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Chinese consumer spending dipped below pre-pandemic levels during Golden Week holiday: While there were some positive signs鈥攊ncluding higher daily spending鈥攕entiment remains subdued, which could bode ill for Singles Day.

The news: 鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� and 鈥淢ission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning鈥� shattered holiday box office records over Memorial Day weekend, amassing $550 million in global box office revenues. The releases mark the strongest box office opening over a four-day holiday weekend for two major films in history, per IMDb Box Office Mojo.

New holiday ad treats: Platforms鈥� advertising updates and additions for the crucial Q4 selling season aim to help brands reel in buyers and buttress their own revenues.

The warehouse club is evaluating which goods will see increases, with discretionary items鈥攕uch as air fryers, coffee makers, and holiday decorations鈥攁mong the first to be affected. The retailer does not expect to raise prices on food, thanks to cost-saving efforts like improved packaging that extends shelf life and a broader push to reduce packaging waste.

A major dockworkers strike seems increasingly likely: The disruption will begin October 1, just as several retailers begin launching holiday promotions.

These fears are driving consumers鈥� holiday spending decisions:. Fewer US consumers shopped on Black Friday this year, despite record spending, per PYMNTS鈥攊ndicating higher spending per shopper. Big-ticket spending also saw an uptick, likely fueled by some shoppers splurging ahead of potential tariffs.

Other popular gift-giving holidays include Valentine鈥檚 Day, the White Day (March 14), and Christmas, which is celebrated as a commercial holiday. Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day are also gaining traction. Nearly 2 in 3 consumers in South Korea combine online and offline shopping during holidays. Korea鈥檚 Sale Festa, its version of Black Friday, is the country鈥檚 largest shopping event.

The gains were driven entirely by an increase in food and drink spending鈥攈eightened by sporting events and bank holidays鈥攁s shoppers pulled back sharply on discretionary purchases like apparel.

Shoppable ads were tested again during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend on Prime Video, connecting video content directly to consumers鈥� shopping carts. The moves have been successful so far: We forecast Prime Video ad revenues will grow 56% in 2025 and exceed $3 billion by 2026. Amazon鈥檚 total share of US CTV ad spending has already surpassed Roku, per our estimates.

Here鈥檚 a deeper dive into consumers鈥� financial outlook ahead of the holidays and what that means for retailers.

Walmart joins the early October holiday sales push: The retailer will launch its Walmart Holiday Days event on October 8, the same day Amazon and Target are hosting sales.

Sales in the Americas fell 4% last quarter, after rising 4% during the holiday quarter. Burberry opted not to disclose the estimated impact of tariffs on its business, although it will likely be sizable since the US accounts for roughly one-fifth of its sales.

Our take: Pinterest delivered a quietly confident quarter, proving it can grow both users and revenues without relying solely on the holiday-heavy Q4 period. The international performance was particularly encouraging and suggests the company is widening its commercial footprint, not just its audience.

Amazon isn鈥檛 wasting time launching its holiday push: The retail giant will host its Big Deal Days on October 8 and 9, while other retailers are similarly looking to drive sales earlier than ever before.

鈥淭he holiday season really starts October 1,鈥� Megan Gaffey, senior director of publisher partnerships at Rakuten Advertising, said on our Tech-Talk webinar Performance Marketing Playbook for Q4 Holiday Success. 鈥淎nd you see a lot of advertisers launch Black Friday promotions the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to get ahead of the noise.鈥�

On today's podcast episode, we discuss if big tech executives will soon be held responsible for what happens on their platforms, whether Walmart+ is now a legitimate threat to Amazon Prime, how much swapping out barcodes for QR codes moves the needle, how early is too early for holiday marketing, why dogs tilt their heads, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of reports editing Rahul Chadha, and analysts Sarah Marzano and Carina Perkins.

The 2022 holiday season鈥檚 solid retail sales gains were mostly attributable to inflation, but they nevertheless paint a cautiously optimistic picture for the 2023 holiday season.

The four biggest off-price retailers鈥擳JX, Burlington, Ross Stores, and Nordstrom Rack鈥攑osted comparable sales increases for the holiday quarter, although total growth is slowing and, in some cases, negative due to difficult YoY comparisons and rising caution around discretionary spending.

The deceleration was attributed in part to the leap year bump in 2024 and a later Easter this year, pushing the holiday into Q2. A spending slowdown in Canada, Clover鈥檚 largest international market, also hurt volume. What鈥檚 next? Fiserv is leaning on acquisitions to expand its operations and accelerate growth. The company made four international acquisitions in the last two months.

How TikTok is faring: TikTok reassured advertisers about its longevity despite US ban threats, launching Pulse Core (ads targeted alongside content organized by trends, holidays, and custom user-generated content) and expanding Pulse Premiere, which places ads alongside videos from vetted publishers like Warner Bros. Discovery.