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The strategy: The majority of US and Canadian consumers end up with tax refunds after filing, per Bankrate and Forbes. That means these banking customers who just filed their taxes in April will soon receive鈥攐r recently received鈥攖heir refunds. And in such uncertain times, people want their banks to help them make the most of their money.

Movie theaters still rely heavily on TV advertising, with 51% of Canadian and 47% of US adults noting it as their primary source for movie promotions鈥攂ut social media is closing the gap. Content discovery habits further highlight this shift. While 58% of adults choose new shows or movies based on friends' recommendations, online reviews (38%) and TV commercials (33%) remain significant influences.

Western European countries like the UK and Germany already have significant retail media markets, and Canada is also starting to embrace the channel. Retail media accounts for well over a fifth of worldwide digital ad spending, but that figure is not representative of most countries.

Moving across the US-Canada border can be the first step toward international expansion for retailers. Canadian brands like lululemon athletica and Aritzia are thriving in the US. Meanwhile, US-based companies Lowe鈥檚, Nordstrom, and Bed Bath & Beyond recently announced they were leaving Canada. And let鈥檚 not forget Target鈥檚 famous Canadian failure. Here鈥檚 a look at how brands on both sides of the border have fared, and the lessons you can learn from them.

41% of US advertisers expecting budget cuts due to tariffs plan to cut from social media, while 24% plan cuts to linear TV and gaming, per February 2025 from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Read this next for a deeper dive into forecasted adoption rates of genAI in banking chatbots in the US, Canada, and the UK. GenAI-powered chatbots are already taking off on social media platforms鈥攜ou can read more about them here, and why we think they may end up directing more search activity to social media.

These tariffs鈥攁nd the potential for additional duties on goods from Mexico, Canada, the EU, and elsewhere鈥攃ould significantly shift consumer behavior. According to a Numerator survey, only 9.4% of US consumers expect tariffs to have no impact on their shopping habits, while many plan to adjust by hunting for sales or coupons (41.4%), buying fewer imported goods (30.5%), or delaying purchases (22.3%).

What about Canada, Paul? Where's Canada? Paul Briggs:. So there's a couple of different sources that we've been tracking to size the opportunity in Canada for retail media. One is the GroupM research that a few of us have already mentioned. So in 2022, it was roughly $3.5 billion dollars Canadian in terms of ad spending in retail media, and that's sort of nearing parody with TV, by the way.

In Canada and the UK, mobile was the only media format that gained time spent, up 6 minutes and 4 minutes, respectively.

Retail media will make huge gains this year in Canada. Our first-ever forecast for retail media ad spending in Canada and our joint survey of ad buyers (conducted with IAB Canada) highlight the latest developments.

It helps that the company sources less than 10% of its inventory from China and less than 1% from Mexico and Canada combined, limiting its exposure to tariffs. It also helps that Gap鈥檚 wide array of brands enable it to appeal to consumers of all income levels and benefit from any trade-down behavior.

And as banks are training their AI, one thing to keep in mind is there was just this big story about Air Canada. They lost a court case against a customer because the chatbot provided some inaccurate information. They owed the customer damages in court fees, which I think equated to a little bit more than the ticket cost, but banks will be held accountable. Rob Rubin:. Yeah. Lauren Ashcraft:.

According to Fintel Connect, affiliates believe the biggest growth opportunities lie in deposit-generating products in the US and in debt-related products in Canada. We agree, because:. US Gen Zers鈥� top financial priority is saving. Canadian banks鈥攍ike those in the US鈥攁re still grappling with loan losses caused by high levels of defaults from customers paying back their debt.

Canada will have 13.4 million podcast listeners in 2023, 6.8% more than last year. That total equates to just over a third of the population. Growth in Canada is slowing as well, given the maturation of the medium, but listenership will grow by an additional 2 million over the next four years. China will have the most podcast listeners in the world by 2025 and outstrip every region by 2027.

Methodology: Data is from the November 2024 Bazaarvoice report titled "Shopper Experience Index Vol 18." 8,000+ shoppers worldwide in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, the UK, and the US were surveyed online by Savanta during September 2024.

Being responsive to customer feedback can be an easy way for brands to improve customer satisfaction, a a top priority for 40% of local brands (11-50 locations), 41% of regional brands (51-100 locations), and 44% of big brands (101+ locations) in Canada, the UK, and the US, according to a December 2023 survey from BrightLocal conducted by Sapio Research.

Digital ad spending growth in Canada continues apace, driven in large part by key industries tied most closely to the digital economy. Our rankings show that retail and CPG lead the way, while sectors like travel and automotive are still recovering from hard times during the pandemic.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss why US home improvement company Lowe's didn't work out in Canada, why Canadian athletic apparel retailer lululemon athletica succeeded in the US, and which Canadian brands would prosper in the US if they chose to fly south. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analyst Paul Briggs and vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian.

Consumers鈥� adoption of AI banking chatbots varies by country. Though the US and UK promote their tech-friendly banking environments, the geographically concentrated, Big-Six-focused Canadian market has taken the lead in embracing this much-hyped tech.

What's happening in Canada? Paul Briggs:. Yeah, I think a lot of the trends that Carina and Matteo mentioned in terms of the pandemic's impact on e-commerce is absolutely true in Canada. In 2020, e-commerce grew 75% in Canada. So what does that mean for 2021 and 2022 and moving forward? It means pretty steady growth still.

On today's episode, we discuss how Meta was able to snap its negative ad revenue growth streak, how Reels is helping Instagram grow time spent on the platform, and what Meta's metaverse plans are at this point. "In Other News," we talk about what Americans actually want in a social media platform and whether BeReal's new "Bonus" feature can help keep its momentum going. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

Efforts are underway to regulate social media platforms for minors in Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Each country鈥檚 actions demonstrate the increasing scrutiny social media platforms face as regulators and public opinion converge on the need for stronger protective measures.

But some tariffs, including those on steel and aluminum, have been implemented and expanded to include more countries than China, Mexico, and Canada. If those tariffs cause prices of consumer goods to rise or if economic uncertainty makes consumers reluctant to spend, US marketing budgets could come under threat. Nonessential goods would be the first to go.