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In focus
- Melissa Goh on treat culture and emotion-driven spending
- Shein’s 2024 report card
- Singapore’s GIC takes the offensive in lawsuit against Nio
Hello reader,
In 2001, Estée Lauder’s former chairman Leonard Lauder popularized the term “lipstick effect” – a phenomenon that dates back to the Great Depression – after he observed a spike in lipstick sales following the 9/11 tragedy.
Don’t underestimate those glamorous tubes of color. Or perfume and Labubu dolls, for that matter.
These might not be designer bags, but for many seeking a mood booster or a sense of normalcy in unsettling economic times, such palm-sized luxuries can offer just that.
Image credit: Arsal Ysfin
This week, Insights writer Olivia Plotnick discusses emotional consumption in the form of China’s milk tea chains that are drawing long lines. Accessible, affordable, and repeatable – these items and experiences that cater to our emotional needs may be driving the next wave of consumer demand.
Of course, not all brands stand to benefit from this shift.
In the US, Shein customers are already reportedly cutting back on purchases as tariffs raise prices on the ultra-fast fashion platform. This trend is expected to slow revenue growth this year in one of the firm’s largest markets.
For 2024, Shein’s most recent set of financials confirms what was expected: Profits shrank for the first time in three years even as revenue grew, my colleague Elyssa writes.
As the full extent of higher import duties play out in 2025 and possibly beyond, businesses and consumers all over the world are feeling its effects.
Till then, I’ll be sitting tight – perhaps with a cup of milk tea in hand.
Melissa Goh, senior editor
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