Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore a $690 billion AI infrastructure spending spree that is outpacing AI-native revenue 20-to-1, and how net interest payments overtook defense spending for the first time, hitting $1.1 trillion in 2026.

We also look at how freight rates are running $2,000 higher on the East Coast than on the West Coast, and why 57% of shoppers refuse to buy anything with zero reviews.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Cloud giants plan to outspend AI-native revenue by 20 to 1 this year

The top 5 US cloud and AI infrastructure providers plan to spend $660 billion to $690 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, nearly double the roughly $380 billion they spent in 2025. Amazon alone plans $200 billion, mostly on data centers, and Alphabet's cloud backlog jumped 55% in a single quarter to more than $240 billion.

Microsoft plans $120 billion or more, yet Azure is sitting on an $80 billion backlog of orders it can't fulfill because of power constraints, not chip shortages. OpenAI's revenue run rate sits near $20 billion and Anthropic's near $9 billion, up 9 times in a year, meaning the entire AI-native industry still earns less than any single cloud giant plans to spend.

Chart: Net interest and defense spending, 1980-2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

Washington now pays more to service its debt than to defend the country

Net interest payments hit $1,102 billion in 2026, up 218% from $345.5 billion in 2020. That figure first exceeded defense spending in 2024, when interest costs reached $882 billion, compared with $874 billion in defense outlays.

Defense spending kept climbing too, reaching $950 billion in 2026, but interest costs are growing faster, and the gap has only widened since the 2024 crossover. The Fed funds rate has eased to 4% from a 2024 peak of 5.33%, yet the interest bill keeps climbing because of the sheer amount of debt now on the books.

57% of shoppers won't buy anything with zero reviews, while 74% think retailers collect too much data

96% of shoppers say ratings and reviews shape their purchase decisions, and 95% read them regularly before checking out. Just 72% put the same weight on a recommendation from family or friends, and only 11% trust a TV commercial at all.

That reliance cuts both ways. 74% of consumers believe retailers collect more personal data than necessary, and retailers rank as the second-most-distrusted category for handling that data at 30.8%, trailing only tech companies at 56.4%.

East Coast freight rates are now running $2,000 above the West Coast as peak season arrives early

Container rates from China to the US East Coast are holding between $8,000 and $9,000, roughly $2,000 above the $7,000 average on the West Coast. Even the cheapest available East Coast rate, around $7,800, is hard to book because open capacity on that lane is scarce.

This year's peak shipping season started roughly a month earlier than the traditional late-summer pattern, and elevated rates are expected to hold through the rest of September. Typhoon-related vessel disruptions in China are adding further delay on top of the seasonal squeeze.

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Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Blu Dot used Roku Ads Manager to drive incredible results for its furniture sales event. Its strategy hinged on custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Learn More

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• The Circle. Our reader community is open: debate each week's data with founders, executives, and investors, and ask our analysts anything. Join for free at newsletter.rwazi.com/community.

Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore a $690 billion AI infrastructure spending spree that is outpacing AI-native revenue 20-to-1, and how net interest payments overtook defense spending for the first time, hitting $1.1 trillion in 2026.

We also look at how freight rates are running $2,000 higher on the East Coast than on the West Coast, and why 57% of shoppers refuse to buy anything with zero reviews.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Cloud giants plan to outspend AI-native revenue by 20 to 1 this year

The top 5 US cloud and AI infrastructure providers plan to spend $660 billion to $690 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, nearly double the roughly $380 billion they spent in 2025. Amazon alone plans $200 billion, mostly on data centers, and Alphabet's cloud backlog jumped 55% in a single quarter to more than $240 billion.

Microsoft plans $120 billion or more, yet Azure is sitting on an $80 billion backlog of orders it can't fulfill because of power constraints, not chip shortages. OpenAI's revenue run rate sits near $20 billion and Anthropic's near $9 billion, up 9 times in a year, meaning the entire AI-native industry still earns less than any single cloud giant plans to spend.

Chart: Net interest and defense spending, 1980-2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

Washington now pays more to service its debt than to defend the country

Net interest payments hit $1,102 billion in 2026, up 218% from $345.5 billion in 2020. That figure first exceeded defense spending in 2024, when interest costs reached $882 billion, compared with $874 billion in defense outlays.

Defense spending kept climbing too, reaching $950 billion in 2026, but interest costs are growing faster, and the gap has only widened since the 2024 crossover. The Fed funds rate has eased to 4% from a 2024 peak of 5.33%, yet the interest bill keeps climbing because of the sheer amount of debt now on the books.

57% of shoppers won't buy anything with zero reviews, while 74% think retailers collect too much data

96% of shoppers say ratings and reviews shape their purchase decisions, and 95% read them regularly before checking out. Just 72% put the same weight on a recommendation from family or friends, and only 11% trust a TV commercial at all.

That reliance cuts both ways. 74% of consumers believe retailers collect more personal data than necessary, and retailers rank as the second-most-distrusted category for handling that data at 30.8%, trailing only tech companies at 56.4%.

East Coast freight rates are now running $2,000 above the West Coast as peak season arrives early

Container rates from China to the US East Coast are holding between $8,000 and $9,000, roughly $2,000 above the $7,000 average on the West Coast. Even the cheapest available East Coast rate, around $7,800, is hard to book because open capacity on that lane is scarce.

This year's peak shipping season started roughly a month earlier than the traditional late-summer pattern, and elevated rates are expected to hold through the rest of September. Typhoon-related vessel disruptions in China are adding further delay on top of the seasonal squeeze.

