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A lot can happen in a week. Rue21鈥檚 customer overlap with TikTok Shop could position the brand to benefit from a potential TikTok ban. Meanwhile, Gen Z consumers are increasingly choosing alcohol-free lifestyles, reflecting health-conscious preferences. Cost-consciousness drives brand switching, but convenience remains key in purchase decisions. Here are five stats that caught our eye this week.

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.

Retail has come off its lengthy run of outperforming overall US ad spending growth. While growth will dip below the average for all industries in 2024, the pace is set to pick up again in 2025 and 2026.

Amazon will capture more than half (51.1%) of all retail ecommerce sales in Germany this year, according to our forecast. Canada will have the second-highest share of Amazon ecommerce sales among the countries we track, at 41.5%, followed by the US, UK, Japan, and Mexico.

This sponsored article by PartnerCentric will explore retail and ecommerce insights.

Retail media ad expenditures are set to rise 20% this year to more than $62 billion, per our forecast, and brands want specific and actionable data on that spending. A majority (55%) of US advertisers cited the lack of uniform standards across platforms as their biggest retail media challenge, per a July 2024 ANA report.

As US-imposed trade tariffs begin to take effect, business decision-makers and consumers are grappling with how to prepare鈥攕ome more than others.

Turbulence in trade relations is changing how China鈥檚 ecommerce platforms do business in the US, with spillover effects on US retail and advertising.

International boycotts of US brands and travel could cost the economy up to $90 billion: Rising anti-American sentiment caused by Trump鈥檚 policies is making it harder for companies to operate at home and abroad.

More than half (57.2%) of the US population will be digital gamers this year, per our forecast. Gen Zers and millennials have the highest rates of digital gaming adoption at 73.8% and 65.5%, respectively. Another strategic tie-up: DoorDash reached a multiyear agreement with reward platform Ibotta to offer users cash-back digital offers across categories like grocery, home, and health.

As confidence in the economy slips and personal financial concerns rise, shoppers are becoming more deliberate with their spending鈥攖ightening budgets, scaling back on nonessentials, and focusing more on saving. Go further: Read our reports 鈥淚mpact of Tariffs on US Businesses鈥� and 鈥淭he First 100 Days of Trump.鈥�.

Discusses the latest trends in US digital media consumption and consumer spending as they reshape the advertising and retail sectors. Provides insights into the convergence of business models in the face of digital transformation and technology advances. Explores innovative strategies for advertisers and retailers to win consumers in the digital era.

As more retailers recognize the value of leveraging their first-party data, the global retail media market will continue to expand and innovate. While the US leads the charge with $45.15 billion in spending this year, according to our forecast, other regions are showing similar patterns. In fact, Latin America is only four to five years behind the US, said our analyst Matteo Ceurvels on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Around the World鈥� podcast.

Live sports are offered in varying degrees by each of the eight most-used US subscription streaming video services. We forecast digital live sports viewers will grow by 8.3% next year. As streaming sports offerings increase, sports will increase its share of connected TV ad budgets. AI-powered media buying will take an even bigger share of media sales.

But many of these sellers may not have any choice but to continue spending on US-based retail media networks. 鈥淚f you take Amazon, Walmart away from a lot of these smaller, independent Chinese sellers, they basically lose their ability to access US 肠辞苍蝉耻尘别谤蝉.鈥�.

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Companies like Pepsi, which rely on overseas production to supply the US market, face additional headaches as they weigh whether it鈥檚 worth the effort to rejigger their supply chains. The outlook is further complicated by consumers鈥� heightened anxiety, which is causing even financially secure shoppers to tighten the purse strings in anticipation of a possible recession.

The road ahead will hinge on pricing power, supply chain agility, and the company鈥檚 ability to keep shoppers engaged as household budgets tighten.

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.

Meta is still the top dog in social media, but smaller platforms like Snap and Pinterest are focusing on augmented reality and ecommerce, respectively, to stand out in a crowded field. Meta鈥檚 ad revenues surged as AI investment intensified. Meta delivered a standout Q4, with revenues climbing 21% YoY to $48.38 billion.

Middle- and low-income consumers pulled back on fast food in Q1: That posed a significant challenge for McDonald鈥檚, which reported its US same-store sales fell 3.6%.

According to 蘑菇AV senior director of forecasting Oscar Orozco on our recent tarrif-centric webinar, businesses are leaning more heavily into what can be tracked, adjusted quickly, and tied to outcomes. Platforms like search continue to win budget share because they offer marketers the ability to reach buyers closer to a purchase decision.