In former times, convincing Americans that they needed a new product or service was fairly easy. Billboards, newspaper ads, radio and TV commercials and sponsorships did the trick. As soon as a business had enough cash flow, it bought advertising because that's what brought in more customers.
Fast forward a couple of generations. The newspaper is extinct. People are immune to the wiles of mass media advertising, and it’s the end of a lengthy transition in which consumers' shopping habits changed drastically, and goods and services purveyors struggled to catch up.
The reason for the upheaval was a little innovation people called "the internet."