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• The Circle. Our reader community is open: debate each week's data with founders, executives, and investors, and ask our analysts anything. Join for free at newsletter.rwazi.com/community.

Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore how 162,000 jobs returned in August after 2 months of payrolls got revised away; a $31.6 trillion bet on AI infrastructure through 2050; back-to-school spending on pace for $85 billion; and container imports trailing last year's pace as early tariff-driven shipping winds down.

This edition also features our recent redesign, rebuilt section by section based on reader feedback, with the same rigor and voice.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

ICT hardware is set to eat 93% of AI infrastructure budgets by 2050

Global investment in AI infrastructure is projected to reach $31.6 trillion cumulatively through 2050, up from an estimated $800 billion this year alone. The United States will capture $15.1 trillion of that total, 48% of the global figure, while Asia Pacific, led by China and India, accounts for $8.2 trillion.

ICT hardware's share of that spending is set to climb from 70% today to 93% by 2050, as recurring chip upgrades overtake construction as the biggest cost driver. A scenario where export controls disrupt chip supply would cut the cumulative total by $6 trillion to $25.5 trillion, with annual investment falling to roughly half the central forecast by 2030 before recovering.

June and July payrolls just got revised up by a combined 55,000 jobs

US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, more than double what forecasters expected, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. Average hourly earnings rose 3.1% year over year, still trailing the pace of price growth.

The rebound follows a downward scare in July that has since been revised away: June's gain was revised up 11,000 to 31,000, and July's initial loss of 23,000 became a gain of 21,000. Combined, the past 2 months came in 55,000 jobs stronger than first reported.

Back-to-school spending is on pace to hit $85 billion this year

Back-to-school retail sales are projected to reach $85 billion in 2026, up 3.3% year over year and accelerating from 2.5% growth in 2025. Big-ticket electronics are driving a chunk of that gain, as parents replace devices to keep pace with AI-powered learning tools.

Online sellers saw sharper spikes beneath that topline number: label clip sales jumped 606% in August, kids' desk sales rose 47%, and sticky note sales climbed 25%. Fall wardrobe items moved just as fast, with sweater sales up 84% and pea coat sales up 76%.

US port imports are trailing last year's pace by 4.2%

US container imports are on pace for 2.22 million TEUs in August, down 4.2% year over year, as retailers front-loaded shipments ahead of a tariff deadline. Temporary tariff relief expired July 23, with new tariffs taking effect the next day.

Freight rates are easing now that the rush is over: the composite container rate index fell 1% in the week to August 27, led by lower spot pricing on transpacific and Asia-Europe lanes. Carriers front-ran the same deadline shippers did, and now capacity is catching up with demand.

How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads

For its first CTV campaign, Jennifer Aniston’s DTC haircare brand LolaVie had a few non-negotiables. The campaign had to be simple. It had to demonstrate measurable impact. And it had to be full-funnel.

LolaVie used Roku Ads Manager to test and optimize creatives — reaching millions of potential customers at all stages of their purchase journeys. Roku Ads Manager helped the brand convey LolaVie’s playful voice while helping drive omnichannel sales across both ecommerce and retail touchpoints.

The campaign included an Action Ad overlay that let viewers shop directly from their TVs by clicking OK on their Roku remote. This guided them to the website to buy LolaVie products.

Discover how Roku Ads Manager helped LolaVie drive big sales and customer growth with self-serve TV ads.

The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.

Learn more.

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• Two free decision tools - The Cost of Being Wrong prices the call you're about to make. What It Takes works backward from your revenue goal. Both take about a minute: newsletter.rwazi.com/cost-of-being-wrong · newsletter.rwazi.com/what-it-takes.
  

• The Circle. Our reader community is open: debate each week's data with founders, executives, and investors, and ask our analysts anything. Join free at newsletter.rwazi.com/community.

Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we are pleased to announce The Desk, our AI tool that pulls together all the insights you need to make data-driven business decisions.

You can ask something like "Should rising freight rates change my Q4 shipping budget?" and get a sourced answer in seconds. And get an answer sourced from all editions of Market Mosaic.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: Capex-to-R&D ratios at Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Apple, Q2 2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

Microsoft now spends $3.58 on infrastructure for every $1 on research

Microsoft put $35.8 billion into property and equipment in the June quarter, compared with $10 billion in research, a ratio of $3.58 to $1. Alphabet came in at $2.47 of capex per research dollar, Meta at $1.39.

Apple sits at $0.21, spending close to 5 times as much on research as on physical assets. Meta's research bill grew 67% year over year to $21.7 billion, which holds its ratio below Alphabet's.

Finding data-driven market insights from Market Mosaic used to mean scrolling through weeks or months of newsletters.

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China now holds half the US debt it did a decade ago, while Britain keeps buying

The top 20 foreign holders of US government debt account for close to $8 trillion, near 20% of the more than $40 trillion outstanding. Japan leads at $1.117 trillion, and Britain follows at $940 billion.

China ranks 3rd at $633 billion, roughly half the $1.3 trillion it held in 2014, and Britain passed it in early 2025. Belgium and Canada follow, at $483 billion and $460 billion, respectively.

The most frugal back-to-school shoppers are outspending everyone else by 14%

Households are spending $557 per child on school supplies this year, flat versus last year, even as 57% of parents expect the economy to worsen within 6 months, the gloomiest reading since 2020. 31% of parents now qualify as heavy value-seekers, using 4 or more cost-cutting tactics while shopping.

