Vacation Now, Pay Later

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Happy Wednesday, Future Party. So many layoffs are happening across industries that a whole culture has emerged around them — including filming your layoff reaction on TikTok, LinkedInfluencing it into a career milestone, and joining a support group to process the whiplash. With 1.67 million Americans facing long-term unemployment, entry-level worker confidence hitting an all-time low, and AI threatening to take even more jobs, it’s no wonder that people are YOLO-ing with BNPL payments to take much-needed vacations. More on that below.

Mini-dramas — low-budget, short-form, vertical shows that are distributed on dedicated apps — are expanding beyond their popularity in Asia (especially China) to the US.

The Big Picture: While the premium A-list series on Quibi couldn’t catch on, the soap opera-esque programming of mini-dramas seem to have found a home with American audiences. With traditional studios and streamers tightening their belts, many out-of-work writers, directors, actors, and crew members are finding that they’re also in need of work opportunities.

Behind the Scenes: Mini-dramas — melodramatic shows that typically feature supernatural beings, love triangles, and a lot of billionaires — are piquing the interest of both talent and studios, according to CAA’s head of digital media, David Freeman.

Final Credits: Mini-dramas have become a hit with a segment of Gen Z and middle-aged women (are they the modern equivalent of tawdry romance paperbacks?). While it may be difficult for premium entertainment companies like Universal and Netflix to produce mini-dramas (assuming they even want to) due to quality expectations and guild rules, it would be very easy for the likes of YouTube, Reels, and TikTok to do so. As of November, TikTok was already testing the format.

Prediction: Maybe influencers were never meant for Hollywood — they were meant for the mini-drama industry. Expect some ambitious creators to give them a shot.

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Gen Z is using buy now, pay later platforms to fund their vacations.

Why It Hits (The Wallet): Young people don’t typically have the means to afford increasingly expensive airline tickets and hotel stays. But they also don’t want to miss out on the action of experiencing them, especially as social media creates the illusion that everyone else is. That can create some financial headaches down the line.

Behind the Trips: Actually paying for your summer vacation is a problem for the fall.

Last Stop: The trends make sense when consumers with “lower overall financial well-being” are most likely to use BNPL services, per the Federal Reserve. When used correctly, it can be a powerful tool. But when used incorrectly, it can be a financial trap. People easily lose track of how many things they’ve put on payment plans. Some people even pay for BNPL purchases with credit cards, which can be risky. And when it comes to travel, canceled bookings or missed flights put people on the hook for payments regardless.

It’s no surprise that Klarna’s credit losses increased 17% over the past year, and 41% of customers report struggling to pay their loans on time.

Prediction: While travel, hospitality, and event companies may be enjoying the increased spending now, a BNPL crunch could lead to a significant pullback in spending from younger customers in the near future.

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64.5% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Do you play any racket sports?

“Used to play them but not anymore.”

“I was defiant about getting on that pickleball bandwagon for an awful long time until a group of friends wrangled me in for a couple of matches a few weeks ago. What can I say? I’m now hooked!”

“Pickleball!!!!!!”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🏀 The NCAA will pay $2.8 billion to thousands of college athletes who competed since 2016.

🎮 Microsoft is getting into the handheld-game business in a partnership with ROG.

🪧 SAG-AFTRA and the video-game developers have finally reached a tentative agreement to end a nearly year-long strike.

🤖 Meta is assembling an AI superintelligence team, which will pay some top researchers up to nine figures.

📱 The SmartLess podcast team is launching a low-cost phone company, SmartLess Mobile.

🛰️ China is developing AI-powered, robotic “guard dogs” for its Tiangong space station that can push unwanted objects away from it.

⚾ The MLB is acquiring baseball-focused creator studio Jomboy Media to bolster its digital roster.

🤳 Unicorn, a hybrid content studio and talent management firm, is launching to help short-form creators transition to long-form content.

☕ Starbucks is looking to hire a content creator to travel the world and capture the culture at different Starbucks locations.