From the share of Americans who have used AI shopping assistants to the price of a fishy new product from David protein bars, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now.
$1.1 billion
The total equity investment in agentic AI last year, according to a new report from McKinsey.
14%
The share of Americans who have used an AI shopping assistant, per new YouGov polling. More than half (54%) of respondents say they “don’t see the need” for the technology.
100°F
The temperature at which Starry’s new mobile wallet pass automatically unlocks, allowing U.S. customers to claim a 100% cash-back rebate on a 20-ounce Starry from any retailer. The campaign runs through Sept. 2. (Starry replaced Sierra Mist as PepsiCo’s lemon-lime soda offering in 2023.)
21,000
The average square footage of three new Barnes & Noble locations, per the leasing group Big V, signaling the retailer’s shift to smaller-format stores. Following a decade of contraction, the bookseller has been experiencing a major turnaround (thanks, in part, to its embrace of #BookTok social media culture) and is aiming to open around 60 new brick-and-mortar locations in 2025.
74%
The share of U.S. consumers who made at least one splurge purchase last month — down from 82% in June 2024 — according to new data from Deloitte. The median spend on these purchases is $50, according to the findings, with food and beverages (40%), clothing and accessories (28%) and personal care (10%) representing the most popular categories for self-treat spending.
44
The average number of sponsorship deals per team in the WNBA last season — an increase of 52% compared to 2022 — per a new report from the sports data analytics firm SponsorUnited. All told, the league saw 530 deals from 450 brands, with healthcare, finance and insurance marketers accounting for nearly two-thirds of the $76 million in total sponsorship revenue.
13.5%
The month-over-month increase in Netflix viewership in June vs. May, according to the latest Nielsen report. The streamer is now third among all media companies for viewer share, trailing only YouTube and Disney.
$21.85 billion
The estimated national linear TV ad spend during the first six months of this year, per iSpot’s latest trend report — an increase of 3.29% compared to last year.
90+
The number of hours spent recording sleep-talking-prone customers for a new Ikea mattress campaign, per a project recap from Little Black Book. (The subjects’ nonsensical “reviews” serve as testimonials of sorts in the humorous ad.)
$55
The retail price for a four-pack of frozen, six-ounce cod fillets from protein bar company David. With this unexpected product, the brand appears to be attaching its identity to an ingredient (effectively going all-in on the protein craze) rather than a category, leading The Wall Street Journal to describe the launch “a gimmick that isn’t actually a gimmick.”
