Ralph Lauren introduced Ask Ralph, a new AI-powered conversational shopping experience that invites consumers to engage with, and be inspired by, Ralph Lauren’s unique and iconic take on style. Blending advanced AI technology with Ralph Lauren’s timeless brand, Ask Ralph provides styling inspiration by serving up multiple, shoppable visual laydowns of complete outfits, personalized to a user’s prompts, from across available inventory within the Men’s and Women’s Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Ask Ralph begins rolling out today to Ralph Lauren app users in the United States.

Content creators have transformed affiliate marketing from a discount-driven model into a strategy built on trust and storytelling. This article explores how creators are leading this shift, what brands can learn, and how affiliate programs can now drive long-term community engagement over quick sales.

Affiliate marketing has evolved from static promotions to dynamic, engaging content with content creators in the mix. These trusted creators are now building deeper connections and changing the industry.

With Gmail and iOS now using AI to generate email previews before a message is even opened, marketers are facing a new frontier. You can’t avoid or ignore these changes. They’re already here. And they’re reshaping how we think about content, strategy, and measuring success.

AI Previews Are Changing the Inbox Experience

AI-generated summaries are often the first thing users see when they check their inbox. These previews aren’t just pulling the first few lines of your email. They’re interpreting your content, sometimes arbitrarily, and surfacing what they think matters most.

What if your best customers aren’t where your biggest budgets are spent? Research commissioned by Pinterest in collaboration with LiveRamp reveals that people on the platform spend 26% more annually than non-users, highlighting where high-value shoppers actually gather online.¹

Picture this: You launch a brilliant campaign and hit millions of impressions. Your dashboard lights up and your team celebrates. But if your definition of success stops at reach, you could be missing the real drivers of ROI.

How business leaders are enhancing personalization in the AI era? As businesses seek to drive consumer engagement amid competitive pressures, the science of personalization is changing. From evolving tried-and-true methods to embracing new technologies like agentic AI, today’s leaders understand that AI is key to realizing the true potential of personalization.

Apply Digital’s exclusive survey of business leaders and consumers reveals valuable insights about investment priorities, consumer sentiment, and where personalization is headed in the year to come.

AI holds massive potential for transforming retail — from driving operational efficiency to enhancing customer experiences. But without the right data foundation, that promise for growth and efficiency turns into risk.

In our latest guide, we highlight how the most competitive retailers are already using AI to improve efficiency, strengthen customer relationships. Brands looking to do the same need to understand the critical connection between clean, unified customer data and AI success.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first… Consumer expectations have shifted and there’s no single type of funnel that’s going to convert everyone. What really works is creating personalized experiences that focus on the micro-moments within the shopper’s journey and using those to influence and capture the customer––again, and again, and again.

This is what retention marketing focuses on, and some experts have suggested that it be renamed to “ re-acquisition” to highlight just how important it really is in today’s market.

Direct mail has traditionally been touted for its high response rate, and indeed more than two-thirds of US adults ages 18-54 report being likely to engage with direct mail from brands they have a relationship with. What does that look like in practice? As it turns out, a study [download page] from sg360° finds that on average, consumers believe they engage with 24% of their weekly direct mail.