Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) still commands enormous attention from retailers and shoppers. But increasingly, it's less the start of the holiday shopping season and more the moment when months of earlier marketing are put to the test. The 2026 Holiday & Seasonal Shopping Trends Report from tvScientific by Pinterest surveyed 400-plus marketers and found…

The FIFA World Cup 26™ brought millions of spectators through stadiums, transit systems, restaurants and local businesses, creating a large-scale test of the payment and customer experiences U.S. businesses provide to international travelers. As one of the payment providers powering contactless transit fare payments across World Cup host cities, including Atlanta and Houston, NMI has…

The holiday shopping season has always required careful planning, but this year many retailers have started preparing much earlier than usual. Import volumes surged this summer as companies accelerated orders ahead of potential tariff changes and ongoing trade uncertainty. At first glance, it may appear that retailers are bracing for widespread shortages or another round…

Walmart is doubling down on its pledge not to use AI, customer data or digital shelf labels to set personalized prices for its shoppers. In a public letter Monday, Dan Bartlett, Walmart's executive vice president of corporate affairs, challenged what he described as repeated "mischaracterizations" by Lindsay Owens, author of the recently released book "Gouged,"…

Can artificial intelligence replace your human marketing team? If you’re a business leader trying to figure out how to do more with less, you’ve probably asked yourself that question. If your focus is efficiency, AI can deliver. It will outline marketing campaigns, craft content, launch, monitor, and tweak much faster than a traditional team. But…