George Michael could be joining Elvis, KISS, and Abba as acts whose legacy will quite literally live on in the form of hologram shows. Consider our Faith in technology restored.
Scroll down to read more about little luxuries, Legoâs legacies, and the surprising history of the Apple Watch.
Stats to power your week
đȘ As some retailers roll back their self-checkouts, itâs important not to get the wrong idea about the tech â it might have its shortfalls, but most consumers like them. 73% think self-checkouts are easy to use, 63% think they make shopping more efficient, and 49% would rather shop at a store with them. GWI Zeitgeist
đ„ The Super Bowl is just a couple of weeks away, and the guacamole-bound avocados are ripening as we speak. 2024âs event will see even more traction on social media â thereâs been a 75% increase in the number who expect to use it to get live updates on the game compared to last year. As we covered in our 2024 predictions, short-form video will play a big part in this. GWI Zeitgeist
𧱠This Sunday is International Lego Day, marking 66 years since the first patent for the iconic brick was filed at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. Not only is it the most popular toy we track amongst 8-11 year olds around the world, itâs had a lasting impact over the years, with a quarter of architects visiting the Lego website in the last month. GWI Kids & GWI Core
â What counts as luxury for people without much money? The data proves itâs little things the rest of us take for granted - right down to a cup of decent coffee. In fact, low-income consumers in the UK are 34% more likely to say that getting a latte and the like is a luxury for them. GWI Luxury
đȘ§ Englandâs first ever anti-ageism campaign launches this month, drawing attention to a form of discrimination that doesnât always get much media coverage, but is recognized and felt by consumers. 1 in 5 in the UK believe that addressing ageism should be a priority, putting it 4th in our list of social causes. GWI Zeitgeist
Whatâs on our radar
Every week brings more mixed reactions to companies using AI, with the latest Square Enix game and Selkie fashion brand being the most recent examples. And while the viral success Palworld is unlikely to be an âAI productâ, itâs telling that a lot of people think it is. All of this shows how important it is for brands to keep on top of changing consumer attitudes to this evolving technology so they can manage audience expectations. Wink wink nudge nudge.
Staying with AI, books written with the help of ChatGPT are now winning prestigious awards. And if smartphones made everyone a photographer, could new AI tools make everyone a music composer?
Just when inflation looked like it was under control, disruption in both the Panama and Suez Canals could lead to another bump in prices.
As consumers continue to make clear they feel TV streaming services are too expensive, we might start to see more competitive bundle options.
Yet more visibility for people with disabilities as Spain updates its constitution to pursue policies that guarantee their social inclusion, and Primark unveils its first adaptive clothing range.
Chart of the week
The Stanley Quencher phenomenon continues to live in our heads rent-free, so it got us thinking: have any other products shifted from mostly male to mostly female buyers?
The answer is yes, and the Apple Watch is an intriguing example. When it launched in 2015, most buyers were classic early adopters: high-earning, frequent-flying men, who know their way around VPNs and read newspapers like the Financial Times. In the first year Apple Watch was on the market, it was actually more popular with BlackBerry owners than iPhone owners.
Come 2023, itâs a different story. The biggest buyers now are proper Apple superfans, mostly female, with a penchant for high-end activewear and outerwear brands like Lululemon and Moncler. Still high earners to be sure, just not to the same degree.
Whatâs becoming clear is that Apple sowed the seeds for this way back, with initial marketing for the device focused more on beauty and fashion than pure tech. That might be something to keep in mind when the Vision Pro is released next week.
Local lowdown
The bronzed Emerald Isle
Often covered by clouds blown in from the Atlantic, Ireland is one of the least sunny countries in Europe. As people living there adapted over generations to produce more vitamin D with less sunlight, people of Irish descent became some of the most fair-skinned in the world â all thanks to a specific genetic mutation.
But today, thereâs a lot more choice in how you protect or enhance your skin tone. That might explain why consumers in Ireland are now the most likely to wear bronzer and use self-tan products of any country we track. And itâs not just women either â Cillian Murphy has been known to apply bronzer in order to highlight his cheekbones. As if they needed any help.
More from GWI
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