蘑菇AV

September鈥檚 strong retail sales report underscores consumers鈥� resilience: Spending remains solid as higher-income households鈥� strength makes up for lower-income 蝉丑辞辫辫别谤蝉鈥� price-sensitive behaviors.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether the October Prime Day is actually a holiday event, how events around this time of year are changing how folks shop throughout the back half of the year, and what the disruptors are likely to be as we head into the holidays. Listen to the conversation with our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Zak Stambor and Rachel Wolff.

Drugstores鈥� decline is hurting the US beauty market: Both Coty and L鈥橭r茅al linked the sector鈥檚 challenges to softer beauty demand, although sales broadly remain healthy as ecommerce and specialty retailers pick up the slack.

Despite making frequent purchases, only 10% of customers are truly loyal to a specific brand, new research from Cardlytics found. Brands can boost growth by targeting nonloyal shoppers and increasing their spending share.

LVMH fell short in Q3 as Chinese consumers鈥� pessimism hurt sales: The luxury conglomerate missed revenue expectations as economic uncertainty caused shoppers to pull back.

7-Eleven to close nearly 450 North America stores as it struggles to adapt to 蝉丑辞辫辫别谤蝉鈥� shifting c-store habits: The retailer is also investing in digital and loyalty programs and improving its food options to win back customers.

Prime Big Deal Days spurs consumers to shop on a random Tuesday in October: Amazon鈥檚 event drives shoppers to spend, even if most aren鈥檛 buying holiday gifts.

Walmart rolls out series of initiatives to attract customers to its stores and boost ecommerce business: The retailer is opening a cashierless Sam鈥檚 Club store, adding pet care centers, and automating more distribution centers.

Retailers are turning to targeted marketing instead of markdowns to improve sell-through and profitability. This proactive approach, known as margin accretive marketing (MAM), helps optimize inventory and preserve brand value during key shopping seasons.

Our first-ever worldwide forecast for retail media ad spending shows enduring momentum and lots of good news for Amazon and other ecommerce platforms around the world.

The boom times for ecommerce and retail have largely passed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be harder [for retailers] to identify pockets of growth and opportunity. But, the good news is that it鈥檚 not going to be that roller coaster of demand fluctuations that has been challenging for retailers to navigate over the last couple of years,鈥� our analyst Blake Droesch said.

Amazon tries to expand Whole Foods鈥� appeal: It added a micro fulfillment center to one site so customers can pick up an array of items when they shop.

US inflation eased in September, but consumers remain anxious about their finances: Food prices and the cost of living keep shoppers on edge, even as most indicators point to healthy spending.

The neobank has big credit card aspirations as it looks to become a one-stop shop for financial services, but its new programs may struggle to secure uptake.

Our take: 鈥淎s competitors brace for volatility, Mercado Libre鈥檚 multibillion-dollar bet on Latin America鈥檚 ecommerce potential offers a powerful buffer against economic headwinds, reinforcing its position as the region鈥檚 undisputed ecommerce leader,鈥� said Matteo Ceurvels, 蘑菇AV principal analyst for Latin America and Spain.

Approximately two-thirds (66.9%) of Amazon鈥檚 $45 billion in retail media revenues come from on-site search ads fueled by the company鈥檚 vast ecommerce dominance. Furthermore, Amazon鈥檚 diminishing YoY growth rates in retail media signal that the ecommerce giant is reaching the limitations of on-site monetization.

Retail media has evolved from ecommerce side hustle into a compelling opportunity to generate high-margin revenues. Retail media has captured the attention of multibrand retailers looking to offset ecommerce margin drains. Across the retail landscape, ecommerce sales penetration continues to inch up, following a major boost during the pandemic.

Gen Zers are more likely to shop at Amazon, their No. 1 ecommerce platform, through its app. Among Gen Zers (15 to 28), 30% are most likely to access Amazon through the app, while 22.2% use it exclusively. Millennials (29 to 44) and Gen Xers (45 to 60) are most likely to use an even mix of browser and app (about 29%), while 34.3% of boomers (61 to 79) access Amazon exclusively through a browser.