Trending 🏝| Let's talk NFTs and digital goods
Awesome new brands pop up online every day. It's hard to keep track. Nexttbrand keeps a close eye on brand engagement metrics and lets you know what's taking off. Newsletter every Wednesday. Nexttbrand site is always there.
Every brand is objectively scored based on site traffic data. When you buy through links, we may earn a small commission.
Trending now
Dirty Labs
Biobased, nontoxic, and biodegradable laundry detergent.
See more brands under eco home essentials.
OUAI
Wake up with that woke-up-like-this, model off-duty hair.
See more brands under haircare.
Sio
Wrinkle-reducing and skin hydrating silicone patches.
See more brands under skin care.
Dame
Women-founded company developing well-engineered toys that encourage vulnerability, heighten intimacy, and add value to your pleasure practice.
See more brands under feminine products.
Ergatta
Skip class. The gaming-inspired connected rower. Designed for your living room.
See more brands under fitness equipment.
Trending category spotlight: Women’s swimsuits
Monday Swimwear: Iconic feminine designs, immaculate fit, soft-to-touch feel and enduring quality.
Summersalt: Designer swimwear without the designer price tag.
CupShe: To inspire confidence and beauty through redefined and affordable fashion.
Fun extras
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have been exploding recently so I wanted to talk about potential implications for e-commerce.
First, some background:
What do you mean NFTs are exploding? Over the last month, cryptocurrency investor Metakova spent $69.3M on a piece of digital art and Sina Estavi, CEO of Bridge Oracle, bid $2.5 million to buy a NFT of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet. Collectively, people have spent more than $230M buying and trading digital collectibles of NBA highlights on NBA Top Shot.
So what does owning a NFT get you? In essence, bragging rights. Anyone can own a copy of the Mona Lisa, but only the Louvre can brag about owning the original. Why does owning the real thing versus a copy matter? That’s not always clear, but it often does.
Why do NFTs matter? Right now, NFTs are mostly just taking off in the niche artwork and collectibles world. However, in the future, there are applications beyond that. Because things are so easy to copy in the digital world, it can be hard to establish the ownership of a digital asset. NFTs solve that. NFTs are tracked on the blockchain, so it’s clear if someone owns the digital asset or is just using a copy. Think about it this way — let’s say that there was no way to verify whether a Gucci purse was real. Gucci wouldn’t have much incentive to make purses because the market would just go toward cheaper, identical knock-offs. Then lets say someone developed a way to establish authenticity. Gucci can now capture the value of what it creates. That’s what NFTs enable in the digital world.
NFT implications for e-commerce: Welcome to the world of digital goods
Wait, don’t digital goods already exist? Yes, absolutely. You can already buy digital goods in video games. For example, in 2019, Nike released a limited drop of Air Jordan ‘skins’ on Fortnite. You could buy a bundle that included the shoes for roughly $18. Digital goods already work in video games like Fortnite because the designers can create rules around digital assets. For example, if you’re playing Fortnite and you like an Air Jordan ‘skin’ another avatar is wearing, you can’t just copy/paste it onto your own avatar. Fortnite doesn’t allow it. So every pair of Air Jordans you see is authorized by Fortnite and Nike.
More brands are about to start making digital goods: It’s hard to justify making a digital good if everyone can immediately copy/paste it and no one can tell the difference. NFTs make it apparent what’s authentic. Brands now have a clear way to monetize on digital goods online (and not just in video games). Take this scenario — Are you an Air Jordan’s fan but environmentally-conscious? Why not buy an exclusive digital pair? Superimpose the Air Jordans on pictures you post on Instagram and have them appear on your feet when your friends put on AR glasses. Sure, some people might be doing the same thing with ‘fake’ copies, but you’ll have proof from Nike that your digital shoes are real. Snippets below from The Dematerialised, a marketplace for authenticated digital fashion currently in beta.
Help us grow
It would mean a lot! Some ways to do it:
Retweet this thread on the 7 successful TikTok content strategies
Share a link to the nexttbrand site on Facebook, Slack, or other social media
Forward this email to 3+ friends
Give feedback (Or just respond to this email⭐)