That value-seeking group isn't spending less: they're paying $610 per child, 14% above the average shopper. Planned clothing spending is up 22% this year, while planned tech purchases are down 16% as families defer device upgrades.

Container rates slipped 1% a week after jumping 4%

The global container index fell 1% to $4,473 per 40-foot box in the week to August 27, giving back part of the 4% gain a week earlier. Asia to Europe led the decline.

Shanghai to Rotterdam dropped 3% to $4,287, and Shanghai to Genoa fell 2% to $4,866. Transpacific held up better, with Shanghai to Los Angeles unchanged at $6,818 and Shanghai to New York easing 2% to $9,333.

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Blu Dot used Roku Ads Manager to drive incredible results for its furniture sales event. Its strategy hinged on custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

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How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads

For its first CTV campaign, Jennifer Aniston’s DTC haircare brand LolaVie had a few non-negotiables. The campaign had to be simple. It had to demonstrate measurable impact. And it had to be full-funnel.

LolaVie used Roku Ads Manager to test and optimize creatives — reaching millions of potential customers at all stages of their purchase journeys. Roku Ads Manager helped the brand convey LolaVie’s playful voice while helping drive omnichannel sales across both ecommerce and retail touchpoints.

The campaign included an Action Ad overlay that let viewers shop directly from their TVs by clicking OK on their Roku remote. This guided them to the website to buy LolaVie products.

Discover how Roku Ads Manager helped LolaVie drive big sales and customer growth with self-serve TV ads.

The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.

Learn more.

Nvidia’s blowout quarter pushed the S&P 500 to a record 7,730.99 on Thursday, up 0.72%, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.57%. Gold slipped to $4,584.96 an ounce, and Brent crude climbed toward $88 a barrel as traders wait on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech.

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Finding data-driven market insights from Market Mosaic used to mean scrolling through weeks or months of newsletters.

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Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

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Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore how tech giants could spend up to $900 billion on AI this year, and look at how US retail card spending extended its growth streak to 10 months while container freight rates jumped for the first time in weeks.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Cloud giants are now spending more on AI than their cloud business earns

Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft will spend roughly 102% of their combined cloud revenue on capex in 2026, more than they earn in a year. That ratio falls to 99% in 2027 and 94% in 2028.

2026 hyperscaler capex estimates run from $785 billion to $900 billion, more than double the $410 billion spent 2 years ago. Forecasts put 2027 spending above $1 trillion, a threshold not expected until 2028.

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Chart: China, the US, Britain, and India's share of global GDP, 1820-2025. Data visualization by Market Mosaic

China's slice of the world economy just returned to its 1820 level

China held 28.6% of global GDP in 1820, the largest share of any economy, but this share shrank to 5.3% by 1960 as Britain and the US industrialized. It has since climbed back to 21.8% in 2025, near its position 2 centuries earlier.

The US followed the reverse arc: 2.3% in 1820, a peak of 24.5% in 1960, and 14.7% today. The British Empire's share fell every period measured, from 23.1% in 1820 to 1.9% for Britain now. India's nearly tripled since 1960, from 3.9% to 9.0%.

US retail card spending just extended its growth streak to 10 straight months

US card-based retail spending climbed 5.15% in July from a year earlier and 0.32% from June, its 10th straight month of gains since October 2025. Electronics and digital purchases led, up 12.04% and 12.02%, while groceries and beverages grew a steadier 4.52%.

Shoppers are changing what they buy too: 48% of adults now want more protein, up 7 points from a year ago, and half of all meals take under 5 minutes to prepare. High-protein foodservice items grew 11% over the past year.

Container freight rates just jumped for the first time in weeks

Global container freight rates rose 4% to $4,526 per 40-foot box in the week to August 20, driven almost entirely by transpacific lanes. Shanghai to New York jumped 9% to $9,507; Shanghai to Los Angeles climbed the same 9% to $6,802.

Other lanes fell: Shanghai to Genoa dropped 2% to $4,955, Shanghai to Rotterdam slipped 1% to $4,401. Carriers cut East Coast capacity by 9% for the month and scheduled 7 blank sailings, with new Panama Canal surcharges starting in September.

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^{This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any such offer or solicitation will be made exclusively through the definitive offering documents. All investments involve risk of loss, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Any targeted returns or projections are forward-looking statements, are based on current assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially.}

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Finding data-driven market insights from Market Mosaic used to mean scrolling through weeks or months of newsletters.

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Ask something like "Should rising freight rates change my Q4 shipping budget?" and get a sourced answer in seconds.

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If you want to win in the AI-first era, just knowing that AI tools exist will not do the job - knowing which tool to use for the right purpose will win the lottery.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore China installing 295,000 factory robots in a single year; Iceland burning nearly 3 times the energy per person as the US; brand-conscious shoppers outspending bargain hunters 2 to 1 on clothing; and Asia-to-US container rates hitting a 2026 high.

This edition also features our recent redesign, rebuilt section by section based on reader feedback, with the same rigor and voice.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: Industrial robots installed by country, led by China's 295,000, 8.63 times the US total and 54% of the world's installations. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

China installed more industrial robots than the next 4 countries combined

China put 295,000 industrial robots to work in factories in 2024, more than Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Germany combined. That single-year total amounts to 8.63 times the US figure and 54% of all robots installed worldwide.

