The Weekly 10: marketing, media and industry statistics to know now — September 24, 2025 edition

From projected 2025 Halloween spending to CMOs’ favorite influencers, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now.

The (36 x 22 x 16 inches) of Aldi’s limited-edition Big Bag shopping tote, the brand’s playful spin on the viral mini tote trend. The design dropped via standalone website last week; Aldi tells USA Today that all 1,000 bags sold out in 13 minutes.

The year-over-year increase in spending among Gen Z and Millennial households in August — substantially less than the 2.4% average increase among Boomers and Traditionalists (aka the Silent Generation that came before Boomers) — per new credit and debit card data from Bank of America.

The estimated Scoville heat unit (SHU) rating for Last Dab Apollo hot sauce, sachets of which are now available at Popeyes for $1 as part of a limited-time menu collaboration with Hot Ones. (The Scoville scale is a standard measure of spiciness; sriracha is typically 2,000 to 5,000 SHU.)

The new annual fee (up from $695) for the recently upgraded American Express Platinum Card, according to a New York Times feature story about the “unprecedented arms race” to market premium credit cards to lifestyle-conscious consumers.

The share of CMOs who say that, among their brand’s influencer talent pool, lifestyle creators are the most important, per a new study from the Northwestern University Retail Analytics Council and influencer management platform LTK, which surveyed more than 200 marketing execs.

The share of marketers who expect holiday spending to increase this year, according to new research from Experian.

The share of consumers who expect their own holiday spending to increase this year, according to the same Experian research.

The number of possible outfit configurations within the new NikeSkims product line, slated to go on sale Friday. The collaborative activewear brand, announced in February, launched its expansive debut collection this week with a splashy campaign featuring Skims co-founder Kim Kardashian and dozens of Nike athletes, including Serena Williams.

The share of Americans who believe it’s “extremely” or “very” important for them to be able to distinguish content (images, text, videos) created by AI from content created by humans, according to a new Pew Research survey.

The amount that U.S. consumers will spend on Halloween this year — an increase of 12.9% from 2024 — per new projections from the National Retail Federation.