Hey! It’s Nicole from Hue.
Here’s what’s new in retail, tech, and culture.
🌐 This week, we are bringing together 25 culture moments that defined the internet in 2025, a creator economy that has grown to $37B as brands invest 26% more in creators, and the rise of AI-powered shopping as Phoebe Gates’ Phia raises $30M to tackle decision fatigue.
We’re Janvi, Sylvan, and Nicole - cofounders of Hue and Harvard Business School grads with 30+ years across global brands and enterprise tech.
We’ll keep up with the news so you don’t have to. Think of this as your retail tech industry cheat sheet. 🔮
💃 25 Culture Moments that Truly Defined 2025
2025 delivered some of the most unforgettable cultural moments we’ve seen in years. From internet chaos to headline-making pop culture, these are the 25 moments that truly broke through - amplified by brands, creators, and everyday people who turned them into full-blown phenomena.
In no particular order, here are 25 culture moments from 2025 👇
1. Justin Bieber Stood on Business - (TikTok)
2. Katy Perry Went to Space - (TikTok)
3. The One and Only, 24 Karat Gold Labubu - (TikTok)
4. CEOs and Cold Play Concerts - (TikTok)
5. TikTok was Banned - (TikTok)
6. Popular Phrase “67” Controlled Us All - (TikTok)
7. The Louvre was Robbed - (TikTok)
8. Sydney Sweeney’s Many Ad Campaigns - (TikTok)
9. Taylor Swift Releases “Life of a Showgirl” and Gets Engaged to Travis Kelce - (TikTok)
10. Kendrick Lamar and SZA Perform at Super Bowl Halftime Show - (TikTok)
11. Variety Names Sabrina Carpenter as their Hitmaker of 2025 - (TikTok)
12. Michelle Yeoh - Wicked Witch - (TikTok)
13. Katseye x Gap Collaboration - (TikTok)
14. Love Island - Nothing Beats a Jet2 Holiday - (TikTok)
15. Charli XCX and Lorde Work It Out on the Remix - (TikTok)
16. Minecraft Movie - (TikTok)
17. KPop Demon Hunters - #1 Movie on Netflix - (TikTok)
18. Die with a Smile - #1 Song on Billboard for 2025 - (TikTok)
18. SNL Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary - (TikTok)
19. Indonesian Boat Racing - Aura Farming - (TikTok)
20. Beyoncé Won Album of the Year at the Grammys - (TikTok)
21. The New Pope Is… American?! - (TikTok)
22. Belly Finally Makes a Decision on “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” - (TikTok)
23. Hypothetical of the Year: 100 Men vs. One Gorilla - (TikTok)
24. Having a Boyfriend Became “Embarrassing”? - (TikTok)
25. Lady Gaga Headlined Coachella - (TikTok)
💰Brands Spent $37B on Creator Ads and “Finding the Right Creator” is a Big Struggle - We Have the Answer at Hue.
The IAB reports that creator ad spend will reach $37 billion by the end of 2025, an increase of 26% from last year, as marketers increasingly rely on AI to scale creator programs, manage logistics, and streamline sourcing. But even with rising investment, the biggest challenge remains unchanged:
33% of advertisers say “finding the right creator” is their biggest hurdle
At Hue - an all-in-one UGC platform working with 100+ brands and retailers that has sourced over 40K+ videos - we’ve found that Hue-sourced creators are consistently outperforming brand-sourced creators once they go live on PDPs. So we dove in a bit to see why.
The data shows that the right creator is often the one the shopper trusts.
Hue’s proven strategy for sourcing creators that build trust:
Creators should represent your core and target customer, avoid exclusively using ‘aspirational’ creators
Ignore follower count and focus on quality - lighting, clarity of voice, level of comfortable sharing opinions and relating product experience to personal attributes
Tap into your existing customers, advocates and communities
Leverage employees - store associates, founders, corporate teams, industry experts to convey authority
📊 Hue Creator Performance:
Skincare Case Study - 3 Months Live
+19.6% higher conversion lift came from Hue-sourced creators versus brand-sourced creators.
Haircare Case Study - 4 Months Live
+459% higher conversion lift came from Hue-sourced creators versus brand-sourced
➡️ Hue creators drove the majority of total conversions
Interested in driving conversion results like these? Let’s chat! 👉 HERE
🛍️ Phoebe Gates - Yes, Bill Gates’ Daughter - is Raising $30M for AI Shopping App “Phia”
Bill Gates’ daughter Phoebe Gates has launched a fashion/tech startup - Phia, and is closing a $30M round at a $180M valuation, signaling how quickly AI-powered shopping tools are now the core to a retail ecosystem.
Investors include Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, Sara Blakely and are led by Notable Capital (Hans Tung) with Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures joining.
Phia is an AI shopping engine (app + browser extensions) that:
Consolidates product discovery
Surfaces better prices instantly
Reduces comparison fatigue
Streamlines decision-making
Phia is rapidly scaling and has already hit 750,000 downloads in just eight months. Shoppers are now expecting automated guidance. Brands are now in need of tools that meet them at that decision point. AI-driven discovery and decision support are now must-haves on every PDP and shopping journey.
📚 What We’re Reading and Listening to:
🧾 Report: Glossy x Hue The State of Shoppable UGC Video report - HERE
📊 Guide: Hue’s How to use Video for AEO Guide - HERE
📆 Don’t Miss These Events for Leaders in Retail
🏙️ Conference: NRF in New York. NRF’s “Retail’s Big Show” unites thousands of leaders pushing the industry forward through new ideas, technology, and customer experience. If you’re around, let’s meet up for coffee or a quick chat between sessions. Wed. Jan 11th - 13th | Time Varies
🎨 Art Cafe Community Event: We’re hosting an event at Happy Medium Art Cafe in Manhattan and would love for our New York locals to join us. Event page dropping soon - DM me if you want early access to the invite. Tues., Jan 13th
Want to become a Hue Client? Talk to partnerships to learn about Hue's all-in-one UGC platform for eCommerce and retailer.com.