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In seven charts, this report tells the story of some of the most critical trends that digital leaders need to know about in 2024 and beyond.

Okay, people who aren't touching Costco yet. Suzy Davidkhanian (03:34):. Or a category. Sara Lebow (03:36):. Okay. Suzy Davidkhanian (03:36):. So it doesn't have to necessarily be Costco. Because if you're on a Costco property, you're most likely a Costco shopper, but not the category shopper. Depends on if they're onsite or offsite.

鈥淎nyone paying an ounce of attention will recognize that Costco has the scale and data to quickly become a formidable player in the space,鈥� Marzano said. "Consider that every in-store shopper is a known customer, thanks to Costco's robust membership model, and the fact that Costco is the third largest retailer in the country.鈥�.

Walmart, Costco, Target, and Home Depot are among the retailers pressing their Chinese suppliers to lower prices. But those efforts are running into resistance from both manufacturers and Beijing, which summoned Walmart for a widely publicized dressing down. Amazon is paying higher prices to some vendors to help them cushion the blow of tariffs.

In the short term, retailers like Costco are rushing to import goods before they take effect. Over the longer term, merchants like grill maker Traeger, fashion brand Steve Madden, and Academy Sports and Outdoors are shifting sourcing away from China. Geopolitical tensions: Even though Houthi attacks in the Red Sea no longer attract headlines, tensions haven鈥檛 dissipated and risk remains.

In the short term, retailers like Costco are rushing to import goods, driving up shipping costs. It cost about $6,000 to book a 40-foot container from Asia to the US West Coast on January 1, a 50% jump from December, per Xeneta data cited by Bloomberg. While some merchants might absorb those costs, many will likely pass them on to consumers, driving up prices.

Dozens of other retailers鈥攊ncluding Walmart, Target, The Kroger Co., Instacart, DoorDash, and Costco Wholesale鈥攁re also monetizing consumers鈥� search activity with ads. Retail media search ads are a critical lower-funnel tactic for advertisers. Although display is growing faster, search will still account for nearly two-thirds of retail media ad spending this year, per our forecast.

To compete against larger rivals like Walmart and Costco, the retailer plans to slash prices on some products, CEO Vivek Sankaran said. The strategy: As it attempted to merge with Kroger, Albertsons was also investing more money in capital expenditures than ever before, CFO Sharon McCollam said on the company鈥檚 first earnings call since July 2022.

Retailers like Costco are rushing to import goods, driving up shipping costs. It cost about $6,000 to book a 40-foot container from Asia to the US West Coast on January 1, a 50% jump from December, per Xeneta data cited by Bloomberg. While some merchants might absorb those costs, many will likely pass them on to consumers, driving up prices. Consumers are pulling spending forward.

While 58% of US adults are Amazon Prime subscribers, far fewer are members of Sam鈥檚 Club (27%), Walmart+ (25%), and Costco (21%). And even fewer subscribe to other services, per our survey done in partnership with Bizrate Insights.

Costco recently rebuffed a push from investors to move away from DEI initiatives, and Apple has asked shareholders to block an effort to roll back commitments.

The volume of imports has been rising, and the nation鈥檚 major container ports expect that surge to continue through spring as Costco and other merchants stock up on goods before tariffs take effect, per the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates鈥� Global Port Tracker.

And we talked about it last week with Sam's Club and Costco, but it's like there's no use in being a lesser version of Lego, so in what way could Mattel zag? I don't know. It just is unimaginable to me, and maybe it's a failure of imagination, but Lego does so many things and in so many ways that I don't see the path for Mattel to find a path forward. Sara Lebow (13:33):.

EV owners show preference for Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Costco, and Albertsons. These media networks and the brands that advertise on them should consider leaning into OOH advertising on EV charging stations. 3. Publishers rebrand as 鈥渃ontent media networks鈥�.

Our take: One need look no further than cult favorites Costco and Trader Joe鈥檚 to see how unique, high-quality private label offerings can help build long-term loyalty with consumers. This article is part of 蘑菇AV鈥檚 client-only subscription Briefings鈥攄aily newsletters authored by industry analysts who are experts in marketing, advertising, media, and tech trends.

We take those savings, pass them onto to the customer, and two, sort of like the Costco model built into there, the more you buy, the more you save. So we sell wireless today in bulk, 3 months, 6 month, 12 month packages. You prepay for those packages, and when you buy an annual subscription, you get the absolute best rate. You get to lock it in.

Pharmacies and convenience stores struggled as consumers shifted to lower-priced competitors like Walmart, Costco, and Ulta Beauty. Pharmacies鈥� margins also shrank under pressure from pharmacy benefit managers and waning demand for pandemic-era staples like tests and vaccines. Major chains like CVS (586 locations), Rite Aid (408), 7-Eleven (492), and Walgreens (259) all closed underperforming stores.

Unlike Walmart鈥攐r Costco, which has a similar upscale customer base to Target鈥擳arget hasn鈥檛 found a formula that works in this macroeconomic environment. It is hard to shift brand perceptions, and Target鈥檚 increased emphasis on value is playing on turf owned by Walmart and Costco.