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Retro Is Back, Baby

Retro is back, baby. We break down how to capitalize and make old school the new cool.

MAR 28, 2022

The Signal: In the wise words of Ethan, “What’s old is new again.” (And no, we’re not talking about that flannel shirt he’s crazy about.)

We’ve recently covered the (glorious) resurgence of direct mail and print media. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the bigger trend of all things retro.

Subscribers to the r/Retro subreddit have doubled since 2020, and r/80sDesign has hit 84k+ subscribers. Retro search terms are going wild on Amazon — examples of US 90-day search volume increases, per Jungle Scout:

“Retro home decor” +150%
“Retro games” +103%
“Retro mini fridge” +96%
“Retro kitchen” +56%

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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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