November 12, 2024

Nearly ten years ago, soda seemed to be losing its appeal with consumers as public health campaigns warned against sugary soft drinks and schools took soda out of vending machines and off of lunch menus. After per-capita consumption of soda among Americans fell to a new low in 2015, Coca-Cola and Pepsi started expanding their product lines to include diet sodas, flavored water, and energy drinks. With so many healthy choices available, industry insiders began to assume that consumers who Continue reading

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November 5, 2024

Redbox launched its video rental kiosk business back in the early 2000s when the industry was still dominated by chains like Blockbuster. While brick-and-mortar stores charged $2 to $5 per night, customers could rent movies at Redbox for just $1 since the kiosks were much cheaper to maintain than physical locations. Customers also liked that Redbox operated 24/7, functioning more like a vending machine than a retailer. By 2007, the company had more U.S. locations than Blockbuster. Redbox peaked in Continue reading

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October 29, 2024

With sunny weather, beautiful views, and lots of open space, California is one of the country’s most popular settings for music festivals. Thousands of people travel to the Golden State every summer to attend dozens of festivals — including Coachella, the most-attended annual music festival in North America. However, it’s getting more expensive to run a music festival in California as the cost of living keeps going up. Prices for transportation, accommodations, labor, and refreshments have skyrocketed above the typical Continue reading

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October 15, 2024

Since the discovery of DNA’s structure in the 1950s, scientists have predicted a future where doctors could analyze a patient’s genes to identify and even prevent certain diseases. The medical industry seemed to be moving closer to that goal in 2007 when 23andMe became the first company to release a direct-to-consumer genetic test. Named for the 23 pairs of chromosomes in human DNA, 23andMe analyzed saliva samples from customers to show their ancestry and predispositions to diseases like cancer and Continue reading

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September 10, 2024

Dollar stores are famous for low prices. Even when economic times get tough, discount retailers usually continue to do well because they draw customers looking to pay less than they would in a typical store. But that’s changing as customers have less money to spend, and now dollar stores are struggling to stay in business. For instance, Family Dollar recently announced it will close 1,000 stores over the next several years while 99 Cents Only filed for bankruptcy this year Continue reading

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August 16, 2024

For most of the past decade, the language learning app Duolingo has ranked as the top education platform on Apple’s App Store. Most people download it for free, with only a small percentage of users opting to pay for a yearly subscription. So how does Duolingo manage to earn more than $500 million in annual revenue? Along with examining the roles that advertising and AI play in Duolingo’s success, the video below also explains how the app keeps its dedicated Continue reading

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July 26, 2024

Retailers once considered July to be a slow month as regular customers spent their money on travel and other activities rather than shopping at local stores. Then Amazon created Prime Day, a 48-hour sales event that turned the middle of July into a bonanza of consumer cash for the e-commerce giant. This past Prime Day was Amazon’s biggest yet, with the company racking up $14.2 billion in sales over the course of two days last week, an 11 percent increase Continue reading

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July 19, 2024

From grocery stores to fast food drive-throughs, today’s consumers pay a lot more for food than they did just a little while ago. In the years following the pandemic, food and beverage companies steadily increased prices to compensate for soaring commodity and labor costs and to please investors looking to boost profit margins. For example, the average price for a bag of potato chips in June 2020 was $5.09. These days, though, that same bag of chips goes for Continue reading

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July 17, 2024

China has long been a lucrative market for American companies looking to win over the country’s more than 1 billion consumers. But while brands like Nike and Starbucks have thrived in China for decades, their age of dominance could be coming to an end thanks to a new wave of domestically owned firms. The video below explores how companies like Anta and Luckin Coffee are appealing to younger consumers who seem less interested in Western products than past generations.

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In a few days, millions of Americans will ignite their grills and barbecue up a storm in a grand Independence Day tradition enjoyed from coast to coast. Thanks to inflation, though, this year’s celebrations may be pricier than in years past. While Fourth of July favorites like hot dogs and potato salad remain affordable, prices for items like ground beef, pork chops, and lemonade have risen dramatically. 

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), an average cookout for 10 Continue reading

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