Speaking of which… I talked about big tech and healthcare before.

"ByteDance joins fellow tech giants from Apple to Amazon that are exploring ways to digitize and disrupt the traditional health care industry."

Once again, healthcare is the new gold rush for tech companies.

Healthcare is the next gold rush for tech companies.

It's not the first time Amazon makes an acquisition in the health space. It acquired PillPack in 2018 and used it to launch its own online pharmacy, on top of developing Amazon Care, a telemedicine service.

The entrance of tech giants in this multi-billion market should benefit patients, by digitising and simplifying the way they access health services.

This is not without risks. Just to mention a couple:

🚫 Healthcare should care about patients first rather than stock growth.

🚫 On top of knowing everything about our online behaviour, tech companies will now know about our health condition.

What other risks or opportunities can you think of?

The fashion industry is at a crossroads.

On the one hand, ultra-fast fashion is booming, with brands like SHEIN and ASOS.com. But on the other hand, responsible buying is also getting momentum.

The global secondhand clothing market is expected to grow 130% by 2026, 3x faster than the global apparel market overall.

While for the past 10 years second-hand was dominated by general marketplaces, now brands and retailers are driving the next wave of growth.

In Europe, Zalando launched Zircle, an app for reselling clothes. Vinted is also among the market leaders.

We're seeing a shift from e-commerce to re-commerce. The same retailers who sold you a new apparel item via their ecommerce website, will now "re-commerce" the same item via the same website or a dedicated app.

Do you think second-hand will prevail over ultra-fast fashion?

And what about “traditional” fast-fashion like Zara and H&M?

Read more here.

The latest earnings report from tech giants like Alphabet Inc. and Meta show slower-than-ever growth. Meta even decreased revenue YoY for the first time ever.

The online advertising industry is under pressure, for the first time in 12 years.

Why?

🚫 Brands are reducing marketing spend in line with a slower market.

🚫 The privacy crackdown is damaging online ads' efficiency.

Is this a threat to digital marketers like me?

I would argue it's not: while the main players seem to be struggling, new ones are joining in.

✅ Amazon Ads is gaining momentum.

✅ Apple is heavily pushing its Search Ads product.

✅ TikTok is taking users away from Instagram and ad revenue with them.

✅ Netflix will soon sell ads via Microsoft, unlocking its immense inventory.

✅ Spotify is also growing, showing the power of audio ads.

Not to mention the metaverse and the opportunities it will bring.

Online advertising will just evolve, not stop.

Is Buy Now Pay Later a trap?

BNPL has grown hugely over the past couple of years, so much so that even Apple is entering the market.

But I am wondering whether it is what people need in these times of soaring prices and financial struggles.

More and more reports show that BNPL is growing in popularity among the financially vulnerable. With Apple joining the bandwagon, it'll be even easier for iPhone users to purchase stuff they can't afford.

It's still not clear what the Apple's business model will be, which makes me think there won't be any.

BNPL will be integrated into Apple Pay and doesn't have to be profitable. Why?

✅ BNPL is so popular that if available by default on the iPhone, it will push the smartphone sales even further.

✅ Apple is building its own fintech unit and can not let this go.

I can't help but thinking this can be very dangerous. Anyone agrees?

Appreciation post of a sunny Friday afternoon, only for music enthusiasts.

The 1975 are my all-time favourite band. They're back after over two years of silence, and I think there are some learnings we can all get from them.

1. If your product/skills are strong, people will wait for you.
   Time is on your side. Those who forget you after a period of silence are not good "customers". Better to avoid them.
2. You can innovate/grow while still being yourself.
   The 1975 have explored many music genres over their career, from sing-along pop, to heavy rock, house, ambient and more. But you could always tell it is a The 1975 song. Brands and professionals should learn from this. Innovation/growth doesn't necessarily mean "change".
3. Stay in your area of expertise.
   Once the pandemic broke through, The 1975 just disappeared from social media and public appearance. This was different from many other artists or public personalities who took word about the pandemic, although not being experts. Just do your job well and people will appreciate you for that.
4. Take brave decisions.
   The 1975 were supposed to go on a huge world tour in 2020 and 2021. Instead of constantly postponing tour dates, they took the brave decision of cancelling the tour for good. Now, after over two years, they're back with a new album and probably new tour dates.
5. Release a wintery music video during the hottest summer on record😀.

Who else here is a The 1975 fan?

I’ve been thinking how modern life in the western world has become increasingly complex to navigate, especially for young people.

I think that one of the main challenges we face is the abundance of options. We are led to believe that anything is possible, which is kind of true.

