This year’s Spotify Wrapped went out with fewer hitches than its underwhelming 2024 edition, but it now competes directly with recap offerings emerging from rivals like Amazon, YouTube, and Apple. Wrapped-style roundups have become cultural elements—shareable, identity-driven moments that make passive listening a form of social currency. As competitors replicate the format, the concept is shifting from a Spotify differentiator to a baseline expectation. Other brands could enter the space by creating their own Wrapped summaries, turning purchase behavior, sponsored influencer posts, or product usage into shareable moments.

Publicis Groupe’s 100th-anniversary film, “A Lion Never Gives Up,” blends live action with 4,500 AI-generated images to retell the company’s evolution and project its future. With more than half its workforce now in data, engineering, and AI, leadership says the next era will reward companies that fuse creativity with machine-driven operational scale. The film lands as Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG reshapes the competitive field, and Publicis argues its AI maturity gives it an edge in a more concentrated market.

61% of Gen Z shoppers used AI tools to help with a purchase in the last year, according to a September 2025 survey from PayPal.

This year’s Cyber Five brought in record sales, but it’s still unclear how consumer spending will unfold through the rest of the holiday season and into the new year. Shoppers are moving in different directions based on their financial stability, and many are starting their holiday buying weeks earlier. Coming out of the gate with strong value and consistent messaging is paying off early, but brands must keep that energy going as the season stretches and shifts.

Streaming TV advertising is moving toward transparency and accountability as DoubleVerify (DV) brings Open Measurement (OM SDK), a standard in desktop and mobile advertising, to streaming environments. Expanding access to OM SDK and providing standards for transparency in streaming will enable advertisers to plan and measure streaming ad campaigns effectively—marking a major industry shift.

Meta is making a strategic pivot. In a move that indicates a new era of fiscal discipline, the company plans deep cuts to its metaverse unit following a costly, multiyear investment, per Bloomberg. Meta is also bolstering its creative leadership by hiring Apple’s former head of UI design, Alan Dye, to lead a new creative studio merging design, fashion, and technology. Shifting from moonshots to market-ready polish opens the door to better-designed surfaces, more reliable performance, and ad products that feel more premium, integrated, and worth testing early.

Marketers are feeling less optimistic about business conditions for 2026 than they were a year ago, per a new WARC report. 54% of marketers believe that conditions will improve next year, down from 65% who felt this way about 2025. WARC’s forecast indicates that economic instability will continue causing marketers to adopt more conservative budgeting strategies and sharpen their focus on measurable, performance-driven advertising.

LG Ad Solutions and Taboola are attacking connected TV (CTV) advertising’s biggest pain point: proving what premium TV exposure actually does. Their new Performance Enhancer tool connects LG’s audience data with Taboola’s Realize performance engine and open-web inventory, giving advertisers a single, global view of ROI from first impression to conversion, per Yahoo. Advertisers should pilot unified CTV-to-digital measurement now to boost ad inventory opportunities. Use automatic content recognition (ACR) segments to retarget high-intent viewers, and push partners for cross-channel reconciliation, tying ad spend to outcomes—not impressions.

TikTok users’ engagement-driven discovery habits offer a unique benefit to social marketers. Eighty-three percent of weekly US users ages 13 and older have taken some type of action after seeing an ad on TikTok, per Edison Research’s The Infinite Scroll report, and 64% have used TikTok to discover new music, 47% to find new podcasts, and 30% to discover audiobooks. To capitalize on TikTok users’ discovery mindset, broad reach, and positive UX, focus on building campaigns that tap into trending sounds, videos, and behaviors to meet users during moments of intentional discovery.

Pharma and biotech companies will soon be able to seek drug approvals with just one clinical trial instead of the standard two under upcoming policy changes from FDA chief Marty Makary, per STAT. While some drugmakers may benefit from the shift to a one-study standard by cutting both costs and timelines, vaccine manufacturers are facing pressure to produce more evidence of effectiveness.