Japan held onto 2nd place with 44,500 installations, while the US placed 3rd with 34,200 installations. South Korea followed at 30,600, and Germany at 26,982; all 4 together came to 136,282, well short of half of China's total.

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

Learn more

The Finance Team's Guide to Usage-Based Pricing

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Iceland uses nearly 3 times as much energy per person as the United States

Iceland topped the global energy use list at 745 gigajoules per person in 2025, largely powered by cheap geothermal and hydroelectric energy. Qatar followed at 717 gigajoules and Singapore at 628, with heavy industry and shipping driving both economies' totals higher.

The United States ranked 10th at 270 gigajoules, still 2.35 times China's 115 gigajoules and roughly 10 times India's 27. Every country in the top 40 sits in Europe, Asia, North America, or Oceania, with no African or South American economy on the list.

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• The Circle. Our reader community is open: debate each week's data with founders, executives, and investors, and ask our analysts anything. Join for free at newsletter.rwazi.com/community.

Brand-conscious shoppers outspend price-conscious ones 2 to 1 on clothing

30% of brand-conscious US shoppers spent more than $200 on clothing in the last 3 months, compared with 15% of price-conscious shoppers. Only 24% of US consumers said brand labels matter at all when buying clothes.

28% of brand-conscious shoppers ranked quality as their top consideration, compared with 17% of price-conscious shoppers, while 26% of price-conscious shoppers ranked price first. Men make up 53% of the brand-conscious group, and the single most-considered apparel brand pulls 57% of them.

Asia-to-US container rates just hit their highest point of 2026

The Shanghai-to-New York route rose 10% week over week to $8,706 per 40-foot container, while Shanghai-to-Los Angeles climbed 6% to $6,244. Asia-to-US East Coast rates have now gained 19% over 3 weeks, their strongest stretch since July 2024, even as the global composite moved just 1% to $4,339.

Container volumes are holding up despite an expected seasonal slowdown, and September projections have flipped from a 5.7% decline to a 2.8% increase. New Panama Canal surcharges tied to low water levels are adding further pressure on carriers.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore how a 256GB smartphone costs twice as much in Türkiye as it does in Japan; US payrolls unexpectedly fell in July; natural food dyes are outselling artificial ones; and container freight rates just rebounded after weeks of decline.

This edition also features our recent redesign, rebuilt section by section based on reader feedback, with the same rigor and voice.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: Retail price of a 256GB flagship smartphone across 40 global markets, 2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

A 256GB smartphone costs twice as much in Türkiye as it does in Japan

A 256GB flagship smartphone costs $2,592 in Türkiye, 119% above the $1,181 U.S. price and the highest of 40 markets tracked. Brazil follows at $2,260, 91% above the U.S. price, and Hungary rounds out the top 3 at $1,826, 55% higher.

Japan is the only market cheaper than the U.S., at $1,121, 5% below the U.S. price. South Korea matches the U.S. exactly at $1,181, while Hong Kong sits just 2% higher at $1,200, the tightest cluster in the entire ranking.

We've been building, and it's all live for you today.

• Ask the Desk - Premium members can now ask any market question and get the desk's answer, drawn from all 203+ issues we've published. Sign in at newsletter.rwazi.com/the-desk.

• Two free decision tools - The Cost of Being Wrong prices the call you're about to make. What It Takes works backwards from your revenue goal. Both take about a minute: newsletter.rwazi.com/cost-of-being-wrong · newsletter.rwazi.com/what-it-takes.

• The Circle. Our reader community is open: debate each week's data with founders, executives, and investors, and ask our analysts anything. Join free at newsletter.rwazi.com/community.

US payrolls unexpectedly fell in July as the Fed's rate-hike odds slipped

US employers cut 23,000 jobs in July, missing Wall Street's forecast for roughly 85,000 new hires. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% from 4.2%, but only because labor force participation slipped to 61.4%.

Revisions erased 103,000 previously reported jobs from May and June combined, with June's gain cut from 57,000 to 20,000. Futures traders cut the odds of a September rate hike to 44%, down from 55% a day earlier.

Natural food dyes grew 24% in 2025 while artificial dyes barely moved

Dollar sales of naturally colored food and drinks rose 24.4% in 2025, while artificial dye products grew less than 0.1%. Prepared foods led the shift at 52.5% growth, followed by diet and nutrition products at 40.6%.

Artificial dyes still account for 42.2% of candy sales, the category most resistant to reformulation. Switching entirely to natural alternatives could push some ingredient costs up more than 1,000%, a bill retailers and shoppers will eventually split.

Container freight rates just rebounded after weeks of steady declines

Global container freight rates rose 1% to $4,297 per 40-foot box this week, snapping a run of declines. Rates from Shanghai to Los Angeles climbed 3% to $5,894, and Shanghai to New York jumped 4% to $7,893.

Not every lane moved the same direction: Shanghai to Genoa fell 2% to $5,506, and the return legs from Rotterdam and Los Angeles back to Shanghai both eased. The split suggests capacity is tightening on US-bound routes specifically, not globally.

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

Learn more

Watch on demand: Tabs + PwC break down how finance teams are operationalizing usage-based pricing — without the manual overhead.

Watch on demand

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore 2 countries pulling away in the global AI race; US growth slowing to 1.5% as 3 policymakers push for a hike; back-to-school spending hitting record highs; and container rates falling for a 3rd straight week.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: AI competitiveness scores across 36 nations, led by the US and China, 2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

2 countries are running away with the global AI race

The US leads a 36-nation AI competitiveness scorecard with a score of 82, built on R&D output, computing infrastructure, and policy support. China trails at 59, 23 points behind, while every other nation scores below 40.

