Meta accounts for 19.5% of US digital ad spend, despite US adults spending only 7.6% of their time with digital media on the platform, according to our forecasts.

Meta is one of the two most successful ad publishers in history (along with its duopoly rival, Google), but its ad dominance does not come in tandem with an equally dominant hold over consumers’ time. In fact, Meta’s share of ad revenues is surprisingly out of step with how much time people actually spend on its platforms, particularly when compared with competitors like YouTube and TikTok

Snap has weaker Q2 but makes progress: The company posts a smaller loss, demonstrates a 14% increase in DAUs, and sees strides in innovation.

The greatest amount of growth will come from Gen Zers as they enter adulthood, but millennials are still a force to be reckoned with due to the sheer size of their user base.

Netflix will remain on top despite a shaky 2023. Estimates for Hulu and the other sub OTT services were not affected by the writers strike.TikTok and YouTube are in a close fight for short- and medium-length video viewing time.

TikTok's new phase: The platform now supports text posts, further broadening its creative canvas beyond short-form videos.

UK retail sales are performing better than expected, with consumers still spending despite high inflation—but ecommerce will lose further share this year as shoppers continue returning to stores and cut nonessential spending.

Consumers (particularly Gen Zers) increasingly turn to social media to begin their shopping searches because of its highly visual, creator-driven content. To capitalize on this behavior, social platforms are building out search ad capabilities. But it’s still early days, so don’t dump Amazon or Google just yet.

Most consumers use online marketplaces to find products, but the number who are browsing in-store or on social media is growing. Retailer websites are where customers go for product research. And when it comes to purchasing, price and delivery options are the most important factors.

TikTok is using creator payouts to boost Shop adoption: The platform is offering some influencers cash incentives for reaching sales or livestream goals.

With 13.4% YoY user growth in 2023, Snapchat will briefly overtake TikTok (12.7%) as the fastest-growing social media platform worldwide, according to our forecast. TikTok will regain the title come 2024.

Brands can expand their customer bases without starting from scratch by participating in conversations that are already happening on TikTok via “edutainment,” or informational content, Colleen Conkling, CMO of stationary company Papier, said at The Lead Innovation conference in New York City last week.

YouTube’s ad business has posted losses for the past three quarters—an unprecedented slide following years of double-digit gains. This underperformance has forced the video giant to sharpen its focus in the two areas where it has the best shot at attracting ad spending and restoring growth: connected TV (CTV) and short-form video.

US cosmetic and beauty sales are expected to grow over 10% this year—more than three times the 2.9% rate of the overall retail market, according to our forecast. It’s a sign of the “lipstick effect,” said our analyst Sky Canaves on our “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast.

Following three consecutive quarters of ad revenue losses, YouTube faces an urgent need to restore growth. This could present marketers using YouTube with opportunities to target audiences on both connected TVs and smartphones.

The US ad market grew for the first time in 11 months this May, according to Standard Media’s US Ad Market Tracker. Now the question is if expansion can continue. June and the start of July brought a host of ad updates that could help continued growth, including ad tools enhancements from Google and Microsoft, retail media opportunities from Roku and Uber, and more. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new.

This first-of-its-kind report compares and contrasts our US ad spending forecast with our US time spent with media forecast. It identifies unexpected incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

On today's episode, we discuss what to make of Meta's new Threads app, whether the internet is becoming more like TikTok, the argument against "click to cancel," ad-supported versus ad-free video streaming, how shipping works, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood and analysts Zach Goldner, and Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

Ad spend across digital channels has been mixed so far this year, with spend on social networks slowing and connected TV spend boosted by new ad-supported subscription tiers. Meanwhile, retail media is diversifying at a rapid rate as nonendemic retailers get in the game

We have upped our social user forecast since our last revision in December 2022. And next year, there will be nearly the same number of social users in the US as there are TV viewers, a historic audience shift. If there’s any medium that’s “dying,” it’s linear TV.