Each day, New Digital Age gathers the most interesting digital marketing industry news from around the web…
INFLATION
Retail Week – George MacDonald, 22nd July 2026 (also in Retail Gazette)
Inflation rate falls amid fierce grocery competition
The rate of inflation slowed to 2.6% in June, as the cost of living continues to shape spending and dominates the new government agenda.
AI
The Media Leader – Jack Benjamin, 22nd July 2026
Only one-third of marketers claim to fully measure carbon impact of AI usage
Brand marketers are overwhelmingly aware that AI use is increasing carbon emissions and energy costs — but most aren’t measuring them.
EMARKETER – Marisa Jones, 21st July 2026
EMARKETER-exclusive data shows AI-powered shopping fuels retail media click growth
The news: The growth of AI-powered shopping experiences is helping retail media click growth accelerate in high-consideration categories like business and consumer electronics, according to our industry KPI data provided by Skai.
Marketing-Interactive – A’bidah Zaid Shirbeeni, 22nd July 2026
Global consumer spending via AI agents to hit US$3.35tr by 2030
The next audience marketers need to persuade may not be human. As AI agents increasingly research, compare and purchase products on behalf of consumers, brands will need to rethink how they influence purchasing decisions, according to new research from WARC and PHD.
Advanced Television – AT Reporters, 22nd July 2026
Forecast: Consumer agentic AI will soar to $3.3tn in 2030
Marketing is operating in an age of abundance. Today’s consumers face more content and choices than they have the attention or means to manage. AI agents are emerging as fundamental tools to help consumers cut through the noise and make decisions faster. Research by PHD in partnership with WARC reveals how quickly they are reshaping the customer journey.
PUBLISHERS
WSJ – Alexandra Bruell, 21st July 2026
Google Was a Lifeline for Publishers. Now Some Are Thinking of Cutting It Off.
Reddit, Politico and others are weighing how—or even if—they can work with the tech company as AI tools supplant traditional searches.
CONSUMER TRENDS
AdAge – Erika Wheless, 21st July 2026
4 consumer trends for brands to watch in the second half of the year
AI might be dominating most of the marketing conversations right now, but there are plenty of other under-the-radar topics that brands should be paying attention to. Ad Age asked chief strategy officers, analysts and agency leads what consumer trends they are watching in the second half of 2026.
CREATORS
Digiday – Alyssa Mercante, 22nd July 2026
Mastercard is tapping foodie creators to drive awareness and adoption
Mastercard recently rolled out an episodic social series focused on foodie creators visiting restaurants to help create buzz and grow their small business. It’s yet another aspect of Mastercard doubling down on its creator marketing flywheel, using creators as a brand awareness play, a growth channel, and a way to get more small businesses into its ecosystem.
BIG TECH
Digiday – Ronan Shields, 22nd July 2026
Fears of Big Tech bias underpin debates around W3C’s Attribution API
In a relatively obscure industry standards body, the World Wide Web Consortium, Big Tech players, including Apple, Google, Meta, and Mozilla, are making inroads to introduce a new ad attribution tool to the industry’s major web browsers
PPC Land – Luis Rijo, 22nd July 2026
Amazon opens zip-code TV ad targeting to 3 new markets, 9 months after US
Amazon Ads confirmed on that location-based interactive video ads are available to all eligible advertisers in Canada, Mexico and Brazil, ending a period of roughly nine months in which the format operated only in the United States. The capability lets brands vary store locations, local offers and clickthrough destinations by state, province or postal code within a single Streaming TV creative, and it is restricted to advertisers using 1PAS video creatives who have not opted into demographic signal limitations.
ACCOUNT WINS
Performance Marketing World – Bethany Lee, 22nd July 2026
From one service company recruiting help to transform its mobile growth strategy to National Grid appointing an agency to handle social communications, here’s our roundup of the latest account and client wins.
WORLD CUP
Performance Marketing World – Robin Langford, 21st July 2026
World Cup ‘drove ad costs up 17%’ on Meta, TikTok, and YouTube – are prices now dropping?
Global data indicates that the ‘cheapest window in months’ has now opened for advertisers on major digital platforms.
M&A
Advanced Television – 21st July 2026
Judge pauses Paramount, Warner Bros merger
A US federal judge has temporarily halted the potential $110 billion (€96.3bn) merger between media giants Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discover, despite the deal already reciving US federal approval.
HFSS
Performance Marketing World – Joseph Arthur, 21st July 2026
Junk food brands have taken an 8.3% hit to short-term sales potential since introduction of HFSS regulations – Confectionery and convenience categories are among those struggling to adapt to the new regulations most, with the latter also suffering from a long-term growth perspective.