You want to travel to that beautiful island that you just saw on Instagram? I guess you can. You want to make more money? I'm sure crypto TikTokers have good advice for you. Social media makes you unhappy about your body? Plastic surgery is definitely an option. You're overwhelmed by the amount of seemingly available and beautiful men/women on Instagram? Easy, get a divorce and chase one of them.

But the paradox is that having too many options makes decisions harder.

How can I know what is best for me if anything is possible and potentially right and accepted? I feel like we’re losing track.

Now, that’s also what totalitarian governments tend to think, for example in China. I couldn’t help but agreeing with some of the measures the Chinese government has recently taken, regarding the use of social media, video games, the super-rich etc.
 For a brief moment, I thought that was the way. It’s hard to digest, but ultimately will make people happier.

Until I read more about it.

Unfortunately, fewer options mean that someone else chooses for you.

In China, there’s a deep mental-health crisis. Not only there, I would argue. But unlike in western countries, in China it is very hard to be treated properly.

This is because therapists are generally “controlled” by the government. So if you struggle with the heavy lockdown measures, a therapist will try to put the blame on you. If you’re in a marriage crisis, a therapist will convince you not to divorce. If your ideas clash with the government’s, you’re sent to a psychiatric clinic, as if you were ill instead of simply in disagreement.

I feel like we will need to put more and more effort into making the right choices, but this is the price to pay for our freedom.

After exploding during the pandemic, achieving triple-digit growth, things look a bit darker in Shein's future.

It faces 5 main challenges:

1. Decreasing purchasing power.
   Gen Z, Shein's largest audience, are for the most part still students and so particularly sensitive to inflation.
2. Gen Zers will eventually grow up.
   The web-only model led to incredible success, but it's also very sensitive to trends. In fact, Shein made a bid to acquire TOPSHOP TOPMAN in order to establish an offline presence. It didn't win, but it's an indication that the current business model might not be sufficient.
3. Regulation changes.
   Shein takes advantage of a loophole in the US law that spares low-value shipments (under $800) from high customs duties. But this might change soon in light of new tensions with China.
4. Concerns around forced labour.
   The US have recently taken further steps to fight forced labour in China. Shein might face a backlash in the west, just for being Chinese.
5. Concerns around sustainability.
   "Throw-away-fashion" is under scrutiny for its environmental implications. It's ironic how Shein's largest audience is Gen Z, who is also the most sensitive to climate issues. Will consumers eventually boycott it?

Can you think of any other challenge/risk?

Sources: Bloomberg, Economist

I admit I know very little about fashion. Even less about Gen-Zers' taste.

But as a marketing and ecommerce professional, I couldn't ignore the story of SHEIN, pronounced "She-in".

SHEIN is the web-only "enfant prodigue" that has taken the fast-fashion industry by storm. It's a Chinese giant valued at $100bn, but it doesn't look or feel Chinese. In fact, it doesn't even market to China!

With the US being its main market, revenue grew from around $3bn in 2019 to an estimated $20bn in 2021. Not bad!

Its market share surpassed H&M and Zara's combined, likely making it the largest fast-fashion retailer in the US. All of this, while being still relatively unknown to over 30s like me.

So what are the ingredients of its success?

1️⃣ A disruptive supplychain model.

2️⃣ Smart use of digital marketing and social influencers.

3️⃣ AI-driven design choices.

4️⃣ Tax and regulation loopholes, as well as avoidance of geopolitical controversies.

1. They are able to release 6,000 new SKUs per day, thanks to an agile network of geo-concentrated small Chinese manufactures.
2. On top of recruiting professional TikTok influencers, they take advantage of a large network of independent designers that can't wait to show to their friends their creations available on Shein.
3. Engineers constantly scrape the internet in search of the next trend. An AI algorithm processes the information and sends it to the suppliers, who then work on new designs almost instantly.
   ➡️ This is real-time fashion! ⬅️
4. The US-China trade war brought the Chinese government to introduce tax benefits aimed at online retailers who export to America, like Shein 😀. Plus, customers' orders are shipped directly from China in small, low-value parcels, which helps avoid expensive customs fees in the US.

However, SHEIN now faces several challenges. Find out more in my next post!

sources: Economist, Bloomberg, Fortune, Ben Evans' blog

Tech giants disrupted the internet, what's next for them? Healthcare!

This is where Google is placing its next "alpha bet" 😀

They are heavily investing in four broad health categories:

1. Wearables.
2. Health records.
3. Health-related artificial intelligence.
4. Extending human longevity.

Although many tech companies have ventured into the industry, none is investing as much as Alphabet is. I would also argue that no other company owns as much personal (and health) data as Google does.

We have interesting times ahead, driven by the tradeoff of personal privacy vs personal health.

What do you think are the challenges of such a future?