Q3 was another strong quarter for Walmart and Amazon, and another weak one for Target. Shoppers are showing a clear preference for the convenience, product selection, and overall value that Amazon and Walmart offer, while being less impressed by Target’s assortment and shopping experience. Economic uncertainty is heightening the gap, as more shoppers turn to Amazon and Walmart for necessities like groceries while pulling back on the discretionary spending that fuels Target. Walmart's and Amazon's ability to combine low prices with an extensive product selection and fast and convenient delivery will serve them well this holiday season, while Target has the harder task of convincing price-conscious shoppers to spend on nonessential items.
Amazon blocked several OpenAI-affiliated crawlers from accessing its site, a move first reported by ecommerce analyst Juozas Kaziukėnas. That marks the retailer’s latest attempt to keep third-party agents from encroaching on its turf and endangering ad revenues. Amazon’s insistence on keeping AI agents at bay is the right move for the company for the time being. Adoption is minimal for now, hampered by trust issues, clunky UX, and minimal merchant participation. However, the gates will have to open at some point—and the longer Amazon waits, the more ground it cedes to rivals like Walmart.
More shoppers are looking to make secondhand purchases this holiday season, according to two new reports. Nearly 40% of consumers’ holiday budgets will be spent on secondhand items, per ThredUp. The vast majority of US shoppers—81%—expect to shop secondhand for holiday gifts, according to OfferUp. Resale holds clear appeal to shoppers grappling with economic uncertainty and limited budgets. While saving money is a primary concern, shoppers are also drawn to the possibility of unearthing unique or one-of-a-kind items, as well as the environmental benefits of shopping secondhand.
Convenience stores are playing catch-up as they jump into retail media, exploiting their local reach to offer advertisers new ways to connect with shoppers. The brick-and-mortar landscape is highly fragmented—unlike ecommerce, where just a few players dominate. That provides an opening for convenience stores to become valued retail media partners. Their dense footprints, frequent visits, and strong ability to influence impulse buys can give brands targeted and measurable insights. C-store RMNs that can tie ad exposure to sales, use loyalty data, and offer multiple ways to surface ads are best positioned to deliver reliable performance to advertisers.
Eli Lilly became the first healthcare or pharma company to reach a $1 trillion valuation. Pharma’s entry into “the trillion-dollar club” is largely driven by success in the obesity treatment category that’s poised to reshape consumer health and wellness. However, Lilly’s particular rapid growth signals that while first-mover advantage in a high-demand disease area matters, it doesn’t guarantee staying on top. Pharma manufacturers can make up for not being first by committing to innovative drug development that drives more efficacious products, pursuing new clinical indications, and correctly anticipating market developments that may impact supply and demand.
The New York Times is posting advertising momentum as its proprietary AI stack reshapes how marketers reach premium audiences. Q3 ad revenues climbed 11.8%, with digital ads rising more than 20% and generative AI tool BrandMatch now powering more than 150 campaigns. NYT’s first-party data engine interprets emotional cues, reading patterns, and topic affinities to deliver precise contextual placements—fueling strong campaign lift for partners such as Crown Publishing and Belmond. With 11.76 million digital subscribers and a diversified product suite, NYT’s fully owned ecosystem gives it targeting capabilities most publishers cannot replicate.
The share of US adults who say quality materials define luxury dropped from 55% in 2021 to 49% in 2025, while those citing 'expensive' as the defining trait rose from 52% to 62%, according to an October report from Ipsos.
Authenticity (35%) and track record (32%) are the top two factors US adults consider when deciding which online product reviewers to trust, according to Ipsos data from October 2025.
The IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy report shows creator marketing has become a full-fledged media channel—one projected to reach $37.1 billion in spend next year, growing 26% YoY and outpacing the broader ad market by a factor of four. Nearly half of advertisers now call creators a must-buy, yet workflows remain fragmented across budgets, discovery tools, and measurement systems. With AI accelerating both production and complexity, the report lays out the emerging mandate: treat creator marketing as its own discipline with centralized budgets, standardized vetting, unified measurement, and formal AI governance. For marketers, real performance now requires real structure.
