Consumer spending will come under greater pressure during the 2026 holiday season, slowing retail and ecommerce sales growth compared with the rest of the year.

In June 2026, we analyzed 4,010 ChatGPT recommendations across 13 categories in the tech hardware and devices industry to compile the AI Visibility Index.

For brands selling products with long purchase cycles, like mattresses, cars, or appliances, the marketing challenge isn't just winning the sale. It's staying in consumers' minds for years before they're ready to buy.

Gen Z is embracing AI, but trust in the technology still lags. Even as the tool increasingly shapes work and life habits, traditional search remains the go-to for Gen Z purchase decisions.

Brands need clean AI records: Midjourney’s studio disputes show why prompts, vendors, and asset clearance need a defensible trail.

Retail brands are discovering that securing visibility in AI-generated responses is just the first step in a far more complex challenge. According to new research from Bluefish tracking nearly 200 brands across nine verticals, the brands appearing most frequently in AI answers are often not the ones being described most favorably, a fundamental shift from traditional search marketing.

AI, sports partnerships, BNPL, Gen Alpha, and digital asset infrastructure will be top of mind for payment providers in H2 2026.

Omnicom secures Adidas: Omnicom is set to win Adidas’ $512M global media account as data, AI, commerce, and scale outweigh media buying alone.

AI is adding a new layer to brand discovery before buyers reach a website. As citations and synthesized answers gain importance, marketers face pressure to invest despite shaky measurement and evolving best practices.

Media consumption is climbing again after years of slower growth, thanks partly to genAI. New forecasts reveal how AI, streaming video, live sports, and converged TV are reshaping how US adults spend their time—and driving more screen time in the process.

For years, retail media potential seemed limitless as growth skyrocketed while retail media networks launched one after the other. Today, retail media is entering a fundamentally different growth phase. During an afternoon eventat Cannes produced by EMARKETER and Sensor Tower, our analyst Sarah Marzano described an industry transitioning from expansion at all costs to a greater focus on efficiency, differentiation, and measurable outcomes.

TikTok puts AI in charge: Symphony Agent turns trend spotting, creator sourcing, and ad creation into a faster, AI-led workflow.

Consumers are increasingly using AI chat to explore purchases before they ever reach a search engine. Those conversations are creating a new layer of intent signals that marketers have only begun to tap into.

There’s no hard and fast rule for when to invest in new technologies, said David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Shops on a recent “Reimagining Retail” episode.

ChatGPT remains one of the web's most-visited destinations, but AI users are becoming increasingly platform-agnostic. New traffic patterns reveal how competitors are attracting a growing share of attention.

More shoppers are comfortable letting AI assistants filter brand communications and product recommendations.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how technology has changed the way Rainbow's customers research, compare, and ultimately make purchasing decisions; what the retailer has learned about serving customers that higher-end, luxury, and mainstream retailers could benefit from; and why "every AI experiment designed to replace a person failed, while every experiment designed to make a talented person better succeeded." Tune in to hear the discussion featuring Vice President of Content and host Suzy Davidkhanian, Principal Analyst Zak Stambor, and David Cost, Chief Digital Officer at Rainbow Apparel.

In May 2026, we analyzed 5,600 ChatGPT responses across nine financial services categories to compile the AI Visibility Index.

In May 2026, we analyzed more than 5,200 ChatGPT responses across nine personal care and beauty categories to compile the AI Visibility Index.