Author: Daniel Novoa
As retail media networks multiply (there are hundreds of online networks and spending is expected to reach $1.1 billion), $62 billion (in the US alone by 2025), many brands are finding themselves caught in a cycle of mandatory investment. What started as an opportunity has become what some see as an implicit tax: another mandatory payment for shelf space, favorable trading terms, or simply to appear when consumers search for products by name.Harvey Ma, who runs Sam’s Club’s Member Access Platform (MAP), is determined to change the narrative. “If my retail media investments become a tax on a brand, what…
Aldi is looking to tap into the growing world of wine enthusiasts on social media with the launch of its Winefluencer Club, an initiative that makes wine tasting more fun and accessible.Wine is not just the domain of qualified experts and expensive bottles. Today, a new wave of wine lovers are taking social media to share their passion for wine, while breaking down the jargon in an accessible and engaging way.Whether through Instagram reels, TikTok reviews or YouTube tutorials, wine influencers, or “winefluencers,” are making wine tasting more accessible, without the intimidation of traditional wine culture.Aldi is embracing this change…
New research reveals that home and living company IKEA will offer the best customer experience for e-commerce shoppers in 2025.The Retail Ranking report, by Refined Commerce, analysed 100 of the UK’s largest ecommerce sites across 12 sub-sectors and used a range of elements to determine the sub-sectors and brands best suited to customers, including page speed, responsiveness, visibility on Google and accessibility. IKEA was found to have the least amount of site jitters, as indicated by its CLS score, fast responsiveness to user interactions (INP), and only one accessibility issue at the time of analysis.Page speed is critical for shoppers as…
Amazon is shutting down Inspire, its TikTok-style shopping feature that offered users a feed of shoppable short-form videos and photos within its mobile app. The closure, which was announced just 14 months after Inspire launched in December 2022, marks the latest in a series of failed attempts by Amazon to crack the code of social commerce.Amazon’s decision to shut down Inspire represents a dramatic shift for the e-commerce giant: Rather than trying to force social behavior into its shopping app, the company appears set to reach customers where they naturally look for inspiration. This strategic shift could have major implications…
Wall Street rewarded Hasbro for cutting costs and reducing inventory in the run-up to 2024. Investors similarly signaled they are optimistic about the toymaker’s latest game plan, which includes an emphasis on digital gaming and creating more products for teens and adults. Hasbro shares rose more than 12% in midday trading following the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release and investor conference call. Investors cheered even though Hasbro’s annual revenue fell 17%, or 7% when excluding the impact of the eOne Entertainment divestiture. But Hasbro beat adjusted earnings expectations for the fourth quarter and significantly improved its adjusted operating profit…
Mexico has established itself as one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world, standing out for its all-inclusive vacation offering, especially in key areas such as the Riviera Maya and the Mexican Pacific. Due to its world-class infrastructure and the high demand of national and international tourists, key destinations in Mexico such as Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Huatulco and Ixtapa have experienced a visible growth in their occupancy rates at luxury resorts, Hyatt said. In this way, the company indicated that it is continuing its strategy of expanding Hyatt Inclusive Collection (HIC) in Mexico as a key pillar…
Walmart went shopping and came back with the Monroeville Mall, about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, according to information from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. CBL Properties sold the property at a bargain price of $34 million. Spread over almost 81 hectares, an enclosed shopping center of more than one million square meters and a separate Annex and District shopping center.Walmart spokesman Mark Rickel said it’s too early in the process to reveal plans or timelines for the mall, but to redevelop and manage the site, it has partnered with Cypress Equities, which has worked with Walmart to build about 25 stores…
The tourism sector in Mexico is facing a promising 2025, with encouraging growth expectations and a position that is increasingly prominent globally.According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mexico is projected to experience 5% growth in tourism during 2025. Tourist arrivals could reach 3,000,000 people by the end of the first quarter of this year. In the long term, global macroeconomic models, such as those provided by Trading Economics, point to continued growth in tourist numbers, with estimates of 3,150,000 visitors in 2025 and 3,220,000 in 2026.In 2024, Sonora experienced an economic impact of 200 million pesos, a figure that…
New data on foot traffic shows that the most popular fast-food chains in the United States are not necessarily those with the most locations. Dataplor’s latest research reveals that nationwide, Wendy’s is the most popular fast food chain in terms of visits, followed by Raising Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, Five Guys and McDonald’s. Two giants, McDonald’s and Subway, tied for the most widespread chains overall, with Burger King, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen and Sonic Drive-In rounding out this list. Only two of those more common restaurants (Wendy’s and McDonald’s) also made the top five for foot traffic, which Dataplor says suggests that “being…
Chipotle is leveraging two major social platforms as part of its effort to gamify its “Big Game” promotional activities.The fast-food chain is offering a special mobile activation through social media posts to reward customers who watch the Super Bowl with up to 50,000 free entrées. When something “extra” happens during the game, Chipotle will send out a code that they will need to claim by text message through posts from their official social media accounts Instagram and X.Examples of “extra” events include the offensive team converting on a fourth down play, successfully kicking an extra point or scoring a two-point…