Walmart and Target closed their recent earnings calls on sharply different footings, but with a surprisingly shared vision for the immediate future.
Google is innovating its AI image generation capabilities for advertisers with the release of “Nano Banana Pro.” The tool enables advanced creative capabilities for ads, enhancing brands’ ability to generate and edit images using AI in Google Ads. AI is set to deliver increasing value to advertisers as creative capabilities evolve and consumers generally grow more comfortable with its role in marketing.
Australia’s ban on social media accounts for under-16s, which will take effect on December 10, is the clearest signal yet that the youth web is being rebuilt. Under the new rules, platforms will be compelled to block or remove minors or face fines up to AUD 49.5 million ($32.6 million)—a world first that other governments are watching closely, per The BBC. Brands will need to future-proof their playbooks by looking at alternatives like connected TV (CTV), offline events and sponsorships, and other privacy-safe campaigns.
Google, which successfully pushed for standardizing RCS messaging between Android smartphones and iPhones last year, has taken another step toward multi-platform interoperability by enabling its Quick Share feature to work with Apple’s AirDrop. Cross-platform connectivity can convert every customer’s phone into a node for frictionless word of mouth and every physical location into a potential digital touchpoint. Proximity-based marketing could take flight provided campaigns are firmly anchored by security and privacy.
Advertising industry, public relations, and related services employment decreased by 800 jobs in September, per delayed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline underscores mounting pressures across the ad sector. As industry employment declines, ad professionals need to focus on skill development, adaptability, and networking.
Auto insurance customers are trying to manage premium costs by raising deductibles (26% of those customers had deductibles of $1,000 or more), foregoing rental car insurance or collision coverage, and avoiding filing claims. The claims experience is becoming a differentiator as policyholders grapple with rising costs. Insurers that deliver on high claims satisfaction may better be able to retain customers. But as claim values climb, insurers will struggle to balance pricing discipline with strategic spending on technology and process improvements.
Insurance earnings season brought results from public insurtechs, revealing these tech-focused insurers have reached meaningful scale. Insurtechs are making progress on the fundamentals of the insurance business—disciplined underwriting, careful expense management, and often improved unit economics. They haven’t unseated incumbents and aren't likely to. But evolving business models, new partnerships, and glimmers of profitability suggest these companies have staying power.
Chubb has introduced AI-driven analytics and product matching features within its Chubb Studio platform, which lets partners embed Chubb insurance in their digital experiences. It’s another move that reinforces the incumbent insurer’s position as a key player in the space. Traditional sales channels will inevitably decline as Gen Zers and young millennials become a larger share of insurance buyers. Insurers need to rethink their distribution strategy and technology infrastructure or risk losing access to digitally native customers who expect seamless, integrated purchasing experiences.
Wealthfront, a roboadvisory wealth tech, announced Wealthfront Home Lending, a mortgage platform for purchase loans and refinancing. It will offer fixed- and adjustable-rate conventional and jumbo loans up to $5 million. Wealthfront Home Lending will for now be an incremental revenue source. But it threatens banks’ mortgage business by accelerating growth in digital mortgage companies. Online lenders like Rocket Mortgage already compete in the space on customer convenience, digital experience, and mortgage rates. Banks will struggle to catch up.
The Trade Desk heads into Q4 facing simultaneous pressure from Amazon’s fast-expanding DSP and agency frustration over its forced migration from Solimar to Kokai. Amazon’s 0–1% fees, new offsite inventory, and closer ties to Omnicom have sparked reports of meaningful budget shifts away from TTD—an inflection point that challenges its premium pricing. At the same time, agencies describe Kokai as unstable and harder to use, with bugs affecting campaign launches during the most execution-heavy quarter of the year. The convergence raises a key question for marketers: Is TTD’s longstanding grip on open-web programmatic still durable, or beginning to loosen?