Short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts contribute to poorer cognitive and mental health, or “brain rot”, among viewers, per an analysis by Griffith University researchers. Research has previously linked social media use to mental health risks, especially for adolescents and young adults, but the rapid spread of short-form video adds a newer and increasingly common point of exposure.

US employers have announced over 1.1 million job cuts this year, the most since 2020 and a 54% increase YoY, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The report, alongside similarly soft numbers from ADP, is unlikely to stem the decline in US consumer confidence. While the end of the government shutdown eased some anxieties, households remain concerned about the weakening labor market and rising inflation. These concerns could weigh on holiday spending by pushing shoppers to reduce their budgets and prioritize essentials.

Most people who get their health coverage through the ACA marketplace anticipate being unable to afford rising premiums if enhanced tax credits lapse, with many expecting they’ll have to forgo insurance, per a just-released KFF survey. Unaffordable insurance—or no coverage at all—will force people into difficult choices, such as delaying care and treatment or cutting other essentials to pay for healthcare. With coverage gaps possible as soon as next month, insurers will need to help members navigate changing eligibility and costs to avoid losing them.

Kroger lowered the top end of its full-year sales outlook as rising price sensitivity among lower- and middle-income shoppers weighs on spending. Consumers’ growing focus on value is leading to more trips, smaller baskets, and greater reliance on promotions and private labels. These patterns are driving Kroger to intensify price cuts and promotions to keep shoppers from trading down.

Bilt partnered with United Airlines, offering 2X miles to customers who use their United co-brand card to pay their rent through Bilt’s platform. Bilt is trying to extend travel offers to members, but clumsy economics may get things off to a slow start. While Bilt stands to earn valuable margins through third-party card payments, the cost-ineffective nature of using this promotion will likely yield low returns. Competitors like the Made Card could trial a more straightforward travel rewards program centered on their own card.

Dollar and discount retailers are gaining share as low prices draw more middle- and high-income shoppers. Dollar Tree added 3 million households to its customer count in Q3, most earning over $100,000, while Dollar General saw higher-income customer growth and broader market-share gains. Five Below’s strong Q3 comps reflected new shoppers and bigger baskets. All three raised full-year outlooks. But much of their growth stems from higher prices, not traffic, and core low-income shoppers remain strained. To sustain momentum, retailers must improve store experience and appearance, ensure pricing accuracy, and invest in convenience through delivery partnerships.

Amazon remains in negotiations to extend its USPS partnership but is reassessing its delivery strategy after learning the Postal Service may hold a reverse auction that would require major shippers to bid for facility access. The unexpected shift injects uncertainty into Amazon’s network at a time when it is rapidly expanding Amazon Logistics and investing heavily in rural delivery. Because Amazon accounts for a sizable share of USPS revenue, a split would significantly strain the agency and could accelerate Amazon’s rise as a competing carrier, reshaping how retailers meet growing consumer expectations for fast, reliable delivery.

Klarna launched its premium membership model in the US, per press release. Klarna has been trying to compete with premium credit card rewards as a buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider, but the cash-back rates for both tiers are paltry compared with credit cards, which often offer 2% cash back for all purchases with no annual fee. BNPL rivals should make using installment loans for big-ticket items—a key growth area for providers—as easy as possible, like by offering 0% interest holidays, instead of promoting toothless rewards structures.

In 2026, stablecoins, agentic commerce, and AI-driven rewards will reshape the payments industry. Providers need to bet early or risk being sidelined by faster, cheaper, and more intuitive payment experiences.

Connected TV is becoming a true bridge between branding and performance, pairing big-screen storytelling with the targeting and measurement rigor of digital. With the right setup, user acquisition teams can bring mobile-style discipline—installs, engagement, and value—to the living room screen.

Podcast advertisers are shifting toward brand awareness campaigns, which grew from 52% to 56% of total US podcast ad spending between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, according to a November 2025 report from Magellan AI. Meanwhile, direct response campaigns dropped 4 percentage points to 41%.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what’s still holding Amazon back in grocery — and what could finally move the needle. Listen to the discussion with Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.