As culture watchers, we have been observing the surge in demand for escapist experiences since the onset of the pandemic. We saw people turn to comfort TV viewing, digital theme parks, virtual clubbing, comfort food, and flycations to cope. Things aren’t very different in 2021.

With heavy travel restrictions and continuing lockdowns in different parts of the world, people missing travel and open expanses have moved from land to sea. According to reports, over 82,000 Singaporeans have taken ‘cruises to nowhere,’ while Americans have pre-booked future cruise offerings. …

You’d think that dating apps would be the last thing on people’s minds right now, in the middle of our one-year-and-counting struggle with the global pandemic.

Not really. More Americans are spending time online searching for the right match.

Pandemic era: a boom for dating apps

Popular apps such as Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge actually registered an increase in users and time spent online in 2020. Overall, eight of the biggest dating apps in America saw a 12.6% year-over-year increase in monthly active users in the final quarter of 2020.

Using our Culture AI tools, we studied data from dating…

Imagine waking up from a long night out without a nasty hangover and bad breath. And no, this doesn’t just apply to a zero-alcohol commitment in Dry January or Dry July- it’s a permanent lifestyle change decided on by a growing number of people in the United States.

Not only is there an increased focus on the side effects of alcoholic and carbonated drinks, but there is also an increased variety of healthy drink alternatives available for consumers. The rise in popularity of low-alcohol and carbon drinks has led to the introduction of alcohol-free bars in New York, London, and…

What does optimism look like?

A lot like this, we think.

The year 2021 brought with it a ray of hope for travel enthusiasts around the world. With the “new normal” settling in, there was finally something to look forward to beyond the four walls of our homes (with all safety precautions in place of course). This reflects in search behavior over the last three months in the USA, with “travel 2021” seeing a gradual rise over the last 3–4 months.

It’s been so long since we embarked on a “carefree” trip without the pandemic weighing on us that near-term…

It’s hard to think of a time when we didn’t have the option of getting a pedicure at the click of a button. Whether it’s the issue of not being able to get an appointment at a preferred time at the parlor, having a deadline at work, or just being plain lazy to step outside of your home, the value added by on-demand beauty services is endless. Despite the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in several countries, the safety aspect has become more critical than ever, which has added to the popularity of housecall beauty applications.

Across Southeast Asia, men…

Insurance tends to be something people keep at the back of their minds. If some of us could have our way, it ideally would be entirely out of mind.

We recently conducted research analysing the different consumer segments and their views on insurance. We collected data from Lemonade, an American insurance company. Lemonade delivers insurance policies and handles claims through chatbots on their desktop and mobile apps. Its business model includes giving underwriting profits to not for profits as per the customers’ choice. This is done annually in an event Lemonade calls “Giveback”.

We extracted 1300 social media posts from Twitter and Reddit, as well as over 400 reviews. From this data, our cultural analytics enabled us to identify 3 key segments.

Lemonade’s consumer segments: who are they, what do they hope to achieve and what keeps them awake at night?

Family Drivers:

These customers are usually millennials with steady…

What are the concerns of students when it comes to loans and what’s the best way for businesses to communicate with this segment?

Writing last minute essays, dreading 9am lectures and student loans are all part of the first rite of passage into adulthood for many in the US. Yet, only the third item sticks with many after college, constantly in the back of their minds, as they work while being aware that they still have quite a few years (maybe decades) of loans ahead to work off. …

Coming into its own: Youth Activism in Kenya and Botswana

“How dare you?” raged Greta Thunberg in September 2019, openly confronting world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit for their apathy. Her rage echoes through the chants and signs of youth demanding change across the world. From the Black Lives Matter Movement in the U.S. to the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, young people are fearlessly at the forefront of activism.

The perfect barometer to measure this is examining online spaces where young people mobilize and amplify call to actions. Quilt.AI analyzed hundreds of data points on social media…