Signals

US – Spotlighting the wasteful nature of product hype in the fashion and luxury sectors, apparel brand Ballyhoo is providing an alternative model through its anti-ostentatious garments. It seeks to cut through marketing buzzwords and introduce a dialogue about over-priced products that are desired due to having a sought-after label.

Prompting customers to question why they might be willing to pay large sums for branded clothing, Ballyhoo is launching a range of t-shirts priced from £0.72 ($0.99, €0.84) to £730 ($1,000, €849) with 100 editions of each price label. All t-shirts produced are limited-edition pieces made from high-quality organic cotton, with the only difference being the price displayed on each logo. This allows customers to showcase how much they’ve spent on a Ballyhoo t-shirt, reflecting the brand’s tagline: ‘Are we buying fuss or fabrics?’

And with the brand noting that its cheaper t-shirts sold out first, people are evidently happy to pay less for this anti-hype proposition. Through this approach, the brand echoes the consumer mindset shifts that are re-imagining hype.

While meal kits proved to be a popular option for US consumers during the pandemic, a new report from Coresight Research has found that the market is now decelerating. The research shows that meal kit growth rates will drop drastically but are still expected to outperform the total US grocery market.

The research predicts a growth rate drop for meal kits from almost 70% in 2020 to 18.2% in 2021. This comes alongside predictions that sales in the overall US grocery market will fall by 2.8% in 2021, while online food and beverage sales will rise by 11%. The report also outlines that this growth reflects the increasing competition faced by meal kit providers.

As many consumers change their shopping habits back to physical stores, there is reduced demand for the convenience of meal kits. But some customers are likely to continue their pandemic dining behaviours and enjoy the discovery element of such subscription-based services.