Google said in a statement that it will once again delay the replacement of third-party cookies -- a practice long used by advertisers to target advertisements to consumers. Anthony Chavez, vice president of Privacy Sandbox, said in a blog post that advertisers need more time to transition to Google’s cookie replacement. “The most consistent feedback we’ve received is the need for more time to evaluate and test the new Privacy Sandbox technologies before deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome,” Chavez wrote. “This feedback aligns with our commitment to the CMA to ensure that the Privacy Sandbox provides effective, privacy-preserving technologies and the industry has sufficient time to adopt these new solutions.” The idea is to expand testing for the Privacy Sandbox APIs before Google disables third-party cookies in Chrome.

Shoppers won’t let economic and political turbulence deter them from holiday shopping— but many will skip the old playbook.  Three-quarters (75%) of consumers say they’ll spend the same or more on gifts this year, with Gen Z (29%) and millennials (25%) leading the charge in spending more, according to Salsify's inaugural 2025 Consumer Holiday Shopping Report.  But from AI-curated gift guides and the digital takeover of Black Friday to the decline of social media’s shopping influence, consumers will rewrite the rules of the holiday season, noted the report.

The retailer has also opted to shift production origins and consolidate buying to lower the cost of goods. Costco is changing its product assortment “where appropriate” to mitigate the impact of tariffs, executive vice president and CFO Gary Millerchip told analysts during a Q4 earnings call. For instance, the retailer is leaning into its private label Kirkland Signature products and ramping up domestically sourced items, such as health and beauty, live goods, tires and mattresses. “We believe our expertise in buying and the flexibility afforded by our limited SKU can give us greater agility to navigate the current environment and minimize the impact of tariffs,” Millerchip said. Kirkland Signature products, in particular, continue to help the retailer deliver alternatives to some tariff-impacted goods, Millerchip said. In Q4, Costco launched more than 30 new Kirkland Signature items, such as grass-fed beef sticks, organic extra-firm tofu, apparel items and the “combo calzone,” which is the retailer’s latest addition to the food court menu.