📱 Why WhatsApp can’t go down

PLUS: Explaining inflation with “Supermarket Sweep.” October 07, 2021 [The Hustle] What better way to experience inflation than to travel back in time to a grocery store in the 1960s. We’re still working on the time travel part, but we dusted off old episodes of “Supermarket Sweep” to compare the price of food from the ‘60s to today. Check out our findings below. Today’s rundown: - It’s critical: Why WhatsApp going down is no joke. - Holiday Shopping: There’s no such thing as too early this year. - ‘Supermarket Sweep’: Why your food bill is >2x higher. Let’s do it. The Big Idea [world-runs-whatsapp]( The world depends on WhatsApp On Monday, Facebook suffered a 6-hour outage (its worst since [2008]() that also took down Instagram and WhatsApp. For many American users, jumping over to Twitter and making [memes]( was a good option. However, the outage was much scarier in other parts of the world… … because WhatsApp has become critical infrastructure According to [Business of Apps](, the Facebook-owned app: - Has 2.5B+ users worldwide - Is the most popular messaging app in 100+ countries In developing countries with underdeveloped (or overly expensive) telecom options, WhatsApp is the go-to alternative to text. Seven countries -- Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Malaysia, Colombia, and Brazil -- have [90%+]( of their population on the app. Much more than messaging WhatsApp delivers critical (and different) services to countries around the world, per [The Washington Post](: - In Lebanon, COVID-19 tests can be ordered on the app - In Argentina, a chatbot connects patients to doctors to report COVID symptoms - A Philippine diplomatic mission in the United Arab Emirates uses the app as a hotline for its citizens working in the country - In Brazil, citizens use an in-app directory of 1000s of retailers The app’s largest market -- India (390m users) -- has [15m+]( small businesses using its WhatsApp Business platform. WhatsApp’s loss… … was a [big gain]( for competing encrypted messaging apps: - Telegram jumped 55 places to No. 1 in US iPhone downloads - Signal gained millions of users after receiving endorsements from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (and whistleblower Edward Snowden) Facebook’s outage happened a day after the unmasking of the social network’s whistleblower, former employee [Frances Haugen](. Both incidents -- underscored by the importance of WhatsApp -- give further credence to the belief that Facebook needs more regulation. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+world+depends+on+WhatsApp%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10072021-world-depends-whatsapp%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D10072021-world-depends-whatsapp%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) Politically inclined: Snap [announced]( a new feature aimed at getting young users to run for local office. New pod player: YouTube [posted]( a role for its 1st podcast executive, who would be tasked with managing the plethora of podcasts uploaded to the platform. Alexa’s fridge: Amazon has [spent]( ~$50m per year developing a smart refrigerator that can help you track what’s inside. Startup deal: Notion [launched]( a startup program offering $500+ in credits to try the platform for free. Alt-milk IPO: Perfect Day [raised]( $350m at a ~$1.5B valuation with plans to IPO in the next year. Join the 108,201 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( Cartoon [early-holiday-shopping]( This year, there’s no such thing as ‘too early’ to start holiday shopping It’s Oct. 6 -- you may still be debating your Halloween costume… ... but it might be time to shift your attention to holiday shopping. While US retailers typically maintain ~1.5 months of inventory on hand, that number has [dropped]( to 1.1, well below historical averages, per Bloomberg. In addition to the examples in the cartoon above: - H&M sales [slowed]( notably in September due to delivery delays - Nike [lowered]( its sales forecast after closing 80% of its factories in Vietnam - Bed Bath & Beyond revenue [fell]( 26% YoY due to shipping issues At the very least, it’s probably time to start putting together a list of presents for your loved ones lest you come up empty-handed in December. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=This+year%2C+there%E2%80%99s+no+such+thing+as+%E2%80%98too+early%E2%80%99+to+start+holiday+shopping%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10072021-early-holiday-shopping%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D10072021-early-holiday-shopping%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( FREE RESOURCE Last call for INBOUND 2021! Don’t miss the annual 3-day summit for business builders. INBOUND kicks off in 5 days. Grab [your free Starter Pass](. Your ticket grants you access to every Spotlight Speaker entrepreneur -- Oprah, Spike Lee, Hasan Minhaj, Cynt Marshall, David Chang, and more. Powerhouse Passes are also available. Experience the full event suite, live and on-demand forever: - Breakout strategy sessions: AMAs, case studies, and keynotes from leaders at LinkedIn, Google, AWS, Atlassian, Hopin, and more - HubSpot Podcast Network Live: Entrepreneurs on Fire, The Salesman Podcast, MarTech Podcast, and My First Million - Curated meetups: Networking opportunities to enable your growth Hosted with orange hearts, by HubSpot. [Free ticket to INBOUND →]( The Big Sweep [supermarket-sweep]( What ‘Supermarket Sweep’ tells us about changing grocery store prices In the 1960s, you could win “Supermarket Sweep” with less than $300 in your cart. Today, you’d better get $2k. Here’s why. ‘Supermarket Sweep’ first aired from 1965-1967 It ran [again]( from 1990-1995 and 2000-2003, then got rebooted in 2020 with comedian Leslie Jones. In all versions, 3 teams of 2 play various games inside a grocery store. In the ‘60s, they [used]( real stores around NYC; since the ‘90s, they’ve been mock stores built in LA. How the store is stocked The show’s piece de resistance is the “Big Sweep,” in which players have ~1-2 minutes to fill their cart with groceries and challenge items, which are worth extra cash. The team whose cart is worth the most money advances to a final challenge. Brett Hatcher, an art director on the reboot, told The Hustle that non-challenge items come from and are priced by a grocery supply company. So, the groceries contestants grab reflect current real-world prices. Winning cart totals have changed dramatically over the decades We watched several Big Sweeps from each decade at random, logged the winning total minus challenge bonuses, and took an average: 1960s: $211 (accounting for inflation, $1,728 in 2021) 1990s: $608 ($1,151.06) 2000s: $854 ($1,319.92) 2020: $2,708 It’s not just inflation that made 2020 carts so expensive Producer Wes Kauble [told]( Collider that most items have gone up ~15%-20% since the ‘90s. But today’s stores also have more expensive offerings. Frozen turkeys ($30-$50) have long been a player favorite, but now there are $300 wagyu ribs, $30 jars of manuka honey, [$33]( reusable water bottles, and $45 energy drink mixes. Jeez. Fun fact: Versions of “Supermarket Sweep” have aired in numerous other countries, including [Britain](, [Vietnam](, and [Ukraine](. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=What+%E2%80%98Supermarket+Sweep%E2%80%99+tells+us+about+changing+grocery+store+prices%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F10072021-supermarket-sweep%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D10072021-supermarket-sweep%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 🙀  On this day: In 1982, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” [opened]( on Broadway, its audience unaware that years later a film adaptation would be panned by critics and audiences alike. 💡  Useful: [This website]( lists a whole bunch of micro-startups for sale, like a digital menu company for $15k, or an Italian grammar app for $6k. 🐕  That’s interesting: Studies [show]( dogs can use physiological and chemical cues to not only detect our emotions, but “catch” them as well. 💻  Haha: [Zuck the Game]( is an RPG where you’re Mark Zuckerberg. Can you make the right choices to build Facebook? 👚  How to: We previously [wrote]( about the environmental cost of fast fashion. Now, here’s a [guide]( from author Aja Barber on how to shop more sustainably. 🐴  Aww: And now, a woman uses a tiny microphone to [interview]( adorable animals at a wildlife rehab center. Tweet of the Day Source: Twitter / @AllisonPDavis SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. Here’s a message you can use to share with your friends: Hey! Do you read The Hustle? It’s the best daily business newsletter out there -- only takes 5 minutes to read and you’ll sound like the smartest person in the room. Sign up here, it’s free: [ P.S. You can always check your referral count [here](. [Share The Hustle →]( How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](, [Sara Cravatts](. Editing by: Brad “Critical Infrastructure” Wolverton. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](