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I Want Somebody to Phubb
Happy Friday fellow futurists!
I want to meet you at eTail West! Join us. We here at Future Commerce HQ are putting on multiple events in LA and Palm Springs area at the end of February, and we want to see you there.
SAVE THE DATES:
📅 February 27 - March 2: We’re playing a large role at eTail West this year. Phillip will be hosting a fireside chat with Skechers, and moderating a “Bullshit Bingo” session. Have hard questions about Web3, NFT, and Livestream Shopping? ASK US. Plus, we’ll be podcasting our little tushies off.
📅 March 3: Calling all CPG Founders! We’re co-hosting the SLUMBER PARTY OF THE CENTURY with our friends from CPGD. RSVP now, only 40 spots available.
📅 March 2-4: Our next Archetypes Pop-Up is happening in LA on Abbot Kinney. We’re partnering with a brand to help you discover your inner Outlaw or Lover. Shhh, it’s not officially announced yet but you, our loyal Insiders audience, get the inside scoop.
📅 June 9: (Editorial update) We just released an exhaustive list of the best eCommerce, DTC, and retail newsletters. Let us know what you think.
— Phillip
P.S. check out our exclusive interview with Ian Lesliie, the once-and-future CMO of Industry West. We get the full scoop of his time at Bolt, and we go deep on his plans in his return to the role he left just 18 months ago. Listen now.
Goop Be Gone? Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop is starting to sag a little, and it appears that the desire for celebrity wellness brands, in general, is fading. TikTok may have been part of this shift, as users can access a broader range of opinions and reviews of wellness brands. Meanwhile, Courtney Cox has launched a new room deodorant spray, which is apparently a first-of-its-kind, new idea.
Podcasts Are So Two-thousand-and-late. Podcasting is changing as it approaches middle age. Stats show an 80% drop last year in new podcast creation, which may be affected by Spotify’s increased role in production. Nonetheless, this trend hasn’t slowed the quantity or quality the top eCommerce podcasts <- check out our latest rundown.
More Sights & Sounds. Twitter has increased the character limit for Blue subscribers to 4,000 — in the words of our own Erin DaCruz: A great day for thought bois, a sad sad day for the rest of us. Paypal’s CEO will retire at the end of 2023. Fabuloso recalled nearly 5 million bottles of its cleaning products, citing possible bacterial contamination. Google shares plummeted by $100 billion on Wednesday, after a factual error was made by the company’s AI tech in a debut demo.
Serious or Satire? MSCHF has released its Big Red Boot into the fashion world, and the footwear is making waves for its absurdity. The company says the boots are not a joke, however, and is declining interviews while noting: “What’s interesting is that we’re at a moment in time where it doesn’t have to be.” There are also implications in psychology that shoes are a way we non-verbally communicate our values to each other. That is, if our values are “Anime Elmo.”
More Celebrity Slumps. And while we’re talking cartoon-y shoes… Yeezy was a ZIRP. Adidas shares are dropping and the company is unable to sell the remaining Yeezy inventory. And while we're talking about Yeezy, looks like Ivy Park may not be a great spiritual successor… as sales of Beyoncé's streetwear line are waning.
Haute Hoagie. Introducing: the BAGuette by Panera. It’s the perfect size for stowing away that sub or hoagie that you wish to chomp on at parties or sneak into a movie. And in lime green, it's the ultimate discreet foodie fashion statement.
The Brassica of the Christ. Chick-fil-A is unveiling its first “plant-forward” entree, the Cauliflower Sandwich. It looks nearly identical to the classic chicken sandwich, but features — you guessed it — cauliflower, instead of poultry. The sandwich is not vegan, or even vegetarian, as it’s made with milk and eggs. It’s simply, plant-forward.
(You Get the) Best of My Phub. A new study of "phubbing," the practice of ignoring your partner while on your phone, has finally been quantified. The study establishes a metric for unhappiness based on how often they are phubbed: the Partner Phubbing Scale (PPS).
Cover Photo by Shawn Fields on Unsplash
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