🧁 Welcome to the Little Treat Economy™
Groceries are the new splurge, Airchat gains popularity and Uber Eats tests an exciting new feature.
Welcome back, Scanner!
It’s been a minute since we last hung out (our team has been traveling the world, everywhere from Copenhagen to Hawaii), but now we’re back and ready to get scanning. Whether you spent the month soaking in the desert sun at Coachella or watching the WNBA on the edge of your seat, there’s been a lot going on. So grab yourself a little treat and let’s get scanning.
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Let’s go.
📅 CURRENT
Voice Notes Users: Your Time Has Come
What’s changing?
Airchat is the latest Silicon Valley darling, a new app that marries the simplicity of the X (formerly Twitter) feed with the audio-first format of Clubhouse. The best part? Your voice note is automatically posted once you release the audio/video button. Will Airchat be a joyous way to explore a stranger's innermost thoughts or an insufferable, rambling nightmare? Time will certainly tell – if you can get an invitation. Once in, you're brought into a minimalist feed of text blocks that are transcriptions of audio bytes. The app automatically jumps from voice note to voice note, with options to play/pause in the lower corner.
Why does it matter?
Airchat is still really new, so we don’t know who the main demographic will be on the app yet. While we know Gen Z loves voice notes, seeing if they adopt the platform will be interesting. So far, we’re seeing tech enthusiasts, venture capitalists and journalists flock to the platform. The audio/text format is exciting and could have some ties to the desire for audio content that requires less focus, sonic branding and even community building.
What could happen next?
Is there a market for Airchat? Does it fill the gap for folks who want to listen to podcasts but don’t have the time or attention for it? Or those who don’t want to deal with the soul-crushing brightness of TikTok’s inundation with HDR video? Could it also indicate social media’s move from music to original, sonic branding? Does it also have appeal because it allows digital audiences to hear or read how someone speaks (unedited)? Airchat creates a new way to connect online in a casual, intimate setting (that you can join from your couch). It’s not all about aesthetics (at least, so far), it’s about connection.
Scan-o-meter: 📅 📅 📅 / 5
🎯 SPECIFIC
We’re In the Little Treat Economy
What’s changing?
Everyone knows the cost of everything has been rising – especially groceries. A most heinous new headline by Business Insider claims: Millennials and Gen Z’s trendy new splurge: groceries. While it is written like the title of a dystopian nightmare, the article isn’t wrong. But inflation isn’t the only culprit here. According to a February report from McKinsey & Company, millennials and Gen Z selected groceries as their top splurge item for the year. A clever troll by these often sardonic generations? Maybe not. Millennials are becoming parents and prefer high-quality snacks and beverages over cheaper offerings. Gen Z is doing the same, though primarily for themselves. For both generations, picking out “little treats” (like fancy sodas and random snacks from Trader Joe’s) accounts for the bulk of their bill.
Why does it matter?
Why are millennials and Gen Z opting for more expensive products and treats over nights out? While a “little treat” is key, these treats are quality items Gen Z and millennials are willing to spend on. They’re savvy about quality. Think about skincare becoming the new makeup – these generations are looking for quality ingredients that make them look and feel good. So, it’s not surprising that they are putting their dollars toward quality treats that taste good.
What could happen next?
If millennials and Gen Z are focused more on quality than flashy purchases, what does that mean for your brand? For retailers, this one is an easier option (small, high-quality trinkets, snack-size foods, accessories…), but for digital brands, it’s a bit harder. Could you create an enticing free product? Make a closed community that rewards users with exclusive content (like the new YouTube Members Only Shorts feed)? While you ponder that, drop your favorite little treat in the comments below!
Scan-o-meter: 🎯🎯🎯 / 5
When looking at signals or trends, it’s just as important to look at the why behind a trend. “Little Treat Economy” may seem fun, cute and novel to jump into – but we also want to think about the mindsets consumers (aka people) are in when a trend starts or accelerates. Keeping this in mind will ensure we are tailoring what we create to speak to and motivate our complex audience.
– Alyssa Yuhas, Arcade’s Futurist in Residence / LinkedIn
😲 SURPRISING
Uber Eats Is Taking Inspiration from TikTok
What’s changing?
Uber Eats is adding a TikTok-like short-form video feed to their app to help restaurants get discovered (and show off their dishes). The new feed is being tested in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto before its worldwide launch. Uber Eats is now one of many apps adopting a short-form video feed (including Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Netflix). Short-form videos will be placed throughout the app and open to a video feed once clicked. You will only see content from restaurants close enough to deliver to you.
Why does it matter?
This signal is cool because we know the motivation of audiences going on UberEats (they’re hungry)! On other social platforms, you never quite know your audience’s motivations. Are they on the app to look for places to connect with friends? To research for a trip? To get interior design inspiration? To be entertained? All restaurants can hope for is that their digital audiences will remember them when they are ready to go eat or order food on an app. But now Uber Eats is providing restaurants with an audience that has a clear pain point: they want food now. Now the question is: What type of content will make someone press “order?”
What could happen next?
Who wouldn’t love an Uber Eats short-form video client? For agencies, this could provide a whole new media channel to work with. For restaurants, this creates a “restaurant only” content playground to explore. Are these the “niche communities” we’ve discussed in previous editions? Uber Eats supplies a niche community of people with one goal (eating). Restaurants get to take the content and effort they put into other apps and push it out to a highly targeted audience. Where else could apps and online spaces become more utilitarian and “niche?” Where could we be taking our content outside of social media?
Scan-o-meter: 😲😲😲😲 / 5
🔍 TREND REPORT IRL
Updates from our Trend Forecast
We loved sharing our first Trend Report with you back in January. As the year goes on, we’ll continue investigating signals that further the conversation around our forecast. Here’s what we’re watching this week:
People want (guaranteed) value: Everyone says they want a long-lasting shoe, until it lasts for too long.
People want close friends only: Billie Eilish added everyone to her close friends list, and then removed them.
People want to feel something: The women’s college basketball final broke records.
🤔 BEFORE YOU GO
To help keep these signals top-of-mind, we share 1 question to ask yourself (or your team) in each edition. Your question to mull on this week is:
See you next time 👋
We hope you got yourself a little treat after you sent this 😌