Ayzenberg Junior Strategist Ashley Otah recounts this week’s trends including everyone’s favorite time of the year: Spotify Wrapped season!

Afterpay

Shifting shopping habits. Black Friday in-store shopping is up by 442%, with a 34% increase in orders through the Afterpay platform this holiday season year-over-year. These purchasing habits reach beyond fashion and beauty and seep into fitness, footwear, and more. With compounding factors such as supply chain issues, inflation, and more at play, shopping habits will continue to change, and brands must adjust accordingly.

Block

The name game. Square, a financial services company, has recently changed its name to Block a month after Facebook’s move to Meta. The name change underscores companies’ need to redefine themselves as consumers are being inundated with campaigns, brand mission statements, and slews of products daily. The action may continue to be necessary for brands across many verticals to cut through the clutter and better reflect their purpose in real-time.

‘I Hate U’ SZA

TikTok made me listen to it. American singer and songwriter SZA officially releases a Soundcloud experiment thanks to the power of TikTok. The colossal rise is not the first instance a song has resurged, or an act has become prominent beyond the confines of the platform. The platform continues to be a space to watch as it has a heavy hand on cultural moments, including music. So much so, many songs nominated in major categories for the upcoming Grammys have gone viral on the TikTok platform.

Spotify Wrapped

Data done right. As the week rounds out for everyone’s favorite holiday (Spotify Wrapped), the discussion for the highly-anticipated round-up continues. The unique blend of product and experiential marketing has created a cultural moment many brands hope to achieve and even partake in. Although entrenched in user data, consumers feel connectivity and actively share their charts each year. As legislation passes and Google abandons third-party data in 2023, brands must strategically navigate information regarding their customers — a great way to do so is by making consumers feel their data is safe and included in the process.

Twitter

Need for new policy. Twitter to ban sharing of private people’s videos and photos without consent. The platform will now let private individuals request takedowns of content featuring them. A significant step in how not only users but also brands interact with and navigate content and tracks with demands for privacy and transparency.