€2.2B JD–Ceconomy Deal, 400K Bitcoin Gift Cards, and 80% Mobile Traffic

Good morning, ! This week we’re exploring the consumer health playbook in Latin America. A new partnership unlocks BitCoin gift cards for 400K US retailers. In 2024, smartphones accounted for 80% of global retail website visits and generated more than two-thirds of all online orders.

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TREND OF THE WEEK

OTC Darwinism

Survival of the cheapest is rewriting the consumer health playbook in Latin America. As heatwaves spread mosquito-borne illnesses, governments are nudging consumers toward acetaminophen and away from riskier NSAIDs. But that’s just the fever talking. Mental health is driving growth in melatonin, CBD, and gut-friendly probiotics—which are now treating more than just digestion. With wallets shrinking faster than polar ice caps, consumers are swapping big-name vitamins for blister packs, generics, and private labels. Case in point: Ecuador’s probiotic boom, where stressed consumers are ditching digestives. The kicker? A good ad campaign still works—Allegra’s 13% surge in Peru proves that marketing trumps market trends, if done right. (More)

PRESENTED BY MODE MOBILE

You won’t find this stock on the Nasdaq

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Here’s why you want in: Mode’s completely rethought the smartphone by letting their users earn and save money simply by using their phones. Safe to say, it’s been a huge success. They’ve already reached 45 million customers, made $75M+ in revenue, and topped Deloitte’s “Fastest Growing Software Company” list.

Now, Mode’s leveraging partnerships with Best Buy and Walmart to reach even more of the world’s 7B smartphone users. It’s a $1T market opportunity in total.

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ECOMMERCE

The Smartphone is Eating Retail

If you’re not mobile-first, you’re last. By the end of 2024, smartphones drove 80% of global retail site traffic and over two-thirds of online orders. Categories like clothing, cosmetics, and entertainment now live in our pockets—with over 60% of purchases made mostly or always on mobile.

But don’t pull the plug on desktops yet. Travel and utilities still lean heavily desktop, likely thanks to larger screens and even larger price tags. Meanwhile, jewelry and food are still “in-person or bust”—perhaps because you still want to see a diamond sparkle or check if an avocado is ripe.

Key takeaway: Mobile UX is table stakes, but desktop still matters for high-consideration or high-risk purchases. Smooth cross-platform experiences aren’t a nice-to-have—they’re survival. (More)

DEAL OF THE WEEK

JD.com Makes a €2.2B Play for Europe’s Electronics Shelves

JD.com is betting big on Europe’s tech retail market with its €2.2B ($2.56B) acquisition of German electronics giant Ceconomy—owner of MediaMarkt and Saturn. The deal, one of the largest by a Chinese company in Europe in recent years, gives JD.com a controlling 57.1% stake and instant access to over 1,000 stores across 11 countries plus €5.1B in existing e-commerce sales.

Strategically, this is less about acquiring storefronts and more about exporting JD’s logistics and tech infrastructure into Europe. By pairing Ceconomy’s footprint with JD’s advanced delivery network, the company aims to speed up fulfillment, enhance omnichannel integration, and grab share from incumbents like Amazon in the high-margin consumer electronics category.

For investors, this is a signal that China’s e-commerce majors are shifting from domestic competition to cross-border market grabs—using M&A to shortcut brand building and local market entry. If JD can replicate its supply chain-driven efficiency abroad, this could be a template for future outbound deals in consumer retail.

Closing is expected in H1 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

Would you like me to also prepare a one-sentence tweet-sized insight on this deal for the newsletter’s social feed? (More)

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GIFT CARD CAFE

Bitcoin, Now in Aisle 5

Fold Holdings and Blackhawk Network are taking Bitcoin mainstream—via the checkout counter. Their new partnership will roll out Bitcoin Gift Cards to over 400,000 U.S. retail locations and online platforms, tapping into the $300B gift card market.

The pitch: make gifting Bitcoin as easy as buying an Amazon card. No crypto wallet, no blockchain jargon—just a familiar piece of plastic redeemable through Fold’s app. This not only lowers the barrier to entry for first-time crypto users, it also turns everyday gift card buyers into potential Bitcoin adopters.

Why it matters: With 47% of executives predicting growth in crypto gifting this year, the move positions Fold to capture transaction fees, expand its user base, and ride the broader trend of crypto integration into traditional payments infrastructure. For Blackhawk, it’s a way to future-proof its network as consumer finance habits evolve.

Bottom line: Bitcoin may still be volatile, but its on-ramp just got a lot more accessible—right next to the Starbucks and iTunes cards. (More)

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Social Feeds Are the New Storefronts

Social media is no longer just where trends start—it’s where carts get filled. In November 2024, 51% of consumers discovered a new product or brand via social platforms, up from 32% in 2022. This jump mirrors the rise of in-app shopping features and algorithm-fed discovery.

Influencers are now the front-line salesforce. 30% of consumers learned about a product from a creator in the past six months, up from 21% last year. These voices aren’t just “promoting”—they’re shaping trust, taste, and purchase intent in ways traditional ads can’t touch.

The catch? Purchases lag discovery. Just 17% of consumers bought a new product they discovered on social in 2024—a slow climb from 15% in 2023. Brands win when they bridge the gap: shorten the path from post to purchase, keep the click-to-cart frictionless, and meet buyers exactly where they scroll. (More)

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Roy T. Bennett