Coffee prices are still rising, leaving Italians “afraid and panicking.” 57% of them drink espressos, which explains the bold headline but also begs the question: who doesn’t partake in Italy’s unofficial national drink? With just 45% of Gen Z indulging, we fear it’s the younger generation letting the side down again.
Scroll down to read about climbing, carp, and AI skeptics in advertising.
Stats to power your week
🛶 How do we measure if a sport had a “good” Olympics? One way is by looking at how much viewership exceeded consumers’ expectations. Canoeing, for example, had a standout performance at the Games despite it being only its second appearance. While 9% of consumers originally planned to watch according to our March survey, an impressive 18% said they actually tuned in after the event. GWI Zeitgeist
🏢 Optimism around AI is pretty high among business professionals, with 72% expecting it to make a positive impact. But not everyone shares the enthusiasm – especially in the fashion industry, where 24% see AI as a negative influence, and in advertising, where 29% share similar concerns. GWI Work
⛴️ Over the last year we’ve enhanced more of our data sets by including respondents aged 65 and over with GWI Travel offering the latest to benefit from the upgrade. Yes, older vacationers like their cruises, but we found something even more unexpected – they’re much more likely to book trips without saving first. They’re not as budget-conscious as you might think. GWI Travel
🔮 We’ve written before about a trend in our data of a growing interest in astrology – but just who are the biggest stargazers, anyway? It turns out one of the biggest predictors of an interest in astrology is expecting to get engaged in the next 6 months. Could they be manifesting a ring? GWI USA
🎤 Pop quiz: what’s the most watched podcast episode of all time? Elon Musk and Joe Rogan? Gwyneth Paltrow on Call Her Daddy? Maybe one of ours? Wrong all around. That honor goes to a 2023 interview in Arabic with relationship and communication skills trainer Yasser Al Hazimi. Podcasts are making waves in Arab countries, with sharp increases in listenership in Morocco (+160% since 2021), Egypt (+70%), and Saudi Arabia (+44%). GWI Core
What’s on our radar
OpenAI has released its new AI model, o1, which essentially represents a breakthrough in how well they can “think” through problems and prompts. There’s a good thread here if you want more details on the kinds of things that are now possible, or look here for o1’s impressive performance on “Only Connect” questions.
OpenAI is also running a collaboration at a New York gallery that gives artists early access to its unreleased video tools. It’s worth keeping an eye on how much these kinds of high-status partnerships increase demand and acceptance of AI-generated content. Elsewhere in AI video, Adobe is adding video generation to its software, and Runway has an intriguing new video-to-video feature.
After images, music, and video, the next frontier of AI-generated content may come in gaming. Tencent’s GameGen-O might be the first step towards an AI game engine, while there are otherdevelopments on the horizon.
Back in “regular” games, there are some eye-catching developments in Roblox this week after announcing a partnership with Shopify that will allow players to buy physical items in the game. On top of that, the brand plans to give a higher share of revenue to creators on the platform.
Trends don’t always follow a straightforward pattern – sometimes they go away for a while, before coming back in a different form. A great example of this is self-driving cars (one of the original AI hype trains). Now Uber is offering trips in driverless vehicles in more cities, while Chinese firms are hoping to challenge the market the same way they have with EVs.
There’s only one Trevi Fountain, but lots of people in the world who’d like to see it. “Over-tourism” is the word typically used to describe this heightened demand for coveted travel spots, and it’s getting talked about more. Rome is debating charging access to the renowned fountain, while Greece is looking at implementing cruise taxes for some of its most popular islands.
There was a really intriguing development behind the glitz and glamor at the recent Apple event. AirPods will soon be able to function as an over-the-counter hearing aid, which could really shake up the market. Elsewhere in accessibility, footwear retailer Schuh has launched a single shoe initiative aimed at consumers with limb differences.
Chart of the week
In recent years, more online platforms have faced bans, suspensions, or threats of bans across various countries. So, what happens next when something does get banned? Our data can offer some insight.
When Wikipedia was banned in Turkey for nearly three years, usage dropped sharply once the ban was introduced, and rose once it was lifted. But there was a spike after the ban – likely from users circumventing the ban with VPNs or accessing mirror sites, which did eventually taper off.
What’s happened since the ban was lifted in 2020 is almost ironic. The number of people visiting Wikipedia has dropped for other reasons, like zero-click search results (where Google provides answers without needing to click into a Wikipedia article). The net result is the number of visitors now is almost as low as it was then the site was actually banned.
Local lowdown
The Czech Republic and other animals
Mexicans are the most likely to own a dog, Russians are the biggest cat owners, but Czechs are the leaders for the option in our Core survey called “other pets.” But what exactly are these mysterious “other pets”?
The likely answer: fish. Despite being landlocked, and consuming less seafood than many other European nations, the Czech Republic is one of the world’s biggest exporters of tropical fish. The chance to earn a bit of money through breeding them, and to introduce a touch of nature into small urban apartments, have both been cited as historical reasons for their popularity.
But there might be an even deeper reason behind the Czech fondness for fish. Aquaculture (specifically carp farming) in the region goes back hundreds of years, with monks originally creating ponds to ensure a steady supply of fresh water. Fast forward to today, and carp is still the centerpiece of a Czech Christmas Eve meal. As for whether the carps that are kept in bathtubs over December are classed as pets, we’re not too sure.
