Good afternoon,

Here’s the headlines for this week: 17 January 2025

ECOMMERCE

Amazon Prime will no longer let clothes shoppers 'try before you buy' after this month

• Amazon will discontinue its "Try Before You Buy" Prime program on January 31, 2025, citing limited scalability and increased reliance on AI-powered features like virtual try-on and personalized size recommendations.
• Launched in 2018 as Prime Wardrobe, the service allowed members to try up to six items, return unwanted ones for free, and pay only for what they kept.

CONSUMERS

Why more Americans are gardening as Trump returns to the White House

• Concerns about potential tariffs under President-elect Trump, particularly on imports like produce and steel, are driving Americans to grow their own food to combat higher grocery and equipment prices.
• Community and individual gardening efforts are surging as people seek self-reliance, sustainability, and cost-effective ways to manage food supply amidst economic and political uncertainty.

Duolingo sees 216% spike in US users learning Chinese amid TikTok ban and move to RedNote

• With the upcoming U.S. TikTok ban, millions of users have migrated to the Chinese social app RedNote (Xiaohongshu), driving cultural exchange and sparking debate over Chinese data privacy concerns.
• Duolingo saw a 216% spike in U.S. users learning Mandarin in January, as RedNote's Chinese interface prompted TikTok refugees to adapt linguistically.
• Duolingo's U.S. downloads surged 36% in early January, with its app ranking rising sharply as users prepared for the transition to RedNote.

TECH

Google’s search market share drops below 90% for first time since 2015

• Google's global search market share fell below 90% in the last three months of 2024, marking its first dip under this threshold since 2015.
• The decline, particularly in Asia and the U.S., saw competitors like Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo gaining some of Google's lost share.

TikTok’s last stand: Supreme Court weighs ban as deadline looms

• TikTok faces a critical deadline to either separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or cease operations in the US, with the Supreme Court poised to decide on temporarily blocking the "divest-or-ban" law following January 10th oral arguments.
• The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed by President Biden, will take effect before the transition of power to President-elect Trump, who has unexpectedly urged the Supreme Court to delay enforcement to negotiate a deal.

Everything Meta has changed in the last week in its shift to the right

• Fact-Checking and Political Content: Meta replaced third-party fact-checking with a user-driven "Community Notes" system and is reintroducing political content, sparking praise from conservatives and criticism from employees and global leaders.
• Diversity Rollbacks: Meta ended DEI programs, removed transgender themes and loosened rules around anti-LGBTQ rhetoric under simplified content policies.
• Leadership and Operational Shifts: Leadership changes include Nick Clegg's departure and Joel Kaplan's promotion. Trust and safety teams are relocating to Texas.

41% of companies worldwide plan to reduce workforces by 2030 due to AI, with roles like postal clerks, executive secretaries, and payroll clerks expected to decline fastest.

• While 77% of companies aim to reskill or upskill employees to collaborate with AI, demand is growing for roles involving AI tool design and integration, with 70% planning to hire workers skilled in AI development.
• Generative AI is both replacing certain knowledge-based jobs (e.g., graphic designers, legal secretaries) and enhancing human-machine collaboration by augmenting human skills, highlighting the importance of human-centered abilities.

Amazon to halt some of its DEI programs: Internal memo

• Amazon is scaling back some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs as part of a review to focus on initiatives with measurable outcomes and better integration into existing processes.
• The company aims to wind down outdated DEI efforts by the end of 2024, unifying employee groups and fostering a "built-in" inclusive culture rather than standalone programs.
• This move aligns with a broader trend among corporations, including Meta and Walmart, responding to increased legal and public scrutiny, particularly following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action.

BRANDS

How Coca-Cola is making AI fears part of its new campaign

• Coca-Cola's new ad, "Westside’s Finest," integrates AI to address cultural fears surrounding technology, paralleling past concerns about computers in the 1970s, using AI mainly for backend programmatic ad targeting.
• The ad is part of the "Proud Sponsors" campaign, highlighting Coca-Cola's beverage portfolio, with Hollywood talent such as Kenya Barris and a focus on multigenerational appeal.
• Coca-Cola's marketing approach has shifted towards fewer but larger initiatives, using programmatic ads more strategically and emphasizing sharper storytelling to drive consumer action.

RETAILERS

Target to add 2K items to wellness assortment, including 600 exclusives, across categories like beauty, health, nutrition, wellness tech, and activewear, with more than half priced under $10.

• New items will be strategically placed in prominent store locations, with online shoppers receiving personalized recommendations and curated deals.
• This expansion is part of Target's ongoing strategy to offer affordable, wellness-focused products, including collaborations with influencers and celebrities, like Ashley Tisdale and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

ADVERTISING

TikTok to Debut a Travel-Specific Ads Product for Brands

• TikTok is testing a travel-focused advertising product, "Travel Ads" or "Catalogue Ads for Travel," aimed at targeting users actively planning trips. This is TikTok’s first product based on a travel intent model, designed exclusively for travel brands.
• TikTok's audience has diversified, with an average age now over 30. Travel-related content is booming, with hashtags like “luxury travel” drawing millions of views, and TikTok users spending more per trip compared to other platforms.
• TikTok drives destination discovery, with 83% of users gaining travel inspiration from the app. It also helps combat overtourism by highlighting alternative destinations, while brands like Booking.com excel by engaging TikTok’s communities effectively.

Amazon Ads launches Amazon Retail Ad Service

• Amazon Ads has launched a beta service enabling retailers to display contextual, relevant ads directly on their online platforms. Built on AWS, it helps retailers improve shopping experiences, drive engagement, and scale advertising efficiently while maintaining data security. Participating retailers include iHerb, Oriental Trading Company, and Weee!, with Tilly's leading the launch.
• Retailers control ad formats and placements while advertisers benefit from streamlined management through the Amazon Ads console or API, consistent reporting, and access to advanced ad tech, including machine learning models for targeted ads.
• Retailers retain data control within their AWS accounts, and ad measurement is conducted using AWS Clean Rooms for privacy-enhanced, anonymized reporting, ensuring secure collaboration between retailers and advertisers.

Wickedly over-the-top brand collaborations are the entertainment industry’s new normal

• Over-the-top brand collaborations, like those surrounding the Wicked movie, are becoming common, with companies like Aldo and Beís tapping into the blockbuster marketing trend to increase brand visibility and consumer engagement.
• These partnerships offer benefits for both brands and studios, combining fan engagement with valuable audience data to target customers more precisely and create memorable cross-promotions.
• While successful collaborations can lead to a significant lift in brand demand, there is a risk of backlash if the partnership feels forced or irrelevant to the movie’s theme, as seen with some of the Wicked collaborations.

MARKETING

The Decline and Fall of the Viral Microtrend

• The rapid rise and fall of viral fashion microtrends on platforms like TikTok are slowing, as consumers are experiencing trend fatigue and moving away from constantly labeling and chasing fleeting aesthetics.
• While microtrends remain a tool for brands, there is a shift towards more sustainable, longer-lasting themes like personal style expression and basics, with retailers focusing on trends with longer staying power.
• The decline of microtrends highlights a shift in consumer behavior, with a growing focus on evergreen storytelling, cultural relevance, and dressing for specific events rather than adhering to short-lived trends.

See you next week,

The ChannelSight Team

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