In his latest serving of sense, Mark Ritson has been writing about ‘maximiniflation’ and brands shrinking packs while simultaneously raising prices.
Consumers are, understandably, less than pleased by the double-dip into their wallets. But when unit demand is declining and costs keep climbing, what can brands do instead?
“The common theme here is that transparency preserves procedural fairness: “you told me, now I decide”. Even if the outcome is financially identical, shoppers judge upfront communicated price rises as fairer, making them more likely to stay and less likely to go or turn nuclear.”
I reached a milestone last week. For the first time in my life, I described myself as “down with the kids”. And I meant it. I was proud, even. Which I think means I’ve moved on a lifestage.
(I’ve just about wrapped up the ensuing existential crisis and I’m now totally cool with it. *says as she cries into her pension planning leaflet.*)
But after reading Vogue Business and Archrival’s report into Gen Z and their shopping experiences, it’s fair to say I’m not as ‘down’ as I thought:
“After a few years where the ease and convenience of social commerce took over, the pendulum is swinging back. Gen Zs are now driving a counter‑movement away from mindless shopping and the doom increasingly associated with it as they seek out consumer experiences, apps and communities that demand more conscious, active effort and participation.”
In moments of uncertainty, would you rather be seen as decisive even if it led to a negative outcome, or indecisive if it led to a positive outcome?
Interestingly, 77% of the corporate leaders asked chose decisive and negative. But for frontline public-sector workers, the pattern reversed. Sam Conniff has some thoughts on why that might be:
“It’s tempting to reach for easy answers. Life-and-death decisions. Moral superiority [...] Perhaps what we’re seeing isn’t about Bad Business vs. Heroes, but about time horizon [...] We’re optimised for speed, certainty, and appearance in systems that increasingly need patience, ambiguity, and outcome thinking. In an uncertain world, leadership may be less about having the answer and more about holding air cover for others to work sh*t out. Holding uncertainty long enough for better decisions to emerge and absorbing pressure so that teams don’t default to false certainty to relieve discomfort.”
An old, but creamy gold piece from David Gluckman, one of the inventors of Baileys, on how the product came to be. Turns out it was created in 45 minutes, using supermarket ingredients and named after a Soho bistro. Just skip over all the parts about them ignoring the market research, please 🤪
How likely is 'likely'? A quiz to see how you interpret probability phrases. I think there’s a fair chance I’m an optimist.
All your drinking glasses will be wearing little paper hats. A short guide to every business-hotel room.
Our first map of the year! Where are Americans choosing to move to and where are they leaving?
Bon weekend,
Fran