蘑菇AV

This is the Q2 2025 installment of our "Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps retailers and brands gauge their sales mix against the market.鈥�

US retail and ecommerce.

US retail and ecommerce.

This is the Q2 2025 installment of our "Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps retailers and brands gauge their sales mix against the market.

In our September 2024 survey with CivicScience, more than three-quarters of respondents said they weren鈥檛 comfortable sharing personal information in exchange for enhanced shopping experiences. Consumers were split on expectations of AI鈥檚 impact on their lives over the next decade, with 33% taking a very or somewhat negative view versus 37% who had a very or somewhat positive outlook.

The news: Target is testing a factory-direct shipping model that would enable it to offer lower-cost products to customers, per Bloomberg. The model, which lets suppliers ship products directly to shoppers, closely resembles the strategy used by Temu and Shein to keep prices low. Our take: Unfortunately for Target, now is not the best time to increase its reliance on overseas suppliers. While the Temu-Shein model worked spectacularly well for several years, the conditions that fueled their growth鈥攏amely, the de minimis exemption and low tariffs鈥攁re no longer in place.

From supply chain to shopping apps and retail advertising, we deliver daily insights on ecommerce, marketing, and customer experience. Not a subscriber? Sign up here and get our quizzes sent directly to your inbox to see if you can pick a winner. JULY 2, 2025. What percentage of consumers would up their technology use at quick-service restaurants (QSRs) for rewards or loyalty perks?

Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to force pharma companies to list drug prices in their direct-to-consumer ads.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly advocated for stricter regulations or even ban on pharma advertising.

The company added 6.4 million streaming subscribers, increased direct-to-consumer (DTC) profits, and posted a deeper $494 million net loss. Studio revenues grew 15% as WBD restructured to address linear TV challenges. By the numbers:. Global Max and Discovery+ subscribers: 116.9 million, up 6.4 million in Q4. WBD projects 150 million streaming subscribers by the end of 2026.

We鈥檙e not only seeing price wars emerge between Novo and Lilly, but also among PBMs, insurers, and D2C companies鈥攁ll of whom want to stake their position as the best channel for consumers to acquire weight loss drugs.

Consumer demand is driving pharma companies to improve access to their GLP-1 products through D2C channels. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of people in 蘑菇AV鈥檚 December 2024 survey who have taken a GLP-1 said they covered the whole cost. Eli Lilly said on its Q1 earnings call that about 10% of its first-quarter Zepbound sales and 25% of new Zepbound prescriptions came through the self-pay channel.

Legacy pharmacy chains鈥� strategy of locking up items to prevent theft is frustrating shoppers and leading them to shop online. Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy noted on an earnings call last August that products being locked up has been a boon for the ecommerce giant鈥檚 pharmacy business. Consumers are also facing longer lines at the pharmacy counter.

At Disney鈥檚 recent upfront presentation, ESPN was front and center, backed by the announcement of a new $29.99-per-month direct-to-consumer product offering 47,000 live events a year. Disney also revealed a bundled version with Hulu and Disney+, highlighting the centrality of sports to its streaming model.

Plus, the D2C market for weight loss drugs is already paying off. Lilly said on its Q1 earnings call that about 10% of its first-quarter Zepbound sales and 25% of new Zepbound prescriptions came through the self-pay channel.

But tariff pressures, and ensuing price hikes, could make it hard to win back shoppers as they grow more pessimistic about their finances.

This isn鈥檛 surprising, considering D2C pharmacy services side-step common barriers to medication access, such as long wait times to see a doctor, inadequate pharmacy access, and lack of transparency around medication costs. The final word: Pharma companies might view 鈥渟cript lift鈥� as a key metric to measure progress of their D2C models.

Crush stands out for its performance-aligned model, charging based on growth instead of traditional agency fees鈥攁 strategy tailored to ecommerce-native clients. Why it matters: Retail media is booming, but brands need more than just ad buying鈥攖hey need partners who can manage the full funnel.

This approach allows them to test new styles in their direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels before potentially expanding successful items across their 50+ US stores and ecommerce platform. D'Arcy said this responsiveness helps them stay relevant while maintaining their core identity. "The chase program means that we are looking at trends that are happening right now in the market," she said.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how department stores are getting on, how they鈥檙e evolving, and what the contemporary department store needs to do to stick around. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Vice President of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Senior Analyst Carina Perkins.

The bottom line: The survey findings come as a growing number of pharma companies offer patients direct availability to medications, treatments, and medical/pharmacy services through D2C online platforms. Recent examples include Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novo Nordisk. Drugmakers are starting to meet consumer demands for a simplified patient experience with one-stop-shop websites.

Our thought bubble: Drugmakers in the D2C market want to funnel people to their online platforms where folks can order health products, schedule services, and access educational resources. Novo just recently joined the D2C space, but might be purposely avoiding tie-ups with telehealth companies amid senators鈥� increased scrutiny of such deals.

The news: Embattled direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe filed for federal bankruptcy protection and announced the resignation of CEO Anne Wojcicki. 23andMe鈥檚 stock plummeted nearly 60% on Monday following its Sunday night filing. How we got here: 23andMe was a market trailblazer in the DNA testing segment, becoming the first company to sell FDA-approved genetic tests to consumers.