The CQ | The new must-have for overwhelmed kids, & AI defeats Drs at diagnosing illnesses
The Forerunner Team's Must-Reads of the Week
The CQ is Forerunner’s weekly newsletter rounding up the most pressing consumer news and analysis, plus some bonus musings from our investment team. Subscribe now to get the latest edition in your inbox every weekend.
What We’re Talking About on Slack:
$500,000 Pay, Predictable Hours: How Dermatology Became the ‘It’ Job in Medicine. The WSJ looks at how Americans’ newfound obsession with skincare has medical students flocking to this specialty in lieu of positions in clinics or doctor’s offices. The many headlines about provider burnout, as well as the ongoing rise of the wellness industry (which increasingly includes beauty to science, and everything in between) directly underscore this.
A.I. chatbots may defeat doctors at diagnosing illness. A small study involving 50 doctors found that ChatGPT on its own outperformed all doctors at diagnosing medical conditions, scoring an average of 90% compared to 74% with human doctors. Surprisingly, the group of doctors who were allowed to use AI only did slightly better at 76%. As for why the doctors who used AI didn’t not get higher scores: “It turns out that the doctors often were not persuaded by the chatbot when it pointed out something that was at odds with their diagnoses. Instead, they tended to be wedded to their own idea of the correct diagnosis.”
Credit is harder to access as rejection rates rise, Fed survey shows. Rejection rates increased to 21% from 20.1% last year—a notable jump from the pre-pandemic rate of 17.6%. Mortgage application rejections rose 8.6 percentage points to 20.7%, while auto loan rejections hit their highest level since 2013, at 11.4%. The number of people who said that they are likely to apply for at least one type of credit in the next year declined from 25.9% in 2023 to 23.1% in 2024.
AI data centers could make your electric bill go up by 70% by 2029, says a new report. In Northern Virginia, which has the highest concentration of data centers, one price metric for peak demands in 2025 increased from $29 to $444 per megawatt-day. And in Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia, monthly residential bills are expected to increase between 11% to 19% starting in June, compared to the usual increase of about 2%. “Because the demand for AI is constant—these data centers run 24/7, demand doesn’t cease—the peaks and valleys you normally see across the 24 hours of a day, they’re getting narrower and narrower. There’s just less capacity in the system.”
Amazon debuts a discount store with everything under $20 to take on Temu and Shein. The new “Amazon Haul” storefront, accessible through the mobile app, will sell everything from $1 eyelash curlers and $3 nail dryers. Like Temu and Shein, the products will be imported directly from China with an average of two-week delivery times as opposed to its typical same-day or two-day shipping offered through Prime.
More people are dropping out of the creator economy as those at the top get a bigger share of brand deals. This drop is attributed to factors like a slowdown in paid brand partnerships, increased competition, and reduced viewership as people have returned to more in-person activities. The average monthly income of content creators, excluding partnerships, is now only 20% of a typical full-time worker's income.
The number of older adults who lost $100,000 or more to fraud has tripled since 2020, the FTC says. The number jumped from 1,300 adults 60 and older to 4,600 in 2023. Last year, more than $1.9 billion was reported lost, compared to $1.6 billion in 2022 (though the FTC says the real amount may be closer to $62 billion due to underreporting). Older adults were 60% more likely than younger ones to report losses exceeding $100,000 last year due to investment scams (particularly involving crypto), romance scams, and imposter scams. “Such thefts can be especially devastating to older adults, who have less opportunity to earn back what they’ve lost, greatly impacting their quality of life in old age.”
While many other retail chains are closing stores, Walmart keeps growing with shoppers making more than $100,000 a year. In the last quarter, the company reported an 8.2% rise in profits, noting that households earning over $100,000 accounted for 75% of Walmart's gains. The brand has attracted higher-income customers through improvements in its grocery business and a broader product assortment, using its scale to bring down prices. And to compete with Amazon, it’s beefed up its online offerings and operations, which paid off with a 22% bump in online sales in the last quarter.
Women get less exercise than men. It’s a problem. A recent study showed that only 33% of women meet weekly exercise recommendations, compared to 43% of men. With the majority of family and household responsibilities traditionally falling on women, many struggle to prioritize working out, and according to the Gender Equity Policy Institute, women have 13% less free time than men. “They make the time for themselves when there is no one else to be taken care of.” This exercise gender gap impacts women’s health, leading to higher rates of conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and depression.
The new must-have for overwhelmed kids: an executive function coach. Executive function (EF) coaches help struggling students develop skills in areas like time management, prioritization, and problem-solving. “The rise in demand for student EF coaches coincides with a rise in ADHD diagnoses and mental health problems in young people. Technology is fragmenting kids’ attention, and student life has become far more demanding. Juggling school, sports, extracurriculars, volunteering, and college admissions requires careful time management.” But at $125 to $225 an hour and not usually covered by insurance, EF coaches are a service few parents can afford.
Portfolio Highlights:
Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Fierce Healthcare, CNET, and Forbes cover Oura’s partnership with glucose device maker Dexcom, which has invested $75 million in Oura’s Series D funding. Oura’s CEO Tom Hale appeared on CNBC Squawk Box to discuss the partnership.
Duckbill is recognized as Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech.
Jennifer Koen, Daydream’s head of marketing and communications, joined a panel on shopping’s next frontier at the Vogue Business Future of Shopping Summit.
Founder and CEO of Wonder Marc Lore visits the Strictly VC Download podcast to talk about his plans for the future in light of the acquisition of Grubhub. Meanwhile, Eater gives a rundown of Wonder, past and present.
Inc. profiles Pie founder on his new startup and the country’s loneliness crisis.
Glossy 2024 Beauty Awards finalists include Prose for Best Custom Beauty Brand and Arnaud Plas of Prose as Beauty CEO of the Year.
There are ~633 jobs currently available at portfolio companies, check ‘em out.