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Editor’s note: Retail Daily is taking a short break. We will be back on Friday, January 2. Happy holidays! |
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DECEMBER 24, 2025 |
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Which of the following is not one of Whole Foods Market’s top food trend predictions for 2026? |
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A) Beef tallow B) Kitchen couture C) Edible flowers D) Vinegar |
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TOP STORY |
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Retailers faced a challenging year as economic factors, new technologies, and changing consumer behaviors reshaped the landscape. |
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Here are our top five stories from this past year and what they meant to a tumultuous industry. |
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IN THE NEWS |
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Increased AI adoption has introduced both fresh challenges and new opportunities across workplaces, affecting everything from hiring and layoffs to internal workflows. |
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In 2025, over 122,000 tech employees were laid off from 257 companies, per Layoffs.fyi, compared with more than 152,000 from 551 companies in 2024. (Note that the total layoffs don’t include numbers from companies that only provided a percentage of cuts.) |
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INDUSTRY VIEWS |
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No one shops in a straight line anymore. People bounce between a podcast, a product review, and a price check—all before making a single purchase. The journey’s more tangled than ever, and it’s changing how CPG brands build real connections. |
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Our new feature, “Building CPG Brands in a Fragmented Shopping World,” dives into fresh Amazon Ads and GWI data showing what drives today’s shoppers: younger consumers influenced by entertainment, everyday purchases tied to trust, and a mix of content that guides every click and cart. See where your brand fits in. Brought to you by Amazon Ads. |
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ANALYSIS |
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As marketers rush to integrate AI into their workflows, they’re sorting out what’s truly useful, what’s hype, and how much human input to retain. |
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“The lesson we learned the hard way is that these underlying language models underneath many applications, even the ones we build ourselves, are not always up to date,” said A. Lee Judge, cofounder and CMO of Content Monsta during “Zero to Launch: Using AI for Campaign and Content Creation at Scale,” a session at the MarTech Conference. |
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PODCAST |
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On today's podcast episode, we give out our 2025 Retail Awards for the 'Must-Visit Store of the Year,' 'Glow-Up of the Year,' 'AI Power Move,' 'Collab of the Year,' and 'Campaign of the Year.’ Tune in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on Instagram. “Behind the Numbers” is made possible by Viasat Ads. |
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