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Deep discounts may drive consumers previously holding back on big-ticket or discretionary purchases to splurge, while parents will keep an eye out for back-to-school deals. Walmart, Target, and Best Buy may see Prime Day-driven boosts in physical store traffic.

US ecommerce marketplaces will account for $384.57 billion in sales this year, a growth of 10.2% over 2022, according to our forecast. That growth will accelerate through the end of our forecast period in 2027, at which point sales will surpass $600 billion. 鈥淎mazon has really written the playbook for operating a successful marketplace in the US,鈥� said our analyst Sky Canaves. Here鈥檚 a closer look at how the three biggest US ecommerce marketplaces stack up.

But it still isn鈥檛 available at major ecommerce sites like Amazon, eBay, or Walmart. Availability on these platforms will be crucial for Paze to start gaining significant traction. Our take: Paze could transform the digital wallet industry鈥攂ut not for some time given its slow merchant rollout. Still, other wallets like Apple Pay and PayPal will need to prepare for Paze鈥檚 influence.

Amazon is ditching Just Walk Out in favor of Dash Carts. Not only will the move satisfy customers鈥� desire for familiar technology, but it鈥檚 also creating more ad inventory. Walmart Connect also emphasized its in-store retail media potential last week, with a focus on expanding familiar strategies like sampling and TV screens. This back-to-basics approach might spark more in-store retail media ad spend.

On today's episode podcast, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss why Amazon is struggling to get Amazon Fresh off the ground, what it has going for it, and what would happen if Amazon broke out a separate subscription for grocery. Then for "Pop-Up Rankings," we rank the other players that could offer lessons on how Amazon Fresh could compete with Walmart. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analyst Blake Droesch and director of content Becky Schilling.

Amazon and big-box stores are likely to win from Bed Bath & Beyond鈥檚 collapse, while fast-fashion retailers could score displaced David鈥檚 Bridal customers. But keep a lookout for underdogs like Etsy, which may bring in shoppers looking for personalized party supplies in Party City鈥檚 absence.

From improving in-store inclusivity to taking advantage of Bed Bath & Beyond鈥檚 closure, here are three examples of how back-to-school鈥檚 biggest players are delivering value through discounts and enhanced shopping experiences.

Walmart is launching its first shoppable video series: The first episodes of the holiday-themed 鈥淎dd to Heart鈥� will be available on Roku, TikTok, and YouTube beginning on Dec. 2.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how the Apple monopoly trial could change the smartphone market, whether Aldi can take on Walmart, if gambling ads will get banned, the impact of Amazon's "Big Spring Sale," how seriously we should be taking drone delivery, where the happiest people in the world live, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Blake Droesch and vice presidents of content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna.

Walmart is undergoing a 鈥渕uch broader shift,鈥� said our analyst Sky Canaves on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast. Where Walmart was once seen as primarily a retailer, it鈥檚 pivoting into tech and services. Walmart鈥檚 business remains rooted in grocery, but through its retail as a service and Walmart+ offerings, it鈥檚 expanding that flywheel.

Walmart lags behind Amazon in total ecommerce sales, retail media ad dollars, and retail subscriptions. But there may be ways for it to minimize the gap in certain areas, namely search and AI capabilities.

Walmart has an unprecedented opportunity to gain ground on Amazon: The big-box retailer is taking advantage of the latter鈥檚 state of disarray to reassert its dominance and take the lead on innovation.

Ryan Mayward, senior vice president of retail media sales at Walmart Connect, shared three ways retail media is evolving and how Walmart is keeping up on our Reimaging Retail podcast.

Large retailers are in a prime position for the final holiday push: Amazon, Target, and Walmart are poised to leverage their infrastructures to capture an outsize share of spend and retail media dollars.

As the top two retailers in the US, Walmart and Amazon are battling for holiday success by rolling out the best deals, the fastest delivery, and the best in-store experience. Here鈥檚 who we expect will come out on top in each of those areas, plus a post-holiday outlook.

When retailers allow non-endemic brands to advertise, it benefits both sides. 鈥淩etailers can further monetize their data, while non-endemics, who have an appetite to expand their reach, are able to leverage that data,鈥� our analyst Sarah Marzano said on an episode of the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast. Here鈥檚 why major retail media players such as Walmart and Home Depot have recently opened up their offerings, along with three best practices to boost performance.

Social media and TV are the top channels that consumer packaged goods (CPG) consumers use to find new products, but in-store still plays an important role in product discovery. Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart are fighting to capture share of CPG product searches, though in-store consumers are more likely to turn to Google for help.

Things are looking up for Walmart: The retailer made headway on its inventory glut and gained grocery share in Q3, but discretionary categories struggled.

Temu overtook Target in US unique website visitors in January, but Walmart and Amazon remain on top (by a wide margin, in Amazon鈥檚 case), per Comscore Inc.

Consumer spending patterns shifted in 2023: Retailers like Walmart, TJ Maxx, and E.l.f Beauty benefited from consumers growing cost consciousness.

Attracting and retaining retail employees isn鈥檛 easy: But it's critical to delivering a high-quality customer experience. That鈥檚 why Walmart and others are boosting wages.

Amazon Fresh could get a refresh to conquer the grocery market, Finesse uses AI to reduce fashion waste, and Claire鈥檚 leans on content to engage Gen Zalphas. Meanwhile, Macy鈥檚 downsizes, e.l.f. Beauty aims to go viral, and Walmart makes strides in media. Here are six retailers that are most likely to makeover, reinvent, go viral, and more, as predicted by our analysts in a recent 鈥淩eimagining Retail鈥� podcast episode.