics and music streaming, neither of which are Nintendo鈥檚 specialties.

Scatter market activity will likely increase in Q4 due to last-minute ad buys occurring during the holiday season, she added. Politics will also create 鈥渟ome tightness鈥� with streaming inventory later in the year, Walstad said. The upfronts will outlive linear TV.