August 21, 2025
This Week in CX: AI Is Making Decisions for You
Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.
This week, we explored how AI is reshaping healthcare decisions, the latest trends in workplace etiquette, and why trust in creators and customer experience is on the rise this holiday season.
We’re also discussing new updates from The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Pop Mart and more.
Key news
- Can Louis Vuitton, purveyor of four-figure handbags and ultra-expensive travel trunks, push consumer price limits any further? It appears determined to try. The luxury label presented its debut foray into beauty this week, with a lineup that includes lipsticks for nearly €140 (£120) – roughly double what rival Hermès charges for its lip products. At a time when much of the luxury sector is slumping, some cynics call the launch “rage bait”, but Louis Vuitton tells The Wall Street Journal it’s a play for all-important first-time customers.
- Airbus’s A320 series is set to overthrow Boeing’s 737 as the most-delivered commercial aircraft in the world, a crown Boeing has held for almost 40 years, Bloomberg reports, citing data from aviation consultancy Cirium. As of July, the European planemaker is only 20 units short of overtaking Boeing’s lifetime lead of 12,175 shipments. US-based Boeing has experienced recent setbacks tied to rising tariff-related costs, safety challenges and delays prompted by employee strikes.
- Labubu dolls may be intentionally grotesque, but there’s nothing ugly about the earnings parent company Pop Mart reported this week. The Chinese toymaker said first-half revenues tripled to nearly $2bn and net profit soared 400%. Pop Mart derives 40% of its revenue outside China and is now more valuable than giants like Mattel, which makes Barbie. The success has spawned knockoffs, including one labelled a choking hazard.
- Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have ambitious plans for long-duration space travel, but face a critical challenge: orbital refuelling. According to The Wall Street Journal, achieving their deep space dreams will require building a space propellant depot capable of refuelling Blue Origin and SpaceX spacecraft in orbit. The difficulty lies in transporting and storing the supercold propellants, as they are susceptible to boil-off and difficult to manage. Efforts by SpaceX were tested in 2024, but progress was delayed due to setbacks, including an explosion in June.
CXM news stories
Here’s the full news stories that CXM have reported on in the past week. Learn all about the latest news about AI in healthcare, modern office etiquette, and the latest shopping trends everyone should be aware of.
Holiday Shopping 2025: Consumers Start Earlier, Spend Smarter, and Shop from the Couch
Holiday shopping is kicking off sooner than ever. According to Simpli.fi’s report, holiday advertising spend is now 24 times higher than in previous seasonal peaks, highlighting a major shift in both consumer behaviour and brand strategy. Almost half of shoppers are now starting their holiday buying before November, Adobe for Business data shows, signalling the end of the traditional Thanksgiving-to-Christmas shopping window.
“Every year, the holiday shopping landscape is different than the year before, and success hinges on the ability of brands to adapt swiftly,” said James Moore, Chief Revenue Officer at Simpli.fi. “Successful marketers need to adjust their strategies accordingly.”
The report, based on more than 140,000 monthly advertising campaigns, attributes this early shopping surge to three converging trends: the growing adoption of buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) platforms, heightened retail anxiety, and the rise of the “couch to cart” shopping phenomenon fueled by streaming TV ads.
Buy-Now Pay-Later Powers Up Purchases
BNPL services are changing not just when people shop but also how they complete their purchases. With flexible payment options, shoppers are more likely to finalise their carts instead of abandoning them—helping retailers lock in early-season sales.
Additionally, economic uncertainty is also accelerating the shopping timeline. More consumers are turning to summer sales events to secure deals ahead of inflation spikes or product shortages, a sign of ongoing caution in spending behaviour.
From Couch to Cart
The living room is becoming the new shopping mall. Shoppable streaming TV ads, complete with QR codes and direct purchase links, are fueling real-time conversions. According to Simpli.fi’s dashboard data, streaming-driven consumer actions—like site visits, button clicks, store visits, and actual purchases—increased 51% year-over-year from 2023 to 2024.
In 2025, effective holiday campaigns mean starting earlier, leaning into flexible payment promotions, and capitalising on streaming’s shoppable ad power. Those who adapt fastest will capture the shoppers who are already checking items off their lists well before the holiday rush.
