17 December 2025

Hi folks,

It’s our final newsletter of 2025, so we’ve wrapped up a festive selection box of insights from a dozen of our datasets - bite-sized looks at the trends that defined this year, and a look ahead to the ones lined up for the next.

Scroll down to read about airport lounges, Asahi, a new role for tablets - and we’ll see you in 2026. 

Stats to power your week

🪓At the start of this year, TikTok was meant to be on the chopping block in the US. Instead, it’s stretched its lead among younger consumers: the share of American teens calling it their favorite social platform is up 26% year-on-year. GWI Kids

🤖Helped by huge built-in reach on X, Grok is one of the year’s biggest movers. The share of X users who turn to it has more than doubled over the past year. GWI Core

🏢Enterprise AI is evolving fast too. ChatGPT had first-mover advantage, but Google’s tight integration with Gmail and Workspace is paying off, with usage among business professionals up 146% in the last year. GWI Work

♟️On your next flight or commute, have a look around for any imminent checkmates. Chess participation is up 12% year-on-year, and there are now around as many chess players as runners worldwide. GWI Sports

📦In the gaming world, the steady growth of Roblox remains impressive. Its player base has grown by 22% in the last year, and it now commands as many players as the Pokemon franchise. GWI Gaming

💺International travel is easier, busier – and a little more status-conscious as a result. One marker of that: a 23% year-on-year rise in people wanting lounge access as part of their travel loyalty perks. GWI Travel

🥜Is bougie back? In the snack aisles at least, it might just be. Purchasing of organic snack items is up 16% year-on-year, hinting at a return to little everyday luxuries. GWI Core Plus (UK)

🍺After Guinness rode a frothy wave of enthusiasm for Irish culture in 2024, what drink came next? Chances are you had an Aperol summer, as we saw the share who consider the orange liqueur to be trendy go up by 22%. GWI Alcohol (US/UK)

📕Tablets don’t make many headlines these days, but they’re quietly hosting one of the more interesting tech shifts. Using them to read books is up 21%, while other entertainment is down – a possible sign of people trying to reset their relationship with screens. GWI Consumer Tech

🍎Apple News is one of the biggest movers right now, with the share of Americans who browse it up 63% over the last year – giving Apple a much bigger role in how people stay informed. GWI USA

🔌One of 2025’s standout stories has been the breakneck rise of electric brand BYD beyond China. In the UK, the share of people who’ve heard of it has risen 145% since 2024. GWI Automotive

🎁In the absence of 12 drummers drumming, we’ll end on a suitably festive trend that might help any last-minute shoppers. Buying food and drink as a gift is up 28% since last year, while cosmetics gifting is down 19%. GWI Moments

Chart of the week

Sometimes it’s worth sanity-checking the stuff we all take for granted. When we stack holidays by how “very important” they are to their celebrators, we can confirm Christmas sits at the top of the tree. Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day come closest, but there’s still clear daylight between them.

For planners and brands, it’s a reminder that while the calendar is crowded, there’s still one moment that most people build the year around. Merry Christmas from all of us at GWI, we’ll see you in the New Year.