China counts 107 top-ranked AI university programs versus 26 in the US, yet still trails on overall score. Singapore ranks 3rd at just 37, less than half of the US total.

US growth slowed to 1.5% while 3 policymakers pushed for a rate hike instead

Real GDP grew at a 1.5% annual rate in the 2nd quarter, down from 2.1% in the 1st quarter and short of the 2.3% economists expected. Consumer spending, investment, and exports drove the gain, offset by weaker government spending.

Policymakers held interest rates steady at 3.50% to 3.75% this week, but 3 of them dissented in favor of a hike, the most since 2016. Their case: repeated supply shocks have kept inflation elevated even as jobs and spending hold up.

Think you can guess the next big shift?

Our team tracks where growth, spending, and risk are heading through 2027. Premium subscribers on Market Mosaic get the full sector breakdown and the data behind it.

Back-to-school spending is hitting record highs even as shoppers hunt for deals

K-12 families are on pace to spend $43.3 billion this year, above the prior record of $41.5 billion set in 2023. Average spend per family climbed to $863.86, while college households are projected to spend a record $103.5 billion.

62% of shoppers started buying by early July, and 32% jumped in by June. Only 54% of those early shoppers used major sales events to lock in lower prices.

Container rates fell for a 3rd straight week as new tariffs cool demand

Global container freight rates fell 3% to $4,255 per 40-foot container, the 3rd straight weekly decline. Rates on the Shanghai-to-Los Angeles route dropped 2% to $5,739, and Shanghai-to-Genoa fell 6% to $5,630.

Carriers scheduled 8 blank sailings on the Transpacific trade next week, up from 7, to manage capacity as new US tariffs cool demand. Several carriers are also adding fuel surcharges this month because of tensions in the Middle East.

Here are the insightful visuals we shared on LinkedIn. Feel free to check them out, comment, or repost if it hits home.

The top 10% of U.S. earners now account for nearly half of all consumer spending, up from 36% three decades ago. View full post

Five countries. Five monopolies. One supply chain. View full post

Apple’s Starlink Update Sparks Huge Earning Opportunity

Apple just secretly added Starlink satellite support to iPhones through iOS 18.3.

One of the biggest potential winners? Mode Mobile.

Mode’s EarnPhone already reaches 490M+ users that have earned over $1B, and that’s before global satellite coverage. With SpaceX eliminating "dead zones," Mode's earning technology can now reach billions more in unbanked and rural populations worldwide.

Their global expansion is perfectly timed, and investors like you still have a chance to invest in their pre-IPO offering at $0.52/share.

With their recent 32,481% revenue growth and newly reserved Nasdaq ticker, Mode is one step closer to a potential IPO.

Tap into a $1T opportunity — invest now at just $0.52/share and get up to 20% bonus.

^{Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.}

^{Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.}

^{The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.}

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore how 5 countries each hold a monopoly link in the AI chip supply chain; global growth cools to 3% as inflation ticks back up; the wealthiest 10% of shoppers now drive half of all spending; and freight rates are climbing across every shipping mode at once.

This edition also features our recent redesign, rebuilt section by section based on reader feedback, with the same rigor and voice.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: Share of the AI GPU supply chain controlled by the top supplier at each production layer, 2025-2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

5 countries each hold a monopoly link in the AI chip supply chain

China refines 99% of the world's low-purity gallium and 82% of its natural graphite. A single Dutch manufacturer holds 100% of the EUV lithography tool market, and Taiwan's leading foundry runs roughly 90% of global capacity at the 5-nanometer node and below.

The pattern holds downstream too. South Korea's 2 largest memory makers control about 79% of high-bandwidth memory revenue, and 1 U.S. chipmaker accounts for roughly 92% of data center AI GPU shipments. No country appears twice on this list.

Global growth cools to 3% in 2026 as inflation ticks back up

Global growth is on track to be 3% in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, down from the 3.5% average recorded in 2024 and 2025. The slowdown reflects an active war in the Middle East, partly offset by a technology cycle running hot on AI adoption.

Inflation is moving the wrong way too. Global headline inflation is projected to rise from 4.1% in 2025 to 4.7% in 2026, then ease to 3.9% in 2027. A renewed conflict in the Middle East remains the biggest wildcard for commodity prices.

Think you can guess the next big shift?

Our team tracks where growth, spending, and risk are heading through 2027. Premium subscribers on Market Mosaic get the full sector breakdown and the data behind it.

The wealthiest 10% of shoppers now drive half of all U.S. spending

The top 10% of U.S. earners, households making $250,000 or more, now account for 49.7% of all consumer spending, up from 36% three decades ago. That same top decile spends as much on discretionary goods as the bottom 70% combined.

Retail sales rose 1.1% overall in 2025, but spending fell 3.8% in the lowest-income decile while rising 2.3% among top earners. The top 20% alone generated more than 60% of all discretionary spending growth.

Freight rates are climbing across every shipping mode at once

Truckload rates hit their highest level in nearly 4 years this quarter, with the rate-per-mile index up 11% from a year earlier as carrier exits and tighter regulation squeezed capacity. Less-than-truckload pricing set records, too, with fuel surcharges up more than 60% compared with June 2025.

