The Daily Valet. - 3/22/22, Tuesday

✔️ We Can't Stop Shopping

March 22, 2022

Tuesday, March 22nd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

What are the chances that you’ll buy something online today?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Online Shopping Is Huge

COVID fueled e-commerce ... and now 2022 looks like another banner year

A new study by Adobe’s e-commerce division predicts this will be the year that Americans finally spend $1 trillion online. You read that right ... One. Trillion. Dollars.

Unlike with consumer surveys, Adobe’s data is derived from trends seen directly in Adobe Analytics, which covers over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites and over 100 million SKUs, giving it a more comprehensive, real-time look into the U.S. e-commerce industry and consumer spending.

The company believes our digital spending habits will continue despite more and more people returning to brick-and-mortar shopping. But that tracks, considering new data from Klarna shows 68% of us have used our phones to search products even when we’re in an actual store IRL.

I know that I’ve whipped out my phone to search for better prices or maybe a promo code when confronted with a high-priced item in a store. And why rummage though a physical vintage store when some of the best has been curated and laid out neatly for you onscreen?

Online grocery has also benefited from the change in buying behavior and experts say it doesn’t show any signs of slowing. Last month, the category was up by 230% compared with pre-pandemic times.

In fact, online shopping (especially grocery delivery) is changing real world environments, reports Wired. The uptick of grocery delivery apps led to the rise of “dark stores”: empty warehouses right in city centers. They’re located in retail storefronts on main streets, near the heart of busy neighborhoods, but they serve only digital customers. And they’ve gone from a niche phenomenon discussed largely in retail industry circles to a feature of major American cities.

↦ FYI: TechCrunch reports that buy-now-pay-later methods for online shopping have also jumped up by 215% over last year (and the orders are 18% larger than those who pay outright).

Putin’s Retaliation?

Biden warns the private sector that Russia is exploring options for cyberattacks

President Biden warned on Monday that Russia is exploring the possibility of waging potential cyberattacks against the United States in retaliation for economic penalties imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.

“It's part of Russia's playbook,” Biden said, days before traveling to Brussels for a NATO summit. “My administration is reiterating those warnings based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”

NBC News reported last month that Biden was presented with a menu of options for the U.S. to carry out cyberattacks against the Russians to disrupt Russia's ability to sustain its military operations.

Currently, analysts are watching for signs that Putin is shifting his end game as well, as Russia's military adjusts its tactics to a new battlefield reality. The Pentagon believes the Russians are increasing their missiles and airstrikes because, having failed to achieve their objectives on the ground, they are “frustrated,” reports Axios.

↦ Dig Deeper: What you need to know about hypersonic missiles, which Biden says Russia used against Ukraine.

Partner

A paradigm shift is underway. And a wave of plant based treatments could be the answer to our growing mental health crisis.

Job-Hopping Is Rampant Now

On resumes, two years is the new five years

As the pandemic-era Great Resignation continues, Gen Z and younger millennial workers are job-hopping—leaving roles after a short amount of time for others that are higher-paying, have more opportunities for advancement and are more in line with their interests.

And along the way, they're climbing the career ladder, sometimes doubling their salaries—and really freaking out employers who find themselves in a war for talent, reports Fortune.

According to data provided by LinkedIn in 2022, the share of U.S. LinkedIn users changing jobs was up 37.6% since 2021 and 29.6% since 2019. And the trend shows no signs of letting up anytime soon, as LinkedIn's recent survey of professionals showed that more employees intend to quit their jobs within the next six months.

A decade ago, job-hopping every two or three years could land a resume in the recycling bin. But as the talent market has grown more competitive, recruiters have had to become open-minded about jumping ship. According to Protocol, this new dynamic can make it challenging to find leadership roles. After all, companies want candidates who will stay long enough to make an impact.

↦ Dig Deeper: One HR executive tells Forbes there are plenty of good reasons to hop and outlines five of them.

