The Weekly 10: marketing, media and industry statistics to know now — July 10, 2024 edition

From the share of people who skip videos because of ads to the projected growth in back-to-school spending, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now.

The share of people who’ve skipped a video or left a website because of ads, according to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted by All About Cookies in partnership with Pollfish, per MediaPost. Additionally, 42% of respondents said they’ve paid for premium subscriptions to a site or streaming service to avoid ads.

The cost for items on Sonic’s new value menu — dubbed the FUN.99 Menu — which includes a mix of entrées, snacks and desserts, per Food & Wine. The move follows the launch of new value menu deals by other fast-food chains, including McDonald’s and Burger King.

The share of Google searches in the U.S. that result in zero clicks (i.e., when a user ends their search without clicking on any results), according to data from Datos analyzed by SparkToro, per Search Engine Land.

Projected 2024 sales of “romantasy” novels (a merging of fantasy and romance) — up from last year’s $454 million — according to Circana data, per Bloomberg.

Projected U.S. sales for this year’s back-to-school season, marking a year-over-year increase of 3.2%, according to new data from eMarketer. At $28.34 billion, e-commerce sales are expected to account for nearly 35% of all back-to-school sales.

The record number of self-checkout terminals delivered to retailers globally in 2023, for a year-over-year increase of 12%, according to a report from RBR Data Services, per Retail Dive. With the U.S. leading the way, installations of self-checkout terminals are expected to reach 2 million globally by 2029.

The record-breaking amount that’s expected to be spent on political ads in the U.S. by the end of the 2023-2024 election cycle — a 20% jump over 2019-2020 — according to AdImpact’s latest “Political Projections Report,” per The Hill.

The number of ZIP Codes across 48 states and 400 locations that Ace Hardware’s handyman business, Ace Home Services, covers as of June, per Retail Brew. The expansion follows years of efforts by the hardware retailer to build out its home repair and licensed-services offerings, which now include plumbing, painting, electrical and more.

The amount for which Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC will acquire rival luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, per The Wall Street Journal.

The projected annual global sales across the weight-loss drug market by the early 2030s — up from previous estimates of $100 billion — according to healthcare analytics firm IQVIA, per Reuters.