Millennials are entering their peak earning years with deep digital fluency, but adulthood is changing their habits. AI is becoming a practical tool, digital fatigue is reshaping social media use, and family life is influencing media and shopping.

Brands can test the new feature with story-led creative, then compare results with 6-second views.

This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their social media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.​

Where Americans spend their time and where advertisers spend their money have come apart, and social media is the widest gap. Social platforms, particularly Meta, capture a disproportionate share of the nearly $500 billion US advertising market. "Over the last 12 months, we've seen a flurry of [media advertising] activity from outside the retail sector," said our analyst Ethan Cramer-Flood on a recent episode of "Behind the Numbers."

B2B buyers rely on experts, customers, and peers to evaluate vendors. This report examines how trusted voices shape buyer research and AI-driven discovery and whether paid social investment and influencer programs are keeping pace with buyer behavior.

Audio and video options can extend sessions and ad inventory, but a TikTok-like feel could weaken its appeal.

Last November, we identified 11 trends we expected to shape the business landscape in 2026. Our Trends 2026 update reveals where expectations are holding, where surprises have emerged, and what businesses should watch through year-end.

Women rely on peer conversations for health guidance—public forums like Reddit give marketers insight into health information gaps.

70% of US social buyers have made a purchase on TikTok in the past 12 months, more than on any other social platform, according to an April survey from Bazaarvoice and EMARKETER.

Spending on social remains very strong, thanks largely to automation tools. And with social video continuing to pull in ad dollars, the platforms make a push for live video.

Reddit helps shoppers vet AI advice: Consumers check AI recommendations on Reddit, giving brands purchase influence that clicks may not capture.

AI answers now drive more brand searches: Marketers should watch citation share and search lift, not just page views.

A friend's word still carries the most weight with holiday shoppers. But a close second is something brands rarely offer on their own: an honest account of a product's flaws. Some 41.9% of consumers said a trusted friend's or family member's recommendation made them feel confident in their last holiday purchase, according to a new survey of 1,001 US adults by EMARKETER and Reddit. Right behind that, 26.0% pointed to an honest discussion of a product's downsides alongside its strengths, ahead of expert reviews (18.7%) and influencer endorsements (12.6%). Shoppers are less interested in being sold to than in watching someone work through the tradeoffs.

Social networks still command attention, but time spent growth is slowing. As video reaches its limits and scrutiny intensifies on multiple fronts, platforms are chasing new ways to keep users engaged.

Gen Z’s digital world no longer fits into neat categories. Entertainment, commerce, and AI now overlap, while trust is harder to earn. Shifting discovery, media habits, and decision-making are reshaping consumer engagement.

Google sends fewer clicks to websites: Brands may need to rely less on organic search as AI Overviews and zero-click results make traffic harder to earn.

Reddit may end Google AI content deal: Cash from licensing competes with protecting traffic, audience and content ownership, and future ad revenues.

Retail media networks (RMNs) are moving beyond traditional return on ad spend metrics to prove business impact through closed-loop attribution that connects media exposure to actual purchases, both online and in-store.

Reddit gains ad dollars: Agencies are gradually shifting more social budgets to Reddit as its high-intent audiences and AI tools attract marketers.

As social networks lean into the roles they play in the ecommerce journey, they are flooding their pipes with commerce content they hope will help them in the emerging agentic era.