How to Capitalize on Digital Status Symbols
The Signal: Billions of bored, restless people stuck at home has been a massive boost for the gaming industry. From March to April alone, Microsoft reported a 130% increase in multiplayer engagement. Twitch, the most popular video game streaming platform, saw a 50% increase in gaming hours watched (to 1.49B hours).
The Nintendo Switch gaming console is also having its day in the sun — it is sold out everywhere, leading to tons of sales (sometimes at 2 or even 3x the $299 pricetag) on eBay and Craigslist.
But the spending doesn’t stop there: People are also making in-game purchases of virtual goods. Player spending on Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, a relaxing game that lets you live a virtual life on a deserted island, reached an all-time high in April of $7.9m. What are gamers spending on? A camping chair will set you back $12, while you can expect to pay as much as $17 for a telescope (assuming $0.05 / “Leaf Ticket”: the in-game virtual currency).
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Don’t press snooze on this opportunity: sleep supplements
The signal: As meditation becomes mainstream, people may be surprised to find that searches for sleep apps double their meditation counterpart. As people invest in getting a better night’s rest, there’s opportunity abound, including physical products like weighted blankets or premium PJs, supplements, popular insomnia drugs having their patents expire, companies paying their employees to sleep better, marketing for sleep specialists, or online sleep education (ex: sleep apnea test has 27k searches per month).
The alternative milk market is getting frothy
The signal: As more people wave goodbye to dairy, alternative milk is slowly taking over; it has already cornered 13% of the market. With the exception of soy milk, all of the alt-milks have been on the up, with some of the newer entrants including hemp milk and pea milk. Other alt-products are getting attention, including cashew cheese, with 18100 searches per month.
Capitalizing on the Airpods market, making more money than Shopify
The signal: Since killing the headphone jack, Apple has graced the world with AirPods, which did an estimated 60m units in 2019. That means AirPods alone are bringing in approx ~$10b in revenue, more than Twitter, Shopify, or Spotify, to name a few popular tech giants. Opportunity lies in Apple opening up SiriOS or the wave of iPhone accessories (including cases, cleaning kits, hooks, and keychains) which have shown “hockey stick” growth alongside their hardware predecessor.
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