Generative AI has been quickly absorbed by the marketing industry. According to a report from Botco.AI, after a short introduction period, 73% of marketers are now using AI tools. Of those still holding out, 31% expect to use it within a year, and 46% expect to within two years. Two-thirds of respondents who currently use AI say they do so for brainstorming sessions, first drafts and outlines. Forty-nine percent say they use AI to produce final content. The Botco report was based a survey of 1,000 B2B and B2C marketing professionals in March. Three-quarters of them were from companies with more than 100 employees.

The retail landscape is shifting fast, and one trend is cutting across every category, price point, and demographic: the rise of the value‑seeking consumer. For catalog brands, this shift isn’t a threat rather it’s an opening. Print has always been a channel where value can be shown, felt, and proven through storytelling, curation, and clarity. But the definition of value is expanding, and catalogers who adapt will be the ones who stay indispensable. Read the full article from our friends at Dingley in the link below. According to Deloitte’s 2026 retail outlook, nearly seven in 10 Americans are now engaging in deal‑seeking behaviors, from switching to more affordable retailers to redeeming loyalty points more aggressively. Retail executives overwhelmingly believe this is not a temporary reaction to inflation but a structural, long‑term change in how people shop.

Starbucks Coffee Company is back in expansion mode with plans that include opening hundreds of new U.S. stores during the next couple of years — and even more looking further out. The coffee giant expects to open approximately 600 to 650 net new cafes this year, including 150 to 175 U.S. company-operated stores and 450 to 500 international locations. China, Starbucks’ largest market outside of the U.S., comprises close to half of the international total.