Mallrats and Finsta Justice

“Goldman Sachs banker turned Gen Z VC”

Sep 30

New here? Join thousands of execs from CAA, Facebook, Nike, and Depop and subscribe to After School, a daily newsletter about youth culture.

Luxury fashion is embracing the great outdoors, you’ve heard of streetwear but what about streetcare, Robinhood is partnering with Snapchat, “Goldman Sachs banker turned Gen Z VC” (how’s that for a personal brand?) launches TikTok game, and join me in “committing to end finstas.” 😈

US SHOPPERS GET A JUMP ON THE HOLIDAYS, WITH 40% SHOPPING EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR AND 22% ALREADY STARTED

Some worthy insights from Klarna’s 2021 pre-holiday report.

Actually, malls are good?: Gen Zers (44%) are more likely than all other age groups (millennials: 38%, Gen Xers: 30%, Baby Boomers: 28%) to hit shopping malls this holiday season.
BNPL mania: Gen Z, millennial, and Gen Xers are more likely to pay for gifts with debit (59%) over credit (50%), and the majority also are looking for flexible payments (Gen Z: 75%, Millennials: 76%, Gen X: 60%). (Feels like a good time to mention that Mastercard launched its own BNPL this week; Visa and Discover are in on it, too.)
Good news for NTWRK, et al: 71% of Gen Z and 69% of millennials say that they’re interested in checking out livestream shopping events this season.

Read the rest here and here.

↳ In other Klarna news: They just published a Gen Z report on WWD — and it is sponcon, so, you know, grain of salt and all that — but it has some solid data on young consumers. (“70% of Gen Z believe they can be part of a social movement even if they participate only through social media and, therefore, their personas on social media tend to stand out for being more authentic and spontaneous — and less filtered and curated.”) wwd

GEN Z’S PARADE UNDERWEAR BRAND VALUED AT $140 MILLION IN LATEST DEAL

To find their “next 1 million customers,” they’ll be focusing on third-party retailers, as well as opening a brick-and-mortar in Soho this fall. “We’ve established a cult-like following online but our next stage is really ubiquity,” says CEO Cami Tellez. bloomberg

ARE CHARM NECKLACES THE NEW TIES?

The answer to the question is, of course, no, but the trend is undeniable. wsj

GOOGLE JUST MADE SEARCH MORE VISUAL AND SHOPPABLE

“The objective was to craft an experience that makes it easier for consumers to window shop for their favorite brands and come across new ones.” I think their other objective is to better compete with the Wirecutters, the Strategists, and all the other commerce affiliate sites out there. wwd / retaildive

↳ WPP, Snap establish AR Lab focused on linking augmented reality with commerce. marketingdive

FACEBOOK LIED TO SENATE ABOUT INSTAGRAM'S HARM TO TEENS, SENATOR SAYS

Hoo boy. gizmodo

Tomorrow for subscribers, I’m digging into Madewell’s new ThredUp pop-up in Williamsburg, which just so happens to be a 7 min walk from my apartment (I timed it). I will not tell you how many times I’ve been in the last week since it opened, but I will say: many!

Plus, as always, a recap of youth consumer headlines this week, as well as everything I’m reading, watching, hearing, and buying (everything *beyond* circular Madewell goods, that is).

Upgrade here, if you’d like!

One last thought: