Dan Frommer

Philip Morris cigarette sales are down in the Americas, but up in Europe, Asia, MEA. "Smoke-free" has been growing everywhere. Cigarette pack sales were down 8% in the US last year, per Circana. (Down 10% in California, 7% in NY.)

@sm Yep. Engagement bait. So trashy!

WHY DOES CHATGPT DO THIS? This is seriously the worst. Please stop.

I think this is a good example of why "trends" are so confusing As Dan points out, there is no significant change in broad consumer behavior around smoking. But you could argue that smoking has restored some of its *cachet* because of its return to a few high status contexts

Is smoking really back? Sorry to disappoint… (No.) newconsumer.com/2026/03/is-smo…

Also here on Substack if that’s your thing: substack.newconsumer.com/p/obvious-shir…

With Opening Day on deck, now's a great time to read my piece on @Obvious_Shirts, your favorite sports fan's favorite t-shirt company. PCA has been extended by the @Cubs, so paywall lifted! Enjoy: newconsumer.com/2025/10/obviou…

Snapshot of Amazon's Top Selling Beverages (March 24th, 2026)

Sign me, @cubs!

Amazon delivered more packages than the USPS in 2025, a first. Having worked at Amazon until 2004, that's one of those things that's both stunning and doesn't surprise me at all

If you think protein beer is a dumb idea, you're not alone. (Though 336 out of 3,000 Americans we just surveyed are "very interested" in trying it. And not just dudes!)

Much more here for @newconsumer members: newconsumer.com/2026/03/consum…

When you slice the data by different consumer groups, key demographics are more interested than others in these products. Younger consumers, for example — Gen. Z and Millennials, ages 15–45 in our survey — think it’s more natural to add protein to more products, and are more interested in trying those products.

We asked 3,000 consumers how they feel about adding protein to 18 food and beverage products, from snack bars to beer — where it feels most natural, and which they'd be most interested in trying: newconsumer.com/2026/03/consum… From @newconsumer and Coefficient Capital:

@stevesi Who was MSFT's creative director / agency during those years? Even I, a rabid Mac dork, enjoyed this aesthetic, and thought IE looked way better than Netscape for a while there.

Ok here’s a frame of me peak 90s Seattle showing all the grunge hangouts. This is an early web ad made for a Web 1.0 site Microsoft did called “Sidewalk”.

Saw this insta post on the “what were you like in the 90s”. Seattle edition. (Unsure of OP)

@whatdotcd Plz

I've had my agent summarize a group chat I'm in with my really successful really smart friends. I think they're fun to read and I'm debating on sharing them more widely, would you subscribe to something like this? Reply and I'll DM you to get an email so you can get them and also give feedback <3

@ParkerOrtolani You had me at scrolling

the execs always like to say they didn’t know the iPhone would have the impact it did, but I refuse to believe he didn’t

@JasonStarr Yes. Really idiotic, trust-eroding bait-and-switch. Possibly illegal too.

Telling DTC customer they can get a discount by providing their email and then on the next screen only giving the discount if they sign up for texts just reeks of scamminess…you probably lose way more email sign ups than you gain in mobile sign ups, plus it’s a horrible look