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Starbucks to add seating, power outlets to its cafes: Making those locations more welcoming is a vital piece of CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround strategy.

US CPG Industry Ad Spend 2024 (Ä¢¹½AV subscription required).

Low-income consumers feel squeezed: With prices rising and the GOP tax bill set to reduce their after-tax income, relief may not come soon.

Less than 10% of shoppers don’t expect to make any changes to their shopping habits due to tariffs, according to February 2025 data from Numerator.

Retail media ad spending in France, Germany, and the UK continues to rise, outpacing all other ad formats. The space is developing rapidly despite fragmentation and a lack of standards.

US D2C consumer packaged goods and beauty brands have divested some money from Facebook over the past few years, and ad spending on TikTok is on the rise, according to Rockerbox. The money that was going to Facebook has been moving to video.

Ahold Delhaize sees big retail media opportunities in its stores: There’s good reason for that outlook since we expect 87% of grocery sales to occur offline this year.

Trader Joe’s opened 34 new stores last year: The grocer is rapidly expanding to capitalize on consumers' appetite for private labels and value.

Consumers—especially Gen Z—are eager to spend on live events: Summer concert ticket sales are at record levels thanks to high-profile stadium tours and the strong appeal of live experiences.

Retail and CPG advertisers are shaping social ad offerings. While social claims a sizable portion of most advertisers’ budgets, two advertising categories—retail and CPG—are responsible for an outsized share of social ad spending in the US. Retail and CPG will account for nearly half of all US social ad spending in 2024.

Sephora targets Gen X shoppers with latest product launch: The beauty retailer is sharpening its appeal to beauty consumers over the age of 40, who spend more on prestige products than any other demographic.

As the mall's place in consumers' lives changes, brands are left to focus on bringing people in through experiences and attractions, or on forging their identities outside of those retail spaces. "A lot of people are going to malls, but they're not necessarily going there to shop," said our analyst Rachel Wolff on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail." Instead, people are visiting malls for restaurants, to socialize, or for experiential attractions.

The quick-commerce space isn’t totally dead: German startup Flink raised $150 million at a nearly $1 billion valuation, as the company finds success in staying local and partnering with food delivery platform Just Eat Takeaway.

With always-on AI, Meta’s next smart glasses could normalize surveillance as convenience—especially in a lax US regulatory climate.

Rite Aid files for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years: The convenience store + pharmacy model is broken. Success in this space for standalone pharmacies will hinge on providing a first-rate experience for customers buying medications while reformatting stores to prioritize health and wellness products instead of household items and snacks.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what a tariff even is, what might happen when they’re implemented, and how best to prepare for them. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analysts Paul Briggs and Matteo Ceurvels, and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

Eli Lilly sues telehealth companies over compounded weight loss drugs: Lilly is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to building a legal case to prevent compounded tirzepatide from being prescribed and sold.

Target’s foot traffic has declined for 10 straight weeks: The drop followed its decision to step back from DEI efforts, a topic the CEO discussed with activist Al Sharpton.