Parcel costs are following the same trend: ground rates are projected to be 5.2% higher year over year, putting 2026 on pace to be the most expensive year on record for cost per package. Rail is under its own strain too, with containers at the Port of Los Angeles still waiting an average of 5 days for rail transportation.

Here are the insightful visuals we shared on LinkedIn. Feel free to check them out, comment, or repost if it hits home.

Retailers recover 3 times more value from returns routed through resale rather than liquidation. View full post

5 memory chip makers turned AI's appetite for compute into $4 trillion of new value in under two years. View full post

Meet Sena, your decision intelligence system for what your AI can't see

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we explore a memory chip shortage turned into a $4.5 trillion market; 1 region keeps winning new investment while the rest pull back; June's price relief may not survive July; and smart retailers are turning returns into revenue.

This edition also features our recent redesign, rebuilt section by section based on reader feedback, with the same rigor and voice.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: Combined market value of the world's major high-bandwidth memory suppliers, 2024-2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

A $500 billion memory chip market is now worth $4.5 trillion

The combined market value of the world's high-bandwidth memory suppliers was near $420 billion at the end of 2024. 18 months later, that group is worth $4.53 trillion, a 10-fold jump driven almost entirely by demand for AI training and inference.

The climb hasn't been smooth: values dropped 23% in a single month this spring before rebounding to a fresh high in June, with 70% of the total gain landing in just the last 3 months.

One region gained new investment while every other region lost it

Global greenfield investment announcements fell 17.5% year over year between March and May 2026.

North America was the only region to gain, up 4.2% to 1,517 new projects, while every other region declined: Western Europe fell 23.9%, Emerging Europe dropped 34.6% as its regional war entered its 4th year, and the Middle East recorded the steepest drop of any region, down 67.1% to just 191 projects.

Even North America's gain comes with an asterisk: its total still sits 1.5% below its 2021-2025 average.

Think you can guess the next big shift?

Our team tracks where growth, spending, and risk are heading through 2027. Premium subscribers on Market Mosaic get the full sector breakdown and the data behind it.

Consumer prices posted their steepest drop since 2020

Prices for everyday goods fell 0.4% in June, the largest 1-month drop in 6 years, pulling annual inflation down to 3.5% from 4.2%. Egg, dairy, and bakery prices still climbed, and lettuce jumped 32% year over year on supply disruptions.

The relief may not last: a resumed conflict this week between the US and Iran threatens to push July prices back up before the trend takes hold.

Retailers are turning returns into inventory instead of write-offs

Retailers are expected to take back nearly $850 billion in returned merchandise in 2025, roughly 15.8% of total sales. Most of that inventory has historically been liquidated at a fraction of retail value.

A growing share of retailers now route it into branded resale channels instead, fetching 45% to 65% of original price versus 10% to 20% in liquidation, with roughly half of those buyers new to the brand.

Here are the insightful visuals we shared on LinkedIn. Feel free to check them out, comment, or repost if it hits home.

The world's biggest industry made $6.18 trillion, and it's not the one you'd guess. View full post

Compute is on pace to swallow $5.1 trillion of the global AI build by 2031. View full post

Meet Sena, your decision intelligence system for what your AI can't see

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

The Next Breakout Might Be in Your Pocket

Everyone’s hunting for the next Unicorn.

The type of “category disruptor” that grows fast and turns early believers into big winners.

59,000+ investors think that Mode Mobile could be one of those rare finds.

Americans spend 4 ½ hours on their phones daily, and Mode Mobile is monetizing that screentime. With $1B+ earned by over 490M customers and 32,481% revenue growth, Mode’s EarnPhone is turning smartphones into income generating assets.

Their previous raises sold out, and the company is now offering pre-IPO shares at $0.52/share with up to 20% bonus, exclusive to early investors.

Being early is everything, and this window is still open.

>> Review the offer before it closes

^{*Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com.}

^{Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.}

^{The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.}

Win AI Search Without a Big Team

92% of VCs use AI to find companies. 58% of buyers start there too. If you're not showing up in AI answers, you're invisible before the conversation even starts. Join HubSpot for Startups, Anthropic, and Marketing Against the Grain on July 30th (11am ET) for a live AEO teardown. Real startup. Real recs. Register and unlock the free Startup Visibility Bundle.

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Trade equities, commodities, crypto, and prediction markets all on Liquid, 24/7. 

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we track how far buyers drop off before they reach the top shelf, the gap between AI agent hype and real deployment, why shoppers are trading shipping speed for lower prices, and the tariff deadline reshaping how retailers stock their shelves.

This edition also carries the redesign we rolled out recently, rebuilt section by section around reader feedback, with our insights staying just as rigorous and our voice just as direct.

Now, let's dive into the insights.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

97% of executives say their company runs AI agents. Only 31% have one in production.

Most companies can point to an AI agent pilot, a demo, or a slide in a board deck. Far fewer can point to one that makes decisions within a live workflow, with real data, at real scale. The claims sit well ahead of anything actually running.

Employees are moving faster than the rollout plans were designed for. More than half already use some form of agentic tool at work, often without any formal system behind it. The gap between what leadership reports and what's quietly running beneath the surface is the one worth watching.

Chart: Consumer affordability by product category across eight global cities, 2026. Data visualization by Market Mosaic.

Every market loses 80% of its buyers before it reaches the top shelf

Access to a market and access to its top tier are not the same thing. Across eight major cities, people who can comfortably afford basic financial access outnumber those who can afford luxury jewellery by roughly seven to one.

