U.S. Retail Sales Fell 1.3% in May

14%

Global advertising spending is forecast to reach new highs this year, surging a record 14% gain this year to $657 billion, led by the strongest growth rate in the world’s biggest markets — UK (17%), China (16%) and US (15%), according to report by media investment and intelligence company Magna. Magna forecast the e-commerce and online marketing will continue to grow this year, with digital ad formats will capture the majority of recovering sales. Digital adverting is expected to rise 20 percent to $419 billion or about 64 percent of total ad sales this year. By contrast, traditional advertising media growth is projected to continue but at a modest 3% growth rate.

1%

Facebook monthly US users in 2021 is projected to grow at less than 1% YoY, down from 3.3% last year and 1.9% in 2019, the eMarketer reported. The figure marked the lowest user growth rate ever. The report shows that the slowest user growth is due to last year Facebook user’s growth jumped to 3.3% as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and this helped to push future accelerations forward, and as a result. The latest report stated that this slower user result continues for the next 3 years. However, Facebook is definitely losing its grip on younger people as the number of users aged 12 to 17 and the 18–24 demographics will decline through the next four years.

1.3%

The U.S Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales fell 1.3% in May as a decline in auto sales, furniture, appliances and the consumer shift to spend more on vacations and other services instead of goods. The report shows that sales dropped at electronics and appliance stores (7.4%), building material stores (5.9%) and online retail stores dropped by 0.8% as more Americans are vaccinated and returned to in-person shopping, the report shows. Meanwhile, sales at restaurants and bars rose nearly 2% — bringing sales above pre-pandemic levels. Spending on gyms rose 4%, theme parks and indoor entertainment centers were up 9%, according to the WSJ.

24%  

Netflix reported revenue increased by 24% in Q1 2021 but a dramatic slowdown in subscribers after the pandemic boom. Due to this, Netflix has launched its Amazon-like e-commerce store called Netflix Shop, the store which sells exclusive limited edition products related to its series and films — a new way to bring revenue, said Josh Simon VP of consumer products at Netflix. The streaming giant made partnership with top retailers like Target, Amazon, Walmart and other to sell it products. The shop will initially only be available in the U.S. and will be expanding into other countries in the coming months, the firm stated.

$1M

Instacart, an online grocery platform in North America announced that it launching a $1 million advertising campaign to support black-owned businesses. The new initiative is designed to offer black-owned CPG brands the opportunity to connect with a wider customer in the digital aisles with prominent advertising placement and a greater opportunity to be seen among millions of goods available through more than 600 retailers across the United States, said Instacart chief revenue officer Seth Dallaire.