Trend Taster: romantasy edition
In this week’s edition of the Trend Taster, we round up the snackable trends, stats and insights from around the world, including:
romantasy
clothes repair services
X dislike button
dumb phones
noplace
Romantasy boosts 2024 print book sales
Print book sales rose 1.1% in the second quarter of 2024, driven by significant gains in the adult fantasy genre, due to an increase in interest in romantasy. Adult fantasy sales soared 85.2%, with adult fiction sales up 6.3% due to increases in science fiction and thrillers. Meanwhile, graphic novel sales dropped 16.1% compared to their 2022 peak. This slow improvement suggests a potential end to a two-year sales decline.
The rise of clothing repair services
With only 10% of the UK population confident in repairing clothing and 60% wanting more eco-friendly services, M&S is launching a clothing repair service as part of its Plan A sustainability roadmap. The "M&S fixed by SOJO" hub will debut this month, in partnership with Sojo, to address the issue of rising textile waste.
Will X get a dislike button?
X, formerly Twitter, is developing a downvoting feature to improve reply rankings but wants to avoid becoming a “hivemind like Reddit.”. Recent findings suggest it may resemble a "dislike" button, shown as a broken heart icon next to the "like" button. The feature, currently tested on replies, aims to promote better responses and discourage anger-driven content.
Gen Z wants dumb phones
A Morning Consult survey shows that 42% of both Gen Z and millennials show a preference for non-digital devices, driven by discontent with current screen time, indicating a shift towards analogue-inspired status symbols. Interest in "dumb phones" is higher among Gen Z adults (28%) and millennials (26%) compared to U.S. adults (17%), Gen Xers (13%), or baby boomers (9%).
What is “noplace”?
Aiming to revive the social aspect of social media, the new app noplace has topped the App Store after launching publicly. Targeting a younger audience, noplace offers customizable, colourful profiles where users can share their activities, interests, and more. The app has gained popularity for its nostalgic, Myspace-like customization features, allowing users to personalize their profiles with tags or "stars" related to their interests, such as astrology signs or hobbies. Unlike Facebook, noplace focuses on text-based updates and uses AI to provide suggestions and summaries, creating a global group chat experience.
