蘑菇AV

Businesses with sufficient funds are making a relatively safe bet by focusing on the power of key shopping and travel destinations to drive sales鈥攚hich luxury labels like Victoria Beckham have cited as critical to fueling growth in otherwise dampened times of spending.

While the Italian Competition Authority鈥檚 probe is unlikely to cause most consumers to stop shopping at Shein, it is one more black mark against the company. There is a finite number of those types of stories that Shein can withstand before its proverbial bucket spills over.

A new wave of ecommerce players with roots in China has captured US consumers. Shein and Temu, in particular, expanded rapidly by spending heavily to market extremely low-priced goods to US consumers. But while both companies currently rely heavily on cross-border transactions, their long-term strategies involve using US-based distribution to reduce delivery times.

From 2018 through 2020, China led the world in total ad expenditure increases. However, China has now turned from an ad spending engine into a drag on the global average. Total ad outlays in China increased by just 3.7% in 2022, and growth will rebound only modestly, to 6.5%, in 2023.

TikTok Shop gears up for busy holiday season in the US, UK: The platform expects hefty ecommerce and ad growth this year as shoppers get used to transacting on the app

In the first half of 2025, tariffs rattled retailers, consumer trust wavered in the face of muted DEI efforts, and fast-fashion platforms like Shein and Temu braced for policy whiplash. Meanwhile, private label products surged in popularity, and the retail world took a closer look at generative AI鈥攏ot just for buzz, but for tangible impact across the shopper journey. Here are the top stories from H1 2025 and why they matter for the rest of the year.

This year, TikTok will pull in 22 times the ad revenues of fellow fast-grower Mercado Libre ($1.02 billion), but Latin America鈥檚 largest ecommerce retailer will rapidly ascend the advertising ranks in the coming years. Click here to view our full forecast for digital ad revenue growth by company worldwide. Amazon will get a growth boost from its OTT video service.

In 2023, debit will grow in tandem with retail spending in-store, though most growth will come from its mounting popularity for ecommerce. We expect US debit ecommerce spending will outpace ecommerce growth overall this year as it captures more than one-third of online purchase volume for the second consecutive year. Key Trends We鈥檙e Watching. Debit Cards Benefit From Economic Uncertainty.

Why this matters: While the integration could boost ecommerce growth in less developed areas of China where WeChat Pay is the more popular mobile wallet, it could cost Alipay some market share. Pursuing growth elsewhere: Alipay is gaining momentum internationally, which will help mitigate potential volume losses from its online stores.

ChatGPT's shopping tool threatens retail media revenues: Its product search could siphon ad dollars from retailers struggling with tariffs, higher prices, and weak demand.

US retail and ecommerce sales will maintain stable growth over the next five years, with pockets of opportunity emerging from new digital consumers and mobile-first online shopping trends.

Fast fashion: Amazon is still in pretty good shape in this category, accounting for 31.7% of all US ecommerce apparel and accessories sales, according to our forecast. But China-based fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu could challenge the retailer. Some 44% of Gen Z adults view Shein favorably, according to Morning Consult, which explains why Shein hauls are all over TikTok.

US cross-border buying really took off in the years prior to the pandemic due to the rise of ecommerce marketplaces that offered trust, English-language listings, ease of payments, and free or inexpensive shipping and returns. Nearly a third of all US digital buyers will make overseas purchases online in 2024.

The global economy is likely set for a soft landing, inflation is cooling off, and the worst is seemingly over in Europe and China. As a result, we anticipate a steady retail environment for the next several years across most regions of the world.

Ralph Lauren鈥檚 growth plans are focused on expanding its women鈥檚 business, including apparel and handbags, as well as broadening its reach in China and India. The context: Personal luxury sales soared in 2021 and 2022 as younger and middle-income consumers splurged on high-end goods.

Alibaba and JD.com, China鈥檚 other ecommerce giants, never gained substantial traction in the US, partly due to their lack of spending to acquire customers. US-based Wish spent heavily on digital ads and rode the pandemic-driven ecommerce boom to an IPO鈥攂ut has since lost its way.

Instagram is shutting down its livestream shopping business: The move is the latest sign of US shoppers' disinterest in livestream commerce.

Worldwide retail ecommerce towers over digital ad spending, so it may seem that digital advertising has more headroom for growth. However, since ecommerce will only account for 20.2% of worldwide retail sales this year, it鈥檚 actually the ecommerce industry that hasn鈥檛 reached its potential. On the ad side, digital will account for 67.1% of worldwide total media ad spending in 2023.

The news: Amazon announced its Prime Day event will run from July 8 at 12:01 a.m. PDT through July 11, starting eight days earlier than last year and lasting twice as long as previous events. Our take: Amazon recognizes that while consumers have grown more selective about when and where they spend, many will still jump at the chance to save if they find compelling offers. By extending Prime Day鈥檚 duration, adding tech-driven shopping tools, and broadening its footprint across countries and third-party sites, Amazon is turning the event into an inescapable, large-scale retail moment. Even in a margin-squeezed environment, the visibility and sales potential of Prime Day may be too significant for sellers to pass up.

Amazon misses sales expectations as shoppers trade down to cheaper products: The retailer is trying to win over price-conscious customers with more sales events and a soon-to-be-launched budget marketplace.

China鈥檚 influence will shake up online shopping: Temu, TikTok Shop, and Shein have captured a critical mass of consumer attention. Using innovative shopping experiences that are app-based, entertaining, and highly deal-driven, these ecommerce players with Chinese roots are gaining ground on legacy retailers. To respond, established retailers will have to prove their value to consumers.

Social media, ecommerce, and search remain the only routes to elite status in digital ad publishing. ByteDance, Microsoft, and Tencent crossed the $10 billion threshold already, and Kuaishou, Apple, JD.com, and Baidu will join the ranks over the next year or two.