Jakarta has the largest base of the eight, 40.6 million residents with access to finance, but that falls to 6.1 million by luxury jewellery, an 85% drop. Mumbai loses buyers fastest, sliding from 20.6 million to 1.6 million, a 92% drop. Hyderabad, the smallest market in the set, holds on to the highest share of its buyers, dropping only by 79%.

Think you can guess the next big shift?

Our team tracks where growth, spending, and risk are heading through 2027. Premium subscribers on Market Mosaic get the full sector breakdown and the data behind it.

90% of shoppers would rather wait than pay more for shipping

Convenience is losing its edge. Ninety percent of shoppers say they would take slower shipping for a lower price, and 61% rank cost above convenience online.

Shipping costs are pushing people out of checkout. Seventy percent have abandoned a purchase over shipping costs, and 57% say avoiding fees and waits is the top reason to shop in a store instead.

U.S. ports are about to handle a record 2.47 million containers

U.S. container imports are on pace to set a record in July at 2.47 million containers, breaking the prior high of 2.4 million from May 2022.

The rush is about timing, not demand. A temporary tariff expires July 24, and retailers are frontloading before it's replaced. May imports already hit 2.24 million containers, up 14.9% year over year.

Meet Sena, your decision intelligence system for what your AI can't see

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

The deal: book a call with our team, bring one real decision you are weighing, like a market share, marketing ROI, a scenario you can't get clean numbers on, and we will put Sena to work on it with you, live.

Here are the insightful visuals we shared on LinkedIn. Feel free to check them out, comment, or repost if it hits home for you.

The world's biggest industry made $6.18 trillion, and it's not the one you'd guess. View full post

Compute is on pace to swallow $5.1 trillion of the global AI build by 2031. View full post

Apple’s Starlink Update Sparks Huge Earning Opportunity

Apple just secretly added Starlink satellite support to iPhones through iOS 18.3.

One of the biggest potential winners? Mode Mobile.

Mode’s EarnPhone already reaches 490M+ users that have earned over $1B, and that’s before global satellite coverage. With SpaceX eliminating "dead zones," Mode's earning technology can now reach billions more in unbanked and rural populations worldwide.

Their global expansion is perfectly timed, and investors like you still have a chance to invest in their pre-IPO offering at $0.52/share.

With their recent 32,481% revenue growth and newly reserved Nasdaq ticker, Mode is one step closer to a potential IPO.

Tap into a $1T opportunity — invest now at just $0.52/share and get up to 20% bonus.

^{Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.}

^{Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.}

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Welcome back to another insightful edition of Market Mosaic, one that looks different today on purpose.

This is our first edition of the second half of 2026, and we are pleased to announce the latest redesign of our newsletter. Over the past month, we sat down with reader feedback and rebuilt Market Mosaic around it, section by section.

Our insights stay exactly as rigorous and data-driven. Our voice stays exactly as direct. And this is a redesign built around how you actually experience reading us.

We are also opening a limited number of free early-access spots for Sena, our decision intelligence system. Grab one here.

Now, let's dive into this week’s insights.

— Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Chart: World's largest industries by revenue 2026. Data visualisation by Rwazi Insights

The world's biggest industry made $6.18 trillion

Public attention gravitates toward AI labs and social platforms. Revenue tells a different story. 2026 rankings place Life & Health Insurance at the top of the global economy, generating an estimated $6.18 trillion annually, more than double what most people would guess if asked to name the world's largest industry.

Commercial Real Estate follows at $5.59 trillion, propped up not by offices but by warehouses and distribution hubs that e-commerce growth keeps filling. Pension Funds sit third at $4.51 trillion, followed by Oil & Gas and Automotive Sales tied at $4.26 trillion each.

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

The deal: book a call with our team, bring one real decision you are weighing, like a market share, marketing ROI, a scenario you can't get clean numbers on, and we will put Sena to work on it with you, live.

Chip stocks just rallied hard. This week decides if it holds.

US markets surged Monday as chip stocks led a reinvigorated AI trade, with Broadcom driving the rally after extending its custom semiconductor deal with Apple through 2031, adding to existing partnerships with Alphabet and Meta.

The timing matters: Samsung reports earnings Tuesday, and SK Hynix's expected $28 billion US listing lands Friday. SK Hynix is up 260% this year as Big Tech races to add compute capacity. We are watching both events closely for signs that the AI trade's recent volatility is stabilising.

Amazon just ended Walmart's decade-long reign. Walmart's answer: cheap gas.

Amazon generated $717 billion in fiscal 2025, becoming America's biggest company by revenue and ending Walmart's decade-plus reign, driven not just by online sales but by advertising and AWS.

Walmart's counter-strategy is loyalty through utility. Its 10-cents-per-gallon fuel discount across 13,000-plus gas stations has become one of Walmart+'s most-used perks, especially as shoppers absorbed roughly 50% higher gas prices in recent months.

Shopify shoppers are buying landlines instead of new phones this summer.

June sales data shows consumers pulling back from big-ticket electronics and leaning into repair, comfort, and cost control. Landline orders jumped 277%, corded phones 115%, and basic feature phones 99%, arriving the same month Apple raised MacBook and iPad prices by up to $300 to offset rising memory chip costs.

Repair-related orders followed the same logic: phone screens and digitisers up 185%, coffee grinder parts up 92%, TV stands up 74%. Sleep-related purchases also spiked, with night light projectors up 661% and sleep sprays up 632%. Heat-driven categories rose too, with pet cooling beds up 89% and tower fans up 85%, alongside a modest World Cup bump in jersey and fan gear sales.

