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In Denmark, a grocery store chain used a black star. In Canada, it was a maple leaf. President Donald Trump’s trade war inspired new country-of-origin “Made In” labels this year as shoppers outside the U.S. looked to avoid buying American-made goods and shop local instead. In the U.S., though, the “Made in USA” brand is losing its domestic appeal. Country-of-origin labeling is designed to be a stamp of authenticity and quality. Countries police their own rules to ensure products labeled “made” or “assembled” in their country really were made or assembled there and that they meet national standards. When the Copenhagen-based think tank 21st Century introduced its concept for a possible future “Made in Europe” label, its managing director said it was designed to establish trust, as in, if something was made in Europe, consumers could trust no arsenic would be in it. In the U.S. this year, though, “Made in USA” isn’t so much about trust for a growing number of consumers as it is about higher prices. And they don’t want to pay them. A Conference Board survey released in August found about half of U.S. consumers say knowing a product was made in the U.S. made them more likely to buy it again, an 18% decline since 2022. The report’s author blamed the drop on consumers appearing to associate “Made in USA” with being expensive because of high domestic production costs. U.S. consumers today face an overall average effective tariff rate of 16.8%, according to Yale’s Budget Lab. That’s the highest rate since 1935, and it comes amid wider economic discontent. Half of U.S. adults say they are spending more time than usual looking for the the lowest price for items, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s up from 31% in 2021 and helps explain the rise of yuppie, designified generic brands. Value matters to consumers today. Trump’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to make “Made in USA” one of its top enforcement priorities in 2026, but for half of all shoppers looking for the best deal, they won’t be swayed one way or the other, no matter where a product was produced. Americans say they are generally attentive to where their products are made, an October Gallup poll found, with 76% aware of the country products were made in before purchasing them sometimes, most of the time, or always. Following years of inflation, though, the most important label for many U.S. shoppers isn’t “Made in USA.” It’s the price tag.
Category:
E-Commerce
For the chronically online, 2025 was the year of brain rot, AI slop, and rage bait,” a time of consuming Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate to the sound of nothing beats a Jet2 holiday and six-seven, on repeat, as a form of torture. Here, we take a look back at the biggest internet-culture moments that brought us all together even as the country is more divided than ever. The TikTok ban that never happened If I told you the supposed TikTok ban was this year, would you believe me? In January, users panicked over the looming threat of the apps impending disappearance, flocking to alternatives like the Chinese-owned RedNote and making last-ditch confessions on the doomed apponly for the ban to never materialize. American woman in Pakistan American Onijah Andrew Robinson went viral in February after claiming she flew to Pakistan to marry a 19-year-old she met online, only to be rejected. Instead of returning home, she became a minor celebrity in Pakistan, holding press conferences in Karachi, demanding money, and announcing plans to rebuild the country, earning the moniker American woman in Pakistan. The lone anglerfish Usually found 6,500 feet under the sea, this black seadevil was filmed by marine researchers in Tenerife swimming toward the waters surface. Tragically, the fish died just hours after being spotted, sparking an emotional outpouring on social media for this six-inch fish. RIP. Tesla Cybertrucks If one good thing came out of 2025, its the unanimous cancellation of Cybertrucks. The ostentatiously hideous vehicles became everyones favorite punching bag in 2025 as a result of anti-Elon Musk backlash. A group of TikTokers known as the Cybertruck Hunters roamed the streets, hunting Tesla Cybertrucks in the wild. People posted their Tesla trade-ins on TikTok accompanied by the hashtag ByeTesla and scored to Taylor Swifts Look What You Made Me Do.” Die-hard owners eventually retreated to Facebook support groups and demanded harassment of Tesla drivers be labeled a hate crime (if so, owning one should also be considered one). Great Meme Depression The panic around the lack of memes as we entered the third month of the year began on March 10, when user @goofangel posted a video titled TikTok Great Depression March 2025. He says, Nine days into March and we havent had a single original meme. The Great Meme Depression soon became a meme itself, later triggering talk of The Great Meme Reset of 2026. Stay tuned for updates. OpenAI Studio-Ghibli-gate After Images for ChatGPT launched in March, users transformed selfies and family photos into Studio Ghibli-style portraits. What started as a lighthearted trend quickly took a darker turn as ethical questions and copyright issues began to surface. In a resurfaced clip from a 2016 documentary, Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, called AI an insult to life itself. Some food for thought for 2026. Chicken Jockey If you took a trip to the cinema in April to watch A Minecraft Movie, based on the popular game, you would likely have been subjected to a teen-filled audience yelling Chicken jockey! at the top of their lungs, flashing phone lights, and launching popcorn and drinks at the screen. (To which I say: Why were you watching A Minecraft Movie in the first place?) Conclave In May, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the United States was declared the 267th pope, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. On social media, diva sightings, memes about the niche, daily process of conclave, and live updates of the Sistine Chapels chimney flooded FYPs. Can we do it all again next year? Velvet Sundown The mysterious indie rock bandseemingly unironically named Velvet Sundownsuddenly appeared in Spotifys Discovery Weekly in July, quickly amassing hundreds of thousands of listeners. Their rapid rise sparked speculation that the group might be AI-generated (while they confessed they kind of are, but kind of arent). A true mystery for the ages. Etsy witches 2025 has been a big year for Etsy witches. From sports fans hoping to gain an advantage for their teams to anxious brides praying for perfect wedding weather, more people than ever were purchasing spells on platforms like Etsy this year to turn their luck around. Coldplay’s Kiss Cam We all remember where we were the first time we saw the clip. A Coldplay concert in Massachusetts went viral in July when an HR executive was caught on the jumbotron embracing her companys CEOspurring a million memes nd breaking the internet in the process. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security The official X account of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tested a new social media strategy this year, as meme lord, drawing widespread backlash on and offline. So far, theyve got on the wrong side of Sabrina Carpenter, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Jess Glynne, Theo Von, and Pokémon, to name a few, for featuring their songs and audios without permission to promote deportations. “6-7” Last but not least . . . you cant talk about 2025 without mentioning six, seeeeven. Or maybe we can, and instead pretend a bunch of grown adults dont need to dissect a trend that is only funny, relevant, or interesting if your birth year begins with a two. Unfortunately, the two digits have become too ubiquitous to ignore, wreaking havoc in classrooms, banned at fast food chain In-N-Out, and cemented as the choice for Dictionary.coms word of the year. Lets hope for 2026.
Category:
E-Commerce
When you hear the phrase family business, you might think of the backstabbing Roys of Succession or the dysfunctional Duttons of Yellowstone. But while TVs family companies are entertaining, their real-life counterparts may be even more compelling. Around the world, family businesses produce about two-thirds of all economic output and employ more than half of all workers. And they can be very profitable: The worlds 500 largest family businesses generated a collective US$8.8 trillion in 2024. Thats nearly twice the gross domestic product of Germany. If youre not steeped in family business researchand even if you aretheir ubiquity might seem a little strange. After all, families can come with drama, conflict, and long memories. That might not sound like the formula for an efficient company. We are researchers who study family businesses, and we wanted to understand why there are so many of them in the first place. In our recent article published in the Journal of Management, we set out to understand this different kind of whynot just the purpose of family firms, but why they thrive around the world. The usual answers dont really explain it The standard answer to Why do family companies exist? is straightforward: They allow owners to generate income and potentially create a legacy for future generations. A related question is: Why do entrepreneurs even want to involve their relatives in their new ventures? Research suggests entrepreneurs do so because family members care and can help when resources are limited. But that might not be unique to family businesses. All companieswhether run by a family or corporate executivesbalance short-term profit and long-term goals. And all of them want reliable workers who are willing to pitch in. So those answers dont explain why family companies, specifically, are so common worldwide. A different angle: Winning without fighting For our study, we considered decades of research about family firms to conclude that family businesses are uniquely skilled at keeping competitors out of their market spaceoften without actually competing with them. How? We think a quote from Sun-Tzus The Art of War captures the idea: To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemys resistance without fighting. Family-owned businesses often do exactly this, which is why there are so many of them. Heres how it works in practice. 3 key differences Research on family businesses has shown that they differ from other types of companies in three key ways: the types of goals they pursue, the governance structures they establish, and the resources they have. Together, these three characteristics explain how family businesses may use their property rights to get an edge over their competitors. The first is goals. Unlike other types of enterprises, family businesses prioritize noneconomic goals involving the reputation, legacy, and well-being of the familyboth now and in the future. Of course, they still have to worry about making a profit. But their interest in family-centered goals can lead them to choose projects that may yield lower returns but still fulfill their noneconomic goals. These sorts of projects may not be attractive to other types of firms. As a result, family businesses may find themselves operating in spaces where theres not much competition to start with. For instance, take Corticeira Amorim, a family-run Portuguese company that dominates the global market for cork stoppers and other cork products. The cork industry is a classic narrow niche: There are only a handful of serious global competitors, and Amorim is widely described as the worlds largest cork processing group, with a sizable share of global wine and Champagne corks. CEO Antonio Rios de Amorim discusses the history of his family business in this Business Insider video. The second key factor is governance. Family members who work together often know each other well, care about each other, and want the best for both the family and the firm, which may stay in the familys possession for generations. This fact may reduce operating costs and the cost of contracting. Why? When they make decisions, they dont always need to hire a fancy, Harvey Specter-like lawyer from the show Suits. They can decide on the next move for the company while having dinner together. This significantly reduces the costs associated with decision-making. In other words, because they rely less on formal contracts and monitoring, family businesses can operate more cheaply. Finally, family firms use resources like information and money differently. Since many established family businesses have been around for decades, relatives who work together accumulate information thats hard to acquire and transfer, and might not even be useful elsewhere. Being a family membr means not only doing business with relatives but also going through life together, acquiring a unique perspective about the family itself. As a result, family businesses have lower transaction costs than other companies. Sometimes this shows up in very concrete ways. An uncle may invest money in the business and never ask for it back. Would that happen at a nonfamily business? Probably not. This dedication makes family members a special type of human asset thats hard to replace. Put simply, nonfamily businesses are unlikely to hire someone who cares as much about the companys success as a deeply invested relative does. And because these relationships arent for sale on the open market, competitors cant easily access them. That fact helps family businesses keep competitors at bay while essentially being themselveswhich in turn explains why there are so many of them. Family businesses are so common worldwide that there are several holidays celebrating them, including International Family Business Day on November 25; U.S. National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day on March 29; and the United Nations Micro-, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day on June 27. This holiday season, you might consider spreading a little extra cheer with the family-run retailers in your community. Vitaliy Skorodziyevskiy is an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Louisville. Hanqing “Chevy” Fang is an associate professor of business and information technology at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Jim Chrisman is a professor of management at Mississippi State University.
Category:
E-Commerce
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