TikTok Shop says sales from U.S. small businesses climbed 66% in 2025
TikTok Shop announced that sales from U.S. small businesses increased by 66% in 2025 compared to the previous year. This growth is a result of TikTok Shop's support for businesses and the platform's expansion.
TikTok Shop's 66% sales growth among US small businesses demonstrates its strong merchant support and platform expansion capabilities, underscoring the strategic importance of Rakuten's ongoing TikTok/Pangle POC for RPP-Ex media inventory expansion.
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Google wants to do your shopping for you at GML this year
Google announced plans to enhance the shopping experience at the Google Marketing Live event. Google aims to provide new features that allow users to shop more intuitively and easily.
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Programmatic Advertising Expands to Car LED Screens
Adtelligent has partnered with Uklon Ads and Advision to launch automated advertising on LED screens installed on the roofs of Uklon partner cars. This project brings car LED screens into the programmatic advertising ecosystem.
The expansion of programmatic advertising to "car-red screens" signifies new frontiers in DOOH placements, suggesting Rakuten should explore innovative and non-traditional media opportunities for its external media collaboration strategy.
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VIOOH Expands Canadian Market DOOH Advertising Access
VIOOH has announced a strategic partnership with VENDO Media, a leading Canadian OOH company providing national scale, expanding its Canadian market DOOH advertising access. This partnership is set to increase VIOOH's presence in the Canadian market.
VIOOH's expansion of DOOH ad access in the Canadian market reflects a growing trend in programmatic DOOH, suggesting Rakuten should monitor this development as a potential future display advertising channel for its external media strategy.
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Shinchosha Starts Unique Subscription Service for "Shukan Shincho" and "Jimbun Shinsho"
Shinchosha has launched a unique subscription service that packages its weekly magazine "Shukan Shincho", "Jimbun Shinsho", and original articles. This service aims to promote self-platformization.
Shinchosha's move to create its own subscription platform signifies a trend among content providers to build direct customer relationships and diversify revenue, which is crucial for Rakuten to understand when developing its external media partnership strategy.
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Fancl Aims to Reach 10 Billion Yen in Domestic Sales by 2035 with New Strategy
Fancl has announced a new strategy to achieve 10 billion yen in domestic sales by 2035. The strategy prioritizes raising awareness of "aging cells" and creating a new market.
Fancl's strategy to prioritize "senescent cell" awareness for new market creation exemplifies how brands invest in early recognition for long-term category establishment, which is vital for Rakuten to understand in its RDA strategy for acquiring brand budgets.
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Suntory's "Kirutto Fruit" Reaches 600 Million Bottles in Just 4 Years, Expanding the Possibilities of Sugary Drinks
Suntory's "Kirutto Fruit" has reached 600 million bottles in just 4 years, demonstrating the possibilities of sugary drinks and further establishing the brand's position in the market.
Suntory Ten-nen-sui "Kiritto Kajitsu"'s rapid ascent to the top of the juice beverage market demonstrates how clear positioning and effective marketing can yield significant results quickly, suggesting the importance of rapidly communicating product potential to the market in Rakuten's brand budget acquisition strategy.
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The Decline of Buzzfeed and the End of the Platform Era
The sale of Buzzfeed's majority stake symbolizes the collapse of the platform-dependent media model. This change will have a significant impact on the media business model.
Buzzfeed's decline highlights the fragility of platform-dependent media models, urging Rakuten to strengthen the unique value of its ad products and assess the sustainability of partners' business models in its external media collaboration strategy.
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Amazon Discontinues AI-Powered Shopping Chatbot Rufus
Amazon has discontinued its AI-powered shopping chatbot Rufus and will integrate its features into Alexa for Shopping, providing a unified search, comparison, and purchase support experience.
Amazon's consolidation of shopping AI features into "Alexa for Shopping" signals that unified AI support for search, comparison, and purchase is critical for customer experience, compelling Rakuten to prioritize seamless AI integration and a cohesive customer journey in its TDA, TDA-EXP, and cross-product reporting strategies.
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Heineken's Marketing Strategy
Heineken has increased its soccer-related marketing spend by 189% ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The company is promoting a sense of community among fans through limited-edition products, viewing events, and promotional kits for bars.
Heineken's strategy of significantly increasing marketing spend for FIFA World Cup 2026 to foster unity exemplifies how brands leverage major events with large budgets to maximize awareness and engagement through community building, offering key insights for Rakuten's brand budget acquisition and influencer x video strategy.
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Aerie's No-AI Creator Program
Aerie's new creator program, which prohibits the use of AI, has received over 10,000 applications in just two weeks. The brand's emphasis on a real and authentic worldview resonates with many.
Apparel brand "Aerie's" surge in applications for its AI-forbidden creator program indicates strong support for brands prioritizing authentic worldviews and human creativity, reminding Rakuten of the enduring value of authentic creator content in its influencer x video strategy.
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