In this edition of "Conversations with Market Mosaic", we sit down with Riccardo Tomè, Senior Marketer at PepsiCo, who has 6+ years of experience in FMCG and Healthcare, driving growth for iconic brands across Italy and Spain.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we look at the eye-watering number the world is about to spend building AI infrastructure, and what that bet actually implies for everyone running on top of it.

We are also opening a limited number of free early-access spots for Sena, our decision intelligence system. Grab one here.

Now, let's dive into the insights.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain

Data visualisation for Market Mosaic by Rwazi Insights

$7.6 trillion is being bet on AI infrastructure.

A new market projection puts global AI capital expenditure at $7.6 trillion between 2026 and 2031, covering compute, data centers, and power. Compute, mostly GPUs, takes the largest share at roughly $5.1 trillion, rising from $494 billion this year to $1.13 trillion by 2031.

Buried in the model is a detail worth sitting with: the projection assumes Nvidia alone captures 75% of all compute spend, every year, for six straight years. That's an implied $3.8 trillion in Nvidia revenue from this build-out.

The world isn't just spending on AI. It's making a six-year, multi-trillion-dollar bet that a handful of companies' read on what AI needs stays correct the whole way through.

Meet Sena, your decision intelligence system for what your AI can't see

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

The deal: book a call with our team, bring one real decision you are weighing, like market share, marketing ROI, a scenario you can't get clean numbers on, and we will put Sena to work on it with you, live.

You see what it surfaces from your own data and the real-world signals your other tools can't reach.

Nvidia is now the most valuable company on earth.

Nvidia closed out June as the world's most valuable publicly traded company, with a market capitalization sitting near $4.7 trillion, ahead of Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.

The chipmaker has now spent most of 2026 trading the top spot with itself, having briefly touched $5.3 trillion in April before pulling back, all on the back of demand for the GPUs that train and run AI systems.

What's notable isn't just the number. It's what it represents: the market is pricing AI infrastructure as more valuable than the consumer platforms built on top of it.

Gen Z isn't loyal. They're just paying attention.

Gen Z's latest consumer research finds them, in their own words, brand agnostic until given a reason to commit. 59% still prefer known brands, but 41% are actively buying cheaper private-label alternatives, and 82% planned to buy discounted dupes this past holiday season rather than the original.

The old assumption, that brand recognition alone earns repeat purchase, doesn't hold for the generation that's about to anchor the next decade of spending. Relevance has to be re-earned, continuously, not assumed from a logo.

Everyone's rebuilding their supply chain. Almost no one can see across it.

Tariffs and trade volatility have prompted retailers to undertake the biggest sourcing rethink in years.

According to the latest read on global logistics, 87% plan to run nearshoring pilots in Mexico or Central America within two years, and most are moving away from single-country dependence toward layered, regional sourcing.

The catch is execution. Many struggle to align their IT systems, order management, warehouse, and transport platforms to enable real-time fulfillment across multiple nodes.

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Welcome to yet another insightful edition of Market Mosaic.

This week, we follow the one blind spot every AI tool in your business shares, why it matters for the decisions you make, and a few signals worth your attention.

We are also opening a limited number of free early-access spots for Sena, our decision intelligence system. Grab one here.

Now, let's dive into the insights.

Insights Team, Rwazi

• Technology

• Economy

• Consumer Universe

• Supply Chain
  

Your AI knows what the internet knew

Every serious team now has AI in the building. The question quietly shifted from "do we have access" to "can we trust what it tells us about our market."

But here's the catch: most teams haven't named it yet. These tools are brilliant at reasoning over what's already been written down. They're blind to everything that hasn't.

For real-time decisions about a market, the most important evidence often isn't yet in any database.

Try to put Sena on a decision you are stuck on

Meet Sena, your decision intelligence system for what your AI can't see

That blind spot we opened with is exactly what we built Sena to close. And we are handing a small group of Market Mosaic subscribers the keys to the door for free.

The deal: book a call with our team, bring one real decision you are weighing, like a market share, marketing ROI, a scenario you can't get clean numbers on, and we will put Sena to work on it with you, live.

You see what it surfaces from your own data and the real-world signals your other tools can't reach.

Amazon just took the top spot from Walmart

Data visualisation for Market Mosaic by Rwazi Insights

For the first time in more than a decade, Walmart is no longer America's biggest company by revenue. Amazon has claimed the top spot after generating $717 billion in fiscal 2025.

Online stores stayed its largest segment, but the fastest growth came from advertising and Amazon Web Services, its cloud and AI infrastructure division.

The value-seeker is now the mainstream consumer

According to our data analysis, 47% of consumers globally, including 35% of high-income households, now behave as value seekers, regularly trading convenience for lower cost.

Price-value scrutiny has moved up the income ladder, and it isn't retreating with inflation.

For brands, the reflex to protect margin with premium positioning alone no longer holds the top of the market. The case for value now has to be explicit, even to the customers who used to pay without checking.

Everyone's rebuilding their supply chain. Almost no one can see across it.

Tariffs and trade volatility have prompted retailers to undertake the biggest sourcing rethink in years.

According to our data analysis, 87% plan to run nearshoring pilots in Mexico or Central America within two years, and most are moving away from single-country dependence toward layered, regional sourcing.

The catch is execution. Many struggle to align their IT systems, order management, warehouse, and transport platforms for real-time fulfilment across multiple nodes.

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