Aaron Mendes

In Consumer AI, the real outcome isn’t incremental growth, but a structural reset: new consumer flows, new distribution, and a reallocation of value away from incumbents. After looking top-down for the shift from "Attention Economy" towards "Intent Economy", here goes bottom-up - starting from what AI newly enables, the behaviors it unlocks, and the second-order effects that define the next consumer platform cycle. Key takeaways: - “YouTube-ification of everything”: AI collapses the cost of creation (media → software → even scientific researches), and the durable change isn’t better outputs. It’s new behaviors at scale. - From interface-heavy to intent-driven: the request/response UX loop weakens; users start approving the delivery for her 'intent'. - Market structure rewrites: app bundles unbundle—expect consolidation into headless suppliers on one end and an explosion of micro-capabilities on the other, with a new “intent router” layer capturing distribution. If you’re building in Consumer AI: the power laws likely accrue to intent orchestration, trust/permission infrastructure, and workflow-native distribution—not another standalone app with better functionalities and/or UX. Read the full post 👉: https://lnkd.in/g9bA6fZv

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Runway extension if eCommerce scales. The eCommerce rollout plugs high consideration direct to consumer (DTC) products into AppLovin's uniquely high attention mobile gaming inventory (30-60s video), a format that is better suited than social feeds for educating and persuading consumers on differentiated products (health & wellness, apparel/beauty, home & garden). In our October deep dive, we modeled $2.7bn CY26 eCommerce net revenue on ~$6.7bn ad spend, grounded in site level inspection of ~400 merchants and category fit analysis. That new S curve sits atop a mobile gaming ads engine that continues to execute, thereby materially extending APP's growth runway.

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Attention founders: even before the temperatures drop, NOW is the time to start your holiday planning. 👀🤓💰 For most CPG brands, the holiday season isn’t just busy - it’s business-defining: 🛍️ Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, about 40% of all planned gift spending happens. 🛍️ Across the whole holiday period, 20–25% of annual retail sales are generated. But this year’s consumer outlook is shifting: 🛒 Overall holiday spending is projected to drop 5%, with gift spending down 11%, and Gen Z cutting back by 23%. 🛒 Still, 53% of shoppers say they’ll spend about the same as last year. What consumers want this season: 🎁Deals and discounts (49% plan to shop around for value) 🎁 Smaller gift lists (37% will limit recipients) 🎁 Seamless customer experiences and audience personalization across channels Why plan early? ✅ Secure attention before the busiest weeks. Your audience may have also shifted since last year's holiday sales. Planning ahead allows you time to re-introduce yourself and your brand with top-of-funnel content that isn't intended to sell, just re-familiarize yourself with your audience so they're primed for the upcoming season. ✅ Optimize promotions for value-conscious consumers. The brands who win aren't the ones who scramble to throw together last minute discount graphics. Make an effort to build community that will lead to consideration when it comes time to sell. ✅ Maximize visibility during the Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday peak window. Your holiday promotions shouldn't feel like begging if you've done the first two phases correctly. You've already done the hard work and primed your audience, so they're ready and waiting with credit card in hand when the time comes. Holiday momentum can make or break the year. Start building your strategy now, so you’re ready when shoppers are. #TisTheSeason #HolidayShopping #consumertrends #BerMonthsAreHere

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