Let’s try to find some good news today, if only for the challenge. We can start with this FitForCommerce report on leading retailers, which found they were steadily adding digital services even before the pandemic. Since 2016, the number offering online purchase for in-store pickup doubled from 33% to 66% while Web display of in-store inventory rose from 39% to 67%. An impressive 69% offer next day delivery and 20% offer same day delivery. Remember when those were crazy talk?

Spending your budget on privacy tech instead of cool things like trigger campaigns and personalization? OneTrust is offering a collection of free tools for data mapping, data access requests, cookie consent, and more. That’s free as in free beer and if there are limits, I couldn’t find them listed.

It’s tough to get brand safety right, but the industry keeps trying.  IPG Mediabrands announced a new set of tools to find and block inappropriate ad placements, while IAS expanded its suitability measurements to include standards from the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).  Meanwhile, DoubleVerify admitted a mistake made brand safety on X/Twitter look worse than it really was in October 2023 and March 2024.