The Package Is the Message
American consumers can’t resist the lure of a well-designed container.
Giacomo Bagnara
Stop Shopping
America needs you to buy less junk.
The Nasty Logistics of Returning Your Too-Small Pants
What happens to the stuff you order online after you send it back?
Americans Have No Idea What the Supply Chain Really Is
Behind shipping delays and soaring prices are workers still at mortal risk of COVID-19.
People Liked Malls
Amazon appears to have discovered that the fastest, freest shipping is picking stuff up in person.
American Shoppers Are a Nightmare
Customers were this awful long before the pandemic.
Americans Are Turning Spare Bedrooms Into Giant Closets
As stores disappear, shopping in your own wardrobe becomes the ultimate luxury.
Why Is There Financing for Everything Now?
Are the new online services that allow you to buy jeans or shampoo in installments—interest-free—too good to be true?
America’s Most Hated Garment
Not even a pandemic will silence the sweatpants scolds.
Christmas Dies Hard
The middle of a global pandemic might seem like a good time to cut back on holiday excess. But we live in America.
Americans Got Tired of Looking Bad on Zoom
The pandemic’s at-home workers are discovering what internet influencers have long known: If you want to be taken seriously, get good lighting.
Why Americans Have Turned to Nesting
If we’re going to be inside, it might as well be the inside we want.
Generation Work-From-Home May Never Recover
The social and economic costs borne by young people without offices
The End of Minimalism
Keeping a cluttered house has long been considered a little tacky, a little weak. But now it’s looking very wise.
After the Pandemic, the Office Dress Code Should Never Come Back
Are “fancy” sweatpants here for good?
It’s All So … Premiocre
What do fake Eames chairs, extra legroom, and $40 scented candles have in common?
Why the Restoration Hardware Catalog Won’t Die
The surprising persistence of the mail-order business
Stop Believing in Free Shipping
How retailers hide the costs of delivery—and why we’re such suckers for their ploys
I Joined a Stationary-Biker Gang
Peloton aficionados say the latest exercise craze gives them a sense of community they sorely missed.
Tattoos Now Have an Exit Strategy
An Instagram-friendly option for people wary of forever
I Gooped Myself
I spent $1,279 of The Atlantic’s money on creams, crystals, and a vibrator from Gwyneth Paltrow’s wellness empire. Things got weird.
Canned Cocktails Give Millennials What They’ve Always Desired
The perfect drink for a medium-fancy generation
The Future of Marketing Is Bespoke Everything
Personalized hair masks, facial serums, and vitamin cocktails are no longer reserved for the wealthy, thanks to technology—and data collection.
There Is Too Much Stuff
The human brain can’t contend with the vastness of online shopping.
The Only Thing You Can’t Subscribe to Now Is Stability
Today’s subscription services cover toilet paper, dog toys, and furniture. But what is lost with convenience?
Workers Love AirPods Because Employers Stole Their Walls
In the open-plan office, wireless headphones are the new cubicles.
The Mystery of Business Casual
No one knows what shoes to wear to work. Silicon Valley has an answer.
How Fancy Water Bottles Became a 21st-Century Status Symbol
There’s a reason Millennials will spend $50 on one.
The Instant Pot Will Not Solve All of Life’s Problems
Time-saving kitchen gadgets have always come with a compromise.
How Pink Salt Took Over Millennial Kitchens
It’s not healthier for you. It doesn’t technically come from the Himalayas. But pink salt’s appeal has exploded nonetheless.
Who Would Spend $17 on Toothpaste?
The luxury product’s glamorous appeal has very little to do with squeaky-clean smiles.