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Amazon Prime Day conditioned shoppers to expect bargains in July: That鈥檚 driven Google, Target, Walmart, and others to seize on the opportunity to drive consumers to spend.

Albertsons, Costco, and Instacart are enhancing their retail media offerings. TikTok Shop reached a $1 million livestream. And three-time consecutive first place winner Walmart is developing immersive ways to shop and catering product lines to younger shoppers. Here鈥檚 our Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List for June 2024.

Amazon and Walmart follow a similar playbook: The retailers use exclusive access to events like Prime Day and Walmart+ Early Access to showcase the value of their membership programs.

Retailers like Dollar General, Walmart, and Target are rethinking the self-checkout experience, scaling back on kiosks or removing self-checkout from their locations altogether. But considering 55% of US adults prefer to get through their in-store grocery shopping as fast as possible (according to a November 2023 survey from Kearney) it鈥檚 unlikely self-checkout will be leaving stores anytime soon. Here are five stats on self-checkout, including how and why consumers like to use it, the reason some retailers are pulling back, and what the future holds for the technology.

Sales growth for cosmetics and beauty will increase at more than twice the rate online than through physical retail channels this year, according to our February 2024 forecast. While ecommerce is stealing market share, its sales only tell a portion of the buying story. Physical stores are still key to discovering beauty products and brands, finding the right shades, and testing formulations鈥攁nd Walmart is making use of its omnichannel footprint to take advantage. Here鈥檚 how.

Walmart may be playing catch-up to Amazon when it comes to ecommerce and retail media, but recent moves like its $2.3 billion acquisition of VIZIO are giving the retailer momentum. But what are some other big moves that Walmart can make to grab more attention, loyalty, and customers?

Walmart is undergoing a 鈥渕uch broader shift,鈥� said our analyst Sky Canaves on our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast. Where Walmart was once seen as primarily a retailer, it鈥檚 pivoting into tech and services. Walmart鈥檚 business remains rooted in grocery, but through its retail as a service and Walmart+ offerings, it鈥檚 expanding that flywheel.

On today's podcast episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss Walmart's purchase of Vizio, its brick-and-mortar strategy, and whether they can attract more upper income shoppers. Then, in a mini "Shark Tank"-style segment, we predict what the next big move for Walmart will be. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts senior director of media content Becky Schilling and analyst Zak Stambor.

Walmart taps B2B to grow its margins: The retail giant is adding new products and tools to Walmart Business to attract more B2B customers and drive loyalty.

Walmart Connect is teaming up with NBCU to power ads in sports livestreams: The partnership is part of Walmart Connect鈥檚 growing CTV ambitions, which includes an expanded deal with Roku.

Walmart Marketplace is thriving: Black Friday and Cyber Monday were the two best-selling days on the platform, and those strong results are providing a boost to Walmart Fulfillment Services.

On today's episode, in our "Retail Me This, Retail Me That" segment, we discuss the power of Walmart: how Walmart is trying to stay in the online shopping race with Amazon, how Walmart+ is getting on, and what to make of its retail as a service offerings. Then for "Red-Hot Retail," our analysts give us four of their very specific鈥攁nd potentially risky鈥攑redictions about the future of Walmart. Join our analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts analysts Sky Canaves and Blake Droesch.

Walmart takes a shot across the bow at Amazon: The retailer鈥檚 latest holiday marketing campaign aims to go after Amazon鈥檚 dominance of online shopping holidays.

Walmart lags behind Amazon in total ecommerce sales, retail media ad dollars, and retail subscriptions. But there may be ways for it to minimize the gap in certain areas, namely search and AI capabilities.

Recently, Walmart rolled out a suite of new features at its first-ever seller summit, including enhanced fulfillment and logistics services for merchants. As Walmart attempts to challenge Amazon鈥檚 marketplace dominance, integrating fulfillment allows it to take advantage of its physical footprint for a more comprehensive marketplace offering.

Walmart Health lost its top executive to JP Morgan: The move doesn鈥檛 bode well for the retailer鈥檚 health clinic program.

This year, we forecast that Walmart鈥檚 digital ad revenue growth will outpace Google, Meta, and even Amazon. This success is driven by updates made to Walmart鈥檚 retail media platform as well as partnerships to help advertisers activate across channels like social and connected TV. 鈥淵ou know [how they say] crawl, walk, run? We鈥檙e getting to that walk/run phase now where our platform is maturing,鈥� said Rich Lehrfeld, senior vice president and general manager at Walmart Connect.

Walmart is shuttering four stores in Chicago: The retail giant says that the stores lose 鈥渢ens of millions of dollars a year,鈥� and their annual losses nearly doubled in the last five years.

Walmart is opening a pet services center: The move positions the retailer to grab a share of some of the most lucrative areas of the pet industry: health and other services.

Walmart is taking a page from Amazon: The retailer looks to diversify its revenue streams by growing its ecommerce, retail media, and services businesses.

Walmart sees growth opportunities regardless of the macroeconomic environment: The retailer looks to boost its international sales, improve its digital presence, and expand its retail media business.

Marketplaces are fighting for the crown in US ecommerce. Though Amazon remains solidly atop ecommerce sales, Walmart and Shopify are attempting to carve into Amazon鈥檚 revenues. Here are the latest updates in ecommerce, advertising, and partnerships from these major players.

Walmart has an unprecedented opportunity to gain ground on Amazon: The big-box retailer is taking advantage of the latter鈥檚 state of disarray to reassert its dominance and take the lead on innovation.

Walmart will net $2.22 billion in US digital ad revenues this year, per our forecast.