Industry Insights and Reports

Memorial Day weekend lands on Monday, May 25, 2026, opening one of the most aggressive sales events on the U.S. retail calendar. With more shoppers planning to participate but spending less per trip, the next two weeks will reveal which retailers, categories, and days deliver real savings, and which discounts simply look loud.

You add a pair of jeans to your cart, get distracted, and close the tab. Ten hours later, an email lands in your inbox with the subject line "Forgot something? Here's 15% off." That email was scheduled for you, on a timer someone set 18 months ago, and every retail category has its own version of it.

I lead product marketing at Decodo, where we tracked 1.5K products across 120 retailers in 40+ countries throughout 2025, and here’s what we found about cart abandonment discounts.

On 4 April 2026, Anthropic blocked Claude Pro and Max subscribers from using OpenClaw and other third-party AI agent frameworks under their flat-rate plans. The change forces affected users onto pay-as-you-go billing, with some facing cost increases of up to 50 times their previous monthly spend. Here's what happened and what you can do about it.

Retailers are quietly adjusting the prices you see based on your ZIP code, browsing history, and device type. The FTC calls it "surveillance pricing." New York just became the first state to mandate disclosure when algorithms set personalized prices. As this practice scales globally, proxies and web data collection solutions are emerging as the key tools for both competitive intelligence and regulatory enforcement.

Sony has been quietly testing dynamic pricing on the PlayStation Store, showing different users different prices for the same games. First spotted by a Reddit user and later confirmed through API tracking, the experiment now spans over 190 titles across 70+ regions. Here's what we know so far, how it could affect your purchasing decisions, and what savvy shoppers can do to make the most of it.

In 2025, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) handled a record 6.2K domain name disputes, marking the highest total in the organization's history. This figure represents a continuation of the alarming upward trend, with cybersquatting cases rising 68% since the 2020 pandemic. Domain squatting has evolved far beyond a simple trademark nuisance. Today, criminal networks register fake domains to steal customer data, distribute malware, and destroy brand reputations built over decades.

The morning after Black Friday, Sarah Chen had buyer's remorse. She'd grabbed a skincare set from Ulta on Friday for $14, thinking she'd scored a deal. But by Monday, she watched the same product drop to $12. By Wednesday, it hit $11. She'd paid 27% more than patient shoppers who waited just three days.

An exclusive analysis conducted by web data company Decodo, with data collected starting from Black Friday (28 November 2025) through early December 2025, exposed a phenomenon where the days after Black Friday matter as much as the day itself. For millions of shoppers, the question isn't whether they got a good deal on November 28. It's whether they should have waited until December.

The talk around whether the UK government could put a ban on ticket resale above face value is set to reshape the live events industry, from secondary ticketing platforms to artists and venues, with fan fairness at the center of the new rules. Decodo, a leading web data collection provider, has commented on the latest proposals to reform the ticket resale market, revealing the impact on key stakeholders.

As the biggest shopping festival of the year approaches, a dynamic shift occurs across thousands of online storefronts. Prices fluctuate by the hour, algorithms compete for consumer attention, and shoppers equip themselves with AI-powered price trackers and browser extensions. Black Friday has grown from a single-day shopping event into a months-long strategic tango between retailers and increasingly savvy consumers.

An exclusive analysis by web data company Decodo of 150K+ price observations across 37 major US eCommerce retailers, tracked throughout the year, reveals the complex strategies both sides deploy. The data paints a picture of a retail ecosystem in constant flux, where timing, category selection, and pricing algorithms can mean the difference between a genuine deal and clever marketing tricks.

The EU is on the verge of a vote that could change the way businesses handle data and digital communications. The "Chat Control" proposal has been making headlines, mostly around consumer privacy, but its ripple effects go far beyond individual users. If passed, it could force organizations to rethink how they secure communications, manage data, and maintain customer trust while navigating new regulatory and reputational risks.

Last year, we launched the industry's first Most Scraped Websites report, which examined the platforms most widely utilized as data sources and identified key trends in publicly available data collection. This year's edition reveals how increased demand for AI tools, agents, and LLMs has driven companies to diversify their data sources, reshaping the landscape of most-targeted platforms.

With growing discussions around tighter regulations and potential restrictions on VPN use in the UK, many businesses are already seeking alternatives to avoid getting caught in the crackdown. Proxies have quickly become the go-to solution for those who need reliable access to geo-restricted content or want to maintain control over their digital footprint without facing possible restrictions.

From emerging trends and consumer behaviors to potential risks, external data allows companies to gain a holistic view of the market. Access to data and tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) has shifted how businesses make strategic decisions, using data to accelerate business growth and operational efficiency.

Read on as we uncover how companies have seen measurable results and increased revenue, as well as the top red flags to watch out for.