Global AI & Technology Update

Is Meta’s just-announced Muse Charm a playful device that will make AI more approachable to everyday consumers, or will it be yet another flop in a long list of AI hardware gadgets that didn’t take off, like the Ai Pin, Rabbit, or Friend pendant? Reactions, so far, have been mixed. What the Charm is, however, is on-trend. Like it or not, the form factor could potentially appeal to Gen Z consumers who, in this post-Labubu era, have been into various dangling items from keychains and bags. It’s all part of a broader kitschy, retro-inspired shift in their approach to fashion and technology. Already, Gen Z has created a market for things that dangle, with everything from lip glosses to hand sanitizers to sunblocks to fragrances and more turned into bag charms, primarily targeted at women. Hailey Bieber’s viral Rhode lip case, which stuck the lip gloss onto a phone case, had a big influence on this idea that beauty products could also be fashion accessories, as did its other beauty-focused bag charms. (The brand saw $212 million in annual net sales from a lineup of roughly 10 products, Vogue noted last year, as the company announced its billion-dollar exit to Elf Beauty.) Then there was the Labubu craze, which saw sales of the so-ugly-it’s-cute fuzzy monster bag charm explode, growing Pop Mart’s (the Chinese retailer behind the product) revenue to $1.8 billion in 2024, a 7x jump from 2019. While demand for the Labubu itself has since faded, the concept of the decorative bag charm has not. One analyst firm estimates the global bag charm market will grow to over $1 billion by 2030. Today, bag charms can be characters, bedazzled beauty products, or other whimsical designs or objects, like Coach’s coveted cherry charms, a Gen Z favorite. They’ve proven popular because they’re a means of expressing your personality, just as humans have done for ages through their fashion choices.