The CQ: The Influencer After Life and Rise of "Quiet Luxury"
What the Team is Reading and Talking About on Slack
The CQ is Forerunner’s weekly newsletter rounding up the most pressing consumer news and analysis, plus some bonus musing from our investment team. Subscribe now to get the latest edition in your inbox every Saturday.
By Forerunner
Our Top 10 Must-Reads of the Week:
What are teens into these days? According to the Piper Sandler survey of 5,690 teens, some of their favorite brands are Nike, Ulta, e.l.f., Rare Beauty, CeraVe, Chick-fil-A, and Goldfish. Their go-to app for transferring money to friends is Cash App. Food was the No. 1 wallet priority for males at 24% share; clothing was No. 1 for females at 28%.
More workers—an increase of 13.5% from 2021— are taking parental leave, thanks in large part to more access to government and employer benefits. Dads, in particular, are taking advantage. The number of fathers taking parental leave tripled to an average of 76,500 in the six months ended in February from five years earlier, whereas the number of women rose 11% to 336,000.
With Congress weighing a privacy bill and the FTC penning new privacy regulations, ubiquitous targeted online ads now have the target on them. And according to new studies, “the products shown in targeted ads were, on average, roughly 10% more expensive than what users could find by searching online. And the products were more than twice as likely to be sold by lower-quality vendors.”
What happens when creators are finally ready to move on from the personal brand they’ve worked so hard to build? Call it the influencer after life. The New York Times follows one ex-influencer as she forges a new path running a workshop to help guide other influencers through the process of leaving the industry.
Contrary to the stereotype, older adults 50 and up are into technology more than ever, spending an average of $912 on it last year, compared to $394 in 2019. They’re most interested in health wearables, home assistants, streaming services, password protection, and scam prevention. According to the AARP, 28% of older Americans own a wearable and 77% use it daily.
Biden’s new $1 trillion infrastructure law means there are tons of construction jobs. Problem is, there’s not enough construction workers. A big part of the construction boom is building U.S. factories. Thanks to green-energy incentives and worries about supply chains abroad, made-in-America manufacturing is back. But the factory business is in need of workers too, which is causing some to worry that labor shortages could lead these expansions to backfire.
The business of death is evolving. Estimated to be worth about $20 billion annually, the funeral services industry in the U.S. is expected to grow even more as the boomer generation passes. Because of newer generations’ desire for simplicity, sustainability and autonomy, there’s been a rise in cremations, “green” burials, and human composting, the latter of which saves a metric ton of carbon in comparison to cremation or conventional burial.
Piggybacking on the return of prep is “quiet luxury,” which, according to Harper’s Bazaar, is more of a lifestyle than a trend. “It’s old money, ‘stealth wealth’ and discretion rolled into one.” The Business of Fashion, The Cut, and even Forbes are weighing in on this timeless look that’s suddenly having a moment.
They may not necessarily be known for being good with finances, but Gen Z is outperforming other generations in starting their retirement savings. A new report shows that workers aged 18 to 24 in 2021 were 32% more likely to invest in their workplace retirement plan than their older colleagues were at their age. A major factor is automatic enrollment in their workplace’s 401(k) plan, which is more common these days than it was then.
Meanwhile, parents are paying the price of Gen Z’s lack of financial stability, with nearly 70% of parents with adult children over 18 are making sacrifices to help support their kids. Two in five have said they’ve dipped into their retirement savings to give money to their kids, while half have used their emergency savings.
Portfolio Highlights
Bennett Carroccio, co-founder and CEO of Canal, talks with Thingtesting about why brands should consider turning their websites into marketplaces.
Pavilion’s CEO and Cofounder Mariel Reed joins the Amazing Cities and Towns podcast to talk about how more private businesses can work on local government and community issues with technology, products and services.
Bazaar says Hims & Hers Multivitamin Gummies is one of the best hair, skin, and nail vitamins, according to dermatologists.
Travel & Leisure says the bigger Away carry-on is “worth the hype.”
Work at a Portfolio Company
Senior Product Designer - Mobile, Reproductive + Women’s Health | Oura: Oura helps people track all stages of sleep and activity using the Oura Ring and connected app to help people improve their sleep, understand their bodies, and transform their health. This role will design UX & UI for Oura mobile apps, focusing on evolving our Reproductive Health features to empower members to better understand their reproductive physiology and how it connects to overall health.
Head of Customer Experience | The Farmer’s Dog: The Farmer’s Dog is one of the fastest growing pet health service company in the US, born from a mission to change the landscape of pet health. This role will oversee the strategy, planning and execution of the customer experience function, providing the best possible service to our customers across multiple channels and transforming the foundation of our already beloved team into a scalable engine of customer understanding, effective communication, and an avenue for growth.
Customer Experience Associate | ShopShops: ShopShops is an online retail platform that enables shoppers to view, interact with and purchase goods from retail stores anywhere in the world through livestream video. The role will serve as our main point of contact for handling ShopShops customer inquiries, responsible for maintaining a positive attitude and focusing on customer satisfaction, determining customer needs, answering their questions about services and recommending the right solutions.
There are ~571 other openings on our jobs site. Check ‘em out.