From decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) run on Discord to city-wide mutual aid groups, people are finding safety and optimism in numbers. For growing numbers of people, collective action is emerging as the only viable solution to compounding crises and deepening alienation.

Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

The self-made mythos is as powerful as ever, despite societal upheaval testing its limits. Even mundane pastimes have been monetised as people cash in on massive audiences and leave no niche unexplored. Selling out is no longer a source of embarrassment, it’s just what makes the world go round.

By carefully curating the selection of products it stocks, Neighborhood Goods is helping shoppers find assorted products that align with their values. Since launching, it now has three stores across the US, each with a local perspective and community focus that tap into new shopping behaviors.

The pandemic has definitely accelerated the adoption of online shopping, and social shopping is becoming more popular, where ease and social distancing can be combined with fun. Tapping in this shift in shopping behaviour in the run-up to Christmas is TikTok’s livestream shopping event.

Livestreaming e-commerce in China has been hit with a wave of restrictions from the government: streamers under 16 and the sale of ‘socially harmful’ products – ranging from sex toys to foreign newspapers – have all been banned from the shopping platforms.

Global ‘buy now, pay later’ platform Klarna has launched Livestyle, a digital fashion show experience that blends live entertainment and social shopping. As young shoppers seek out new and more sustainable ways to engage with fashion, etailtainment could be the future of e-commerce.