Fighting to Save Video Game History

How old video games can be saved from digital obsolescence

Technology has always been at the heart of video games. It's always about what groundbreaking advancement will take things to the next level. The downside, it seems, is that as a result, video game history is getting lost faster than we can preserve it.

Last month, Nintendo announced it would shut down its 3DS and Wii U storefronts. While the closure is an inevitable part of the lifecycle of those long since retired consoles, the move sparked anger, disappointment and fear as fans lamented the loss of access to digitally exclusive games. It wasn't that long ago that PlayStation announced its decision to close down the digital storefronts for the PS3 and PS Vita (though this decision was ultimately reversed).

With console gaming entering its ninth generation, the digital storefronts from the previous generations are slowly disappearing—and taking thousands of games with them. Combined with the decline of physical media in favor of subscription services and digital distribution, it's getting harder for people to play older games and harder still for the games of the present to be preserved for the future.

The Verge asks, “how can we ensure that older games can be enjoyed by future generations without the expense of maintaining aging digital infrastructure or violating existing copyright laws?” Video game preservationists are doing the work at the intersection between these two points. They talk with institutions like the Video Game History Foundation and the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment, who are working to preserve games in a number of ways.

↦ FYI: ScreenRant has compiled 10 classic video you didn't know were created by women.

In Other News

↦ GOP Venting, 2024 Auditions and a Historic Moment: Highlights From Day 1 of Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearing

↦ When Will LeBron Become the Career Scoring King?

↦ Guy Sticks GoPro In Dishwasher to Capture What Is Really Going on When It’s Running

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The Aēsop + Rick Owens candle

March Madness shoes

Cookbooks

Partner

The Psychedelic Future Is Calling

This could be your last chance to bank on the future of psychedelics

Anxiety is seemingly everywhere these days. According to the CDC, 1 in 5 Americans will experience mental illness in a given year, and 1 in 4 adults who are experiencing depression or anxiety lack mental health support, especially during COVID-19. Some people don't want to rely on traditional pharmaceuticals. They're expensive and have a myriad of side effects. Which is why more natural, plant-based options are so appealing.

You've probably been hearing more and more about psychedelics lately. Quartz has said that we're entering a second psychedelic golden age in the U.S. and Europe, after a decades-long dark age. Why? Because interest is surging, and a major paradigm shift is underway. Plant-based treatments are offering hope and getting people talking.

* Final packing may change.

And when there's this big of a shift in any market, there's potential to capitalize on the course change. Which is why savvy investors have become so interested in this burgeoning $35 billion industry. Ei.Ventures' flagship product, Psilly, is a whole-plant and fungi botanical formulation, currently in the pre-clinical phase. It's made from psilocybin, the active compound in what the hippies called magic mushrooms. And the natural properties have the potential to help millions of people who struggle with mental illness, from anxiety and depression, to PTSD or alcohol and nicotine addiction.

As the first psychedelic medicine company in the world to qualify for a Reg A+ Tier 2 offering from the SEC, Ei.Ventures is now forming a new company that will complete pre-clinical and phase 1 trials in order to launch therapeutic Psilly into states where psilocybin is legal. Imagine getting in on the ground floor of medical marijuana before it hits the mainstream? That's what this feels like. And now you can invest early to join in on both the legal psychedelics movement and this potentially huge growth potential. Of course, you'll have to move fast—the funding round ends on March 22nd.

↦ Final Days to Invest: In Ei.Ventures and their plant-based treatment for mental illness.

A Breezy Style Staple

Striped seersucker shirt, $165 by Corridor

The camp collar is the perfect go-with-the-flow shirt. It's synonymous with vacations, but has been happily embraced by menswear enthusiasts for everyday wear. I know you might be thinking to yourself, “I'm not new to this, I'm true to this,” and we couldn't agree more, but maybe it's time to refresh the camp collar shirts that are already in your closet. Short-sleeve, long-sleeve and conversation-worthy patterns; there's one for any style and situation.