Announcing Our Newest Report

Generation Shift Happening. A Gen Xer would likely be heard saying something like, “I can’t love the Ramones as much as I want to, because they were such sellouts.” Meanwhile, Gen Zers are praising Doja Cat for selling out and admitting it. 

She made a TikTok talking about the rap “jingle” she had to make for Taco Bell that was “contractual” and later shared her “monstrosity of a beat” that she made, adding that if her fans didn’t like it, she understood.

From brown-gray to beige. Pilot is launching a $1 billion remodel initiative across its stores. We’re just hoping they preserve the nostalgia of brown-gray tile and black grout lines with the faint smell of urine and pork rinds.

More Sights & Sounds. Walmart is hiring 50,000 associates across its stores, as well as 5,000 new tech team associates. Kodiak Robotics is hauling freight autonomously from Texas to Oklahoma City as part of a partnership with third-party logistics giant Ceva Logistics. New data from Adobe shows that online spending will pass $1 trillion this year. Instacart will now enable you to buy ingredients for recipes you see on TikTok so you can theoretically have a dinner ready tonight that you saw on TikTok this afternoon. The Zuck revealed at SXSW that Instagram is working to bring NFTs to its platform. And Netflix raised its prices and has now announced that the company will be cracking down on password sharing.

Leather is still in demand. Hermès leather handbags are in such demand that the company is planning to open two new workshops in France to keep up. The leather goods workshops will open over the next five years.

Fans, Fighters, Holyfield: Lend me your ear. If you recall, in 1997, Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear during their infamous boxing match, referred to as “The Bite Fight.”. Since then, the two have reconciled. Now Tyson has launched some ear-shaped cannabis edibles, complete with the bite mark that matches what Holyfield’s ear looks like today.

More Palate News. Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks is retiring in April and Howard Schultz is coming back as interim CEO. Chipotle is testing out an AI robot corn chip maker, named Chippy. Chippy joins their existing AI concierge website and app chat bot, named Pepper. And KFC Japan is giving away 100 portable phone chargers in the likeness of Colonel Sanders to fans who shout out their KFC love on Twitter. We should also mention that these Colonel action figures stand 13 inches tall.

The time, it might be a'changin’. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to approve Daylight Saving Time as our permanent time. No more falling back in November or losing an hour in Spring. For this to actually happen, the legislation would still have to pass through the House and be signed by Biden. But if it passes, we’ll be planning a fall farewell party in November as it will be our very last “hour gained” ever. The legislation wouldn’t go into effect until November 2023. Maybe next up in the queue is the International Fixed Calendar? Here’s hoping for Sol.

Economic News. The Federal Reserve is positioned to raise interest rates in order to combat inflation, due to economic uncertainties surrounding the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. If the increase happens, borrowing costs will go up for consumers. And last week, Biden signed an executive order to accelerate the development of a central bank digital currency, meaning the government may issue a stablecoin in the near future. This, after China issued its own CBDC, the digital yuan, and forced retailers and brands like McDonald's to accept it prior to the start of the 2022 Winter Olympic games.

Russian News. The White House briefed 30 TikTok influencers on the situation between Russia and Ukraine in an effort to fight misinformation. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky gave a moving address to Congress today, and soon after, President Biden announced the US will send $800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine.