💸 “The Rich Fee” — Uber Eats’ spy pricing. Nvidia’s Coachella for Chips. The Spa/Pilates Economy. +Don’t Invest in Duke

Summary

Podcast Summary – The Best One Yet

Episode: 💸 “The Rich Fee” — Uber Eats’ spy pricing. Nvidia’s Coachella for Chips. The Spa/Pilates Economy. + Don’t Invest in Duke
Date: March 18, 2026
Hosts: Nick Martell & Jack Crivici-Kramer

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Nick and Jack break down three crucial business stories shaping the modern economy:

1. Personalized “Spy” Pricing on Uber Eats
2. Nvidia’s Blockbuster GTC Event (“Coachella for Chips”)
3. The Rise of the Spa/Pilates Economy: Service stores now outnumber those selling stuff

They also riff on March Madness bracket strategy, the perils of over-investing in Duke, and sprinkle in their trademark witty banter. The tone is engaging, conversational, and full of energetic insights for curious listeners tracking intersection of tech, retail, and consumer trends.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Uber Eats & Personalized (Spy) Pricing

(Starts ~06:02)

• The Story: Business Insider ran an experiment ordering identical Uber Eats meals at the same time and location—everyone got different prices.

• Uber’s Defense: Claimed prices aren't based on personal characteristics.

• Contradiction: Inside Uber’s app, a disclaimer admits pricing is “set by an algorithm using your personalized data.”

  “This price was set by an algorithm using your personalized data.” – Jack, [07:23]

• NY Law: New York requires companies to disclose personalized pricing; most states do not.

• Not Like Airlines: Dynamic pricing (airlines/hotels) is based on supply/demand. Personalized pricing is about your specific data.

• Potential Inputs: Payment method (Amex Platinum card?), social media presence, even public bragging (“proud Napo baby” on Tinder == higher price).

• Economics:

  • Price discrimination maximizes company profits by charging each consumer their “full willingness to pay.”
  • But Jack & Nick hate this in practice:

    “We are students of economics, and yet… we actually hate the personal pricing phenomenon.” – Nick, [09:55]

• The Takeaway:

  • Algorithmic “inshitification”—squeezing more profit via AI-driven personalized pricing—hurts brand love and increases consumer suspicion.
  • “The economy works best when consumers believe it’s fair. And algorithmic pricing feels inherently unfair.” – Nick, [11:00]
  • Risk of consumer boycotts, paranoia, data-protection, and even a hit to GDP.
  • Hosts urge lawmakers to ban AI-assisted, personalized “spy pricing.”

Memorable Analogy:

“Each screen is a brand new price tag and they can set that price tag based on how much income they think the person has.” – Nick, [08:23]

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2. Nvidia’s GTC: The “Coachella for Chips”

(Starts ~11:43)

• The Event: GTC (GPU Tech Conference) is now the “Oscars of Compute” or “Woodstock of AI”—Nvidia issued 20 press releases in 24 hours!
• The Leader: CEO Jensen Huang is “the new Tony Stark/Steve Jobs.”
• Scale: Nvidia’s projected revenue for next two years doubled from $500 billion to $1 trillion.

  “Nvidia’s profit this year will be bigger than its two main rivals will chalk up in sales combined.” – Jack, [12:53]

• Tech Leap:
  • New “Blackwell” chip is 68x more efficient than its predecessor (“Hopper”).
  • Next-gen “Rubin” chip coming this year is another 13x leap—making it 900x improvement vs. Hopper in just two years.

  "That's not hockey stick growth, that's pole-vault growth." – Jack, [13:32]

• Everyone’s Dependent:
  • Nvidia supplies every major company, even works with rivals (CEO’s cousin runs AMD).
  • Only parties who “don’t like Nvidia” are the customers most dependent on it.
  • Big Tech tries to develop their own GPUs, but Nvidia remains the backbone of AI.
• Hamilton Tie-In:
  • “The future has its eyes on Nvidia.” – Nick, riffing on the musical Hamilton [15:12]
  • Our economy is “one giant bet on AI” and Nvidia is at the center.

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3. Spa/Pilates (Service) Economy Surpasses “Stuff”

(Starts ~18:33)

• Historic Milestone: For the first time, over 50% of US retail square footage is used for services (spas, gyms, studios), not products.

  “For the first time in American history, the services sector now leases more than 50% of all retail square footage.” – Jack, [19:09]

• Supply Side:
  • Spas and fitness studios (e.g., Barry’s, SoulCycle, yoga, med spas) have surged; they're premium tenants paying top rents.
  • Examples: Cross-country skiing boutique, record-breaking saunas in New York City.
• Demand Side:
  • “Healthiness is tied to wealthiness”—well-off Americans pay more to look and feel good.
  • New status symbol: Pilates classes and facials beat handbags.
  • Med spas have exploded in number since 2010; now nearly as numerous as McDonald's (10,000+).
• E-Commerce & Social Media:
  • More shopping done online → less need for physical stores selling goods.
  • Social feeds drive demand for looking good, boosting wellness sector.
  • “Botox in boxing is the new Starbucks.” – Nick, [21:00]
• The Takeaway:
  • Not just a trend—a tidal wave.
  • Wellness industry is thriving because e-commerce (less stuff in stores) and social media (more focus on personal image) converged.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Spy Pricing:
  “The price isn't the price anymore. This is inshittification on a whole new level.” – Jack, [06:02]

• On Nvidia’s Dominance:
  “Nvidia is the brain cell of every chatbot and the heart of every data center… and sadly, the teardrop of every glacier. But that's a story for another pod.” – Nick, [14:59]

• On Service Economy Shift:
  “Until now, most American stores don't sell stuff, they sell savasana.” – Jack, [19:25]

• Fun Fact Correction:
  “The plural of Lego is Lego… you always say Legos in your episodes and it’s very annoying.” – Listener Bodhi, age 11, [24:05]

• March Madness Bracket Advice:
  “Pick the team with the biggest probability-to-popularity gap… Like Michigan, they got a 19% chance of winning but only 15% of people have picked them.” – Jack, [02:46] “Don’t pick Duke… unless you work with your financial advisor, in which case sabotage him by telling him to pick Duke.” – Nick, [03:10]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:47 | Teasers for the three business stories | | 06:02 | Uber Eats personalized pricing (“Spy pricing”) | | 11:43 | Nvidia’s GTC event, AI, and exponential chip growth | | 18:33 | The new Spa/Pilates (Service store) economy | | 23:01 | Spandex bankruptcy discussed | | 24:05 | Listener’s “best fact yet” (the plural of Lego) |

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Episode Structure

• Topical banter & business news with lighthearted, witty commentary
• Quick takeaways after each story, summarizing core business lessons
• Listener engagement (fun facts, shoutouts)
• Useful, actionable insights—especially for those interested in business, technology, and evolving consumer trends

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Conclusion

This episode of The Best One Yet brings together the economic, technological, and cultural forces driving today’s business headlines—to wit: AI is everywhere (and Nvidia rules it), personalized pricing threatens trust and economic health, and the wellness/service sector is the new retail juggernaut. All served with Nick & Jack’s signature blend of irreverence and data-backed analysis.

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For listeners who missed it:
Expect to learn how Uber Eats might be “charging the rich fee,” why every company needs Nvidia, and why your neighborhood store is more likely to offer boxing gloves than box cutters. And, importantly: never say “Legos” in front of a Yeti from New Hampshire!

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick.

[B]

This is Jack.

[A]

It's Wednesday, so meet you Wednesday, March 18th. And today's pot is the best one yet. This is a T. Boy, the top

[B]

three pop business news stories you need to know today.

[A]

Oh, boy. You still on hold with Verizon over there, Jack?

[B]

So I called Verizon and I said, hey, AT&T's offering me a free iPhone 17. I'm planning to leave for them because that's a sweet deal. I say, can you match it? Because I've been a customer for eight years, and not only do they match it, they offer me an iPhone pro max. Then they gave me another iPhone for my. Then they gave me $10 off a month for both of our lines. They're like, I have terrific news. Yes, Jack, another $10 off for both your lines.

[A]

And that is why Verizon stock is down today. Besties, Jack, Three fantastic stories for today's T. Boy, though, what do we got on the pod?

[B]

For our first story, five New Yorkers placed the same Uber Eats order at the same time from the same place, but they all got different prices.

[A]

Does Uber Eats charge you more if you use an Amex platinum card? Say hello to personalized pricing.

[B]

For our second story, Nvidia is hosting its epic annual tech event. Right now, it's Coachella for computer chips.

[A]

So to give you a sense of how big this event has become, Nvidia issued 20 press releases in 24 hours. That's gotta be a record.

[B]

And our third and final story. For the first time in the history of America, we have more stores selling services than stores selling stuff.

[A]

Besties. It's the botox boxing economy. Spas, gyms, and salons now outnumber everything else.

[B]

But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix and thank Verizon once again.

[A]

I mean, coolest place in capital is in the best business. Mix the biz. What do we got?

[B]

Jack, last year, we warned you not to pick Duke in your March Madness bracket.

[A]

And Jack, who won March Madness last year? Exactly.

[B]

Not Duke.

[A]

Yeah, we were shooting 100% on that

[B]

one because Nick and I pick our basketball brackets based on our Wall street experience.

[A]

Yeah, we go full banker mode on this one. You would choose teams like a value investor.

[B]

You need to go full Warren Buffett

[A]

on your bracket or portfolio manager mode on that March Madness.

[B]

Basically, what we're saying is buy low, sell high.

[A]

Like buy St. John, sell Duke.

[B]

And we'll explain why. According to the Wall Street Journal, 30% of brackets on Yahoo so far this year have picked Duke to win it all.

[A]

But Duke has just a 20% chance of winning. According to prediction markets, that means the

[B]

Duke Blue Devils are the most overvalued team in the tournament, just like they were last year.

[A]

I like the Gamestop AMC of this tournament, Jack.

[B]

Even if you pick Duke and they end up winning, you'll have to share the pot with, like, a dozen faux Duke fans in your office.

[A]

And then the real Duke fans are. Well, we all know real Duke fans, Jack.

[B]

So picking Duke for your bracket, it's like buying peloton shares. Mid pandemic, you're buying high, not low.

[A]

So instead, besties, we suggest you find the team with the biggest probability to popularity gap.

[B]

Find the team with the higher chance of winning than those picking them to win.

[A]

Like Michigan, they got a 19% chance

[B]

of winning, but only 15% of people have picked them to win.

[A]

I mean, Jack, no one at work is picking Iowa State, Right?

[B]

Just like nobody at work was picking Nvidia back in 2003.

[A]

Yetis, Jack and I are long on Siena College. If you know, you know.

[B]

Because they got a better chance of winning than people in your office have picked them for.

[A]

Tell this takeaway to your financial advisor.

[B]

Don't pick Duke unless you work with your financial advisor, in which case sabotage him by telling him to pick Duke.

[A]

Or unless you're getting harassed by Duke fans, which is highly probable at work. Jack, let's hit our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack. Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice.

[B]

50%.

[A]

That's a fat tip. T boy city on your at. Liz, if you know, you know. Cause we read to go we can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. So, Yetis, Jack's instituted a new business model for his Airbnb hosting. And. Jack, what is it? Here it is.

[B]

Host equals guest.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I funnel all my revenue from being a host on Airbnb into one bank account and use that same bank account to book travel for myself.

[A]

Basically, it's Jack's host guest bank account for when he hosts and when he's a guest somewhere else.

[B]

When I lived in the City Neck, every time my apartment was available on Airbnb, it would get booked like that.

[A]

I mean, think about it. How often are you away from home? You got the bridesmaid, you got the shower you got the bachelorette, you got the wedding.

[B]

That's three weekends away just for one wedding right there. Plus, you gotta visit your mother naturally.

[A]

Well, that's a lot of potential hosting that you could be doing on Airbnb. Let someone else stay at your place while you're away.

[B]

Take that host money and spend it when you're a guest somewhere else. Have a business model like me if

[A]

you want to travel more. Hosting more is a great way to make it happen Financially, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host top hats. Baseball hats. Von Dutch hats. We wear so many hats on this podcast. Honestly, we're not great at all of them.

[B]

No, we've been avoiding hiring someone to wear those hats instead of us, especially the Von Dutch one, because hiring and training can take forever.

[A]

Well, Brad, to say that we are hiring right now at T boy. And this is a job for indeed sponsored Jobs.

[B]

Because sponsored jobs posted directly on indee are 95% more likely to report a hire than non sponsored jobs.

[A]

So besties spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results when

[B]

you need the right person to cut through the chaos. This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs.

[A]

And listeners of the show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves@ Indeed.com podcast.

[B]

So just go to Indeed.com podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.

[A]

That's indeed.com podc. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for indeed sponsored jobs. For our first story, last year Instacart was caught doing personalized pricing. But now Uber Eats has been caught as well, with special prices depending on who you are.

[B]

Because the price isn't the price anymore. This is inshittification on a whole new level.

[A]

Oh, Yetis, remember we did that interview with the Lyft CEO? You know, one reason Jack and I were so excited to speak with him and interview him last year? Well, it was this.

[B]

It was this nugget of truth. He said that people hate surge pricing. With a fiery passion. He said that about his own product.

[A]

Now imagine if that surge pricing was just for you because Lyft saw you got a promotion and thinks you're making more money.

[B]

Now, that would make you fiery passion like Mount Vesuvius.

[A]

Well, that happens to be what is happening over at Uber. According to an investigation by Peter Kafka at Business Insider here's what Business Insider's newsroom did.

[B]

They tested a theory. What happens if we all order a Big Mac right now from the same room and we all do it on Uber Eats?

[A]

Ah, the Big Mac test. And Jack, what were the results of that thing?

[B]

Each of those people in the room ordered a Big Mac, but they each paid a different price for it.

[A]

I'm sorry, Carol from accounting $9.22 Franken Finance, 12.34.

[B]

Now the difference was only by 20 cents. But Uber told Business Insider that prices are, and I quote, never based on users personal characteristics.

[A]

I'm sorry, but pause the pod here. There is one funny detail we should mention. Right, Jack.

[B]

If you tap a few times on the fine print in the Uber app, you see the opposite written right there on the phone.

[A]

Yeah. Quote unquote, this price was set by an algorithm using your personalized data.

[B]

That's what Uber actually says in their app, contradicting what the press person told Business Insider.

[A]

Now, besties, we jumped in further T boy style for you. And this experiment happened in New York, which is a state that has a law requiring that disclosure.

[B]

If you're doing personalized pricing for people, you must tell them about it. Only New York has that law, so it's probably happening everywhere else. We just don't know about it.

[A]

And we know what you're thinking here. Yeah. Last year we covered a similar personalized pricing test happening at Instacart. The personalized potato pricing test, as we called it back then.

[B]

Instacart was, you know, a little embarrassed by the headlines. So they ended that personalized pricing test for the avocados.

[A]

10 bucks for a VP, $5 if you're a plumber. Not too shabby.

[B]

But to sprinkle on some context, this like personalized pricing, you get one price, you get another price. That could never have happened before E Commerce.

[A]

I mean, Jack, back in the physical store era, the price was the price, my friend.

[B]

But when the store is your phone, everyone's phone can show a different price.

[A]

Basically besties, each screen is a brand new price tag and they can set

[B]

that price tag based on how much income they think the person has.

[A]

Now Yeti's Jack and I should context sprinkle on a little further here because this is not what hotels and airlines do, is it Jack?

[B]

No, they do dynamic pricing where the price changes depending on the supply and the demand.

[A]

Now, dynamic pricing for that hotel you're now annoyed you're paying such a high price for because you booked too late. That is based on the Anonymous forces of economics, supply and demand.

[B]

Personalized pricing is based on the not anonymous forces. Your personal data. It's how much the company think you have and think you can afford to

[A]

pay because they've been looking at your TikTok page. For example, your Uber Eats account may be linked to your Amex Platinum credit card. So Uber Eats is gonna try to charge you more.

[B]

That could happen. Or maybe your Tinder profile says proud Napo baby. Nick and I wouldn't advise that for one reason, because Uber Eats would charge you more for it.

[A]

Or maybe Jackie boasted the opposite. That on Instagram you have worn the same underwear for four years cause you're just that kind of a dude.

[B]

If Uber found that on your data, they'd probably charge you less because you probably can't afford the regular fees now.

[A]

Yeti's Jack and I should point out, I hate to use the word lick on the podcast, but economists are drooling and want to lick this phenomenon.

[B]

I'll let that one slide next. But yes, price discrimination, which is what we're talking about. It allows firms to maximize profit by taking each consumer's full willingness to pay.

[A]

But besties, Jack and I, we are students of economics and yet Jack and I do not love the personal pricing phenomenon. We actually hate it.

[B]

We do, because of our takeaway.

[A]

So Jack, what is the takeaway for all our buddies curious about the art of pricing?

[B]

Algorithmic pricing is inshinification to the max and it hurts the economy.

[A]

Ah, insidification. When a company makes the product worse because they're nickel and diming you to make more profit out of you.

[B]

Gradual inshinification is why you see 13 sponsored results with every Amazon product search you do.

[A]

That one doesn't look very good. Well, insidification is good for short term profits, but it is bad for long term brand love.

[B]

Even worse, insidification makes us consumers more suspicious with every app we open and every time we have to buy something. And that's bad for the economy overall?

[A]

Totally. Until now, companies have been forced to set one price for all, anchored by the physical price tag.

[B]

But with AI, they'll be able to set a personalized price for everyone based on our publicly available data from the web.

[A]

Yeti's not surge pricing or dynamic pricing. We're talking about the worst form of personalized pricing. AI surveillance pricing. Spy pricing.

[B]

Unless a law gets passed forbidding it. AI surveillance pricing is coming.

[A]

Now, an economy works best when consumers believe it's fair. And algorithmic pricing feels inherently unfair.

[B]

The result? Not just potentially boycotts of companies that try this, but justified paranoia and increased protection of our personal data.

[A]

Oh, and Jack, that kind of consumer paranoia, like scaled across the economy, that could put a huge dent in our gdp.

[B]

So we hope laws get passed banning personalized pricing, especially if it's assisted with

[A]

AI, especially that AI spy pricing over there. We see you.

[B]

Because algorithmic pricing is in shitification to the max and we think it'll hurt the economy overall.

[A]

For our second story, Nvidia's Silicon Valley super bowl of AI is happening right now down in San Jose.

[B]

And Nvidia dropped 20 press releases in just 24 hours.

[A]

To celebrate it, Jack and I are gonna connect all of this to Alexander Hamilton. More on that in a sec. More on that in a sec. But in the meantime, Yetis, open up your chatbot and type hey Nvidia. And then push enter.

[B]

Because whatever chatbot you just pushed enter into, Nvidia chips are going to process that query.

[A]

That's right, because since 2009, Nvidia has hosted the annual conference to celebrate their main thing, their main product, their profit puppy, the gpu, the graphic processing unit,

[B]

which has become an AI processing unit over the years.

[A]

And this huge annual Nvidia event, it's become the Oscars of Compute, promptapalooza, Coachella for computer chips.

[B]

It's called gtc, which is the GPU Tech conference. And it's become the Woodstock of artificial

[A]

intelligence, or chip stock, if you will.

[B]

And Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, is truly the new Steve Jobs of tech reject.

[A]

We want to say he's more like the new Tony Stark, right?

[B]

Yes. Because the event he kicked off on Monday feels like the Stark Expo from Iron man.

[A]

And he's got the numbers to back it up. Jensen Huang just doubled the amount of revenue he expects Nvidia to bring in over the next two years, from 500 bill to $1 trillion.

[B]

Get this, Yetis. Nvidia's profit this year will be bigger than its two main rivals will chalk up in sales combined.

[A]

Sit down, stand up and let that sink in again.

[B]

You only say something like that, Nick, if you got rockets built into your boots.

[A]

But besties, let's dive into voiced out to the event because Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, spoke for two and a half hours at the keynote.

[B]

That is quite a keynote. And it was a lesson not just in revenue growth we just told you about. It was a lesson in exponential growth. Here's what Jensen said. I believe that computing demand has increased by 1 million times in the last two years.

[A]

He says that computing demand has increased by a million times in two years. That's not hockey stick growth, that's pole vault growth.

[B]

And it's a good thing that Nvidia developed the Blackwell chip two years ago to meet all that new demand, which,

[A]

by the way, is named after the scientist Blackwell, just like all Nvidia chips are named after scientists.

[B]

And it's a good thing because The Blackwell generates 68 times more performance per watt of electricity than predecessor. The Hopper chip. Yeah.

[A]

Now even if you don't know what a watt is, what matters here is how much different that is from the prior chips. Right, Jack?

[B]

Yes. And Blackwell's successor, which hits the market this year, it's called the Rubin chip. That's another 13x leap in performance.

[A]

So, Jack, can we pause the pot and whip out the whiteboard here and look at how different each of these chips is and how much faster they've gotten.

[B]

Blackwell is 68 times better. Rubin will be 13 times better. IPSO facto, the Rubin chip, which comes out this year, will have 900 times the computing performance of the Hopper chip from two years ago.

[A]

I mean, we haven't seen numbers and angles like that since high school physics.

[B]

900x performance growth besties.

[A]

This is like if you traveled on vacation to Paris in one year, Mars the next year, and then a brand new dimension after that. This is the definition of exponential.

[B]

These claims are incredible, but they're also credible. True, Jack, because Jensen has a track record of doing what he says he'll do.

[A]

And the leader in compute is still Nvidia. Years after becoming a coal company, Nvidia is still number one in the market.

[B]

Nvidia is the brain cell of every chatbot and the heart of every data center.

[A]

And sadly, the teardrop of every glacier. But that's a story for another pod. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at Nvidia and the Coachella for computer chips?

[B]

The future has its eyes on you. Nvidia.

[A]

That's from the musical Hamilton. George Washington says and sings to Alexander Hamilton. History has its eyes on you.

[B]

Well, we're telling Jensen Huang the future has its eyes on. That's right.

[A]

Because our entire economy is one giant bet on AI right now. And Nvidia is all up in every part of that bet.

[B]

You want proof? Get this. On Monday, Nvidia published 20 press releases. That's more than most companies publish in an entire year.

[A]

You want more receipts? They did press releases with IBM, hp, Adobe, Amazon, T Mobile, and Disney.

[B]

They announced deals Monday with Nissan byd, Hyundai, Uber and Lyft.

[A]

Have you noticed that Nvidia is not enemies with anyone? In fact, Nvidia's biggest rival in the chip industry, AMD is is run by Jensen Huang's cousin.

[B]

And Nvidia has no enemies because every element of our economy is a bet on AI. And everyone needs Nvidia to make that bet on AI.

[A]

In fact, the only ones who don't like Nvidia are arguably the customers who love it the most because they're basically addicted to Nvidia.

[B]

True big tech companies are trying to develop their own in house GPUs to break their dependence on Nvidia.

[A]

So when Nvidia speaks Yetis, investors listen, markets react. And now the world shakes a little bit.

[B]

Because to misquote Hamilton, the future has its eyes on you Nvidia.

[A]

Now, a quick word from our sponsor, Monarch.

[B]

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[A]

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[A]

For our third and final story, America just passed a wild milestone. For the first time ever, the majority of stores don't sell stuff. They sell services.

[B]

And it's because of a tidal wave of trends. Spas and gyms are beating shoes and shampoo.

[A]

Jack, I'm sorry, can you remind us what are you doing again this weekend? You guys got a good plan? You and Alex?

[B]

We're going to the Home Depot. We're gonna buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed Bath and Beyond Besties.

[A]

A 2026 updated version of that old school quote. It would actually have Frank the Tank going to the spa for a little Swedish massage. Maybe Orange Theory. I don't know if we have enough

[B]

time because of this hero stat. For the first time in American history, the services sector now leases more than 50% of all retail square footage.

[A]

I mean, what a hero stat. You see, for all of America's history, the majority of store space was dedicated to selling stuff.

[B]

Until now, most American stores don't sell stuff, they sell savasana.

[A]

So here's what we found fascinating about this, Jack. Let's start on the supply side of this spa surge.

[B]

Well, service businesses have become the ultimate retail product.

[A]

That's right, because the services surge is driven by two specific categories. Spas and Fitness Studios.

[B]

Berry's SoulCycle, Yoga 6 Health Spas, Med spas.

[A]

I mean in New York, in the Flatiron district, there is a cross country skiing fitness boutique studio.

[B]

Right now, indoor cross country skiing. And that's right next to America's biggest sauna. A real business in the Flatiron of New York.

[A]

Speaking of plump Jack, the spas and the gyms happen to be more premium tenants. So they're paying higher rents and landlords are loving it.

[B]

They're more premium tenants. Because on the demand side, healthiness in this economy is being driven by wealthiness.

[A]

That's right, healthiness is tied to wealthiness. So the well off are spending more to look and feel good these days.

[B]

The status symbol of this economy used to be having a luxury handbag. But today it's having pilates classes every morning with a post class facial every once in a while.

[A]

Which reminds us of a story you may remember from last year. We did it on the med spa surge.

[B]

Med spa surgeon. They're like in the gray area between a hospital and a totally not medical center.

[A]

But get this, the number of med spa locations in America has 6x since the year 2010.

[B]

And a lot of those med spas are taking over space that used to be a rite aid.

[A]

In fact, get this, there are now 10,000 med spas in America compared to 13,000 McDonald's.

[B]

That says a lot, doesn't it?

[A]

So besties, add it all up and Botox in boxing is the new Starbucks.

[B]

And shopping, you're not buying stuff, you're paying for services. Or if you are buying stuff, you're not doing it in stores. Which leads to our takeaway.

[A]

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the Botox and boxing class?

[B]

Economy, there are trends and then there are tidal waves of trends.

[A]

Now yetis, interestingly, America has long had a services driven gdp. We do our banking, tech entertainment industries better than we do manufacturing.

[B]

But for services to become the majority of retail, that's the result of many.

[A]

Yes, for example, let's start with E commerce, right, Jack?

[B]

We simply do much of our shopping online and need less shelf space in real life.

[A]

Oh, another surprise factor here. Social media.

[B]

All the time we spend on our Instagram and TikTok feeds has us more aware of how we look. So Americans are investing in wellness and

[A]

those two forces work together. As traditional physical retail fell, services retail slipped right on in to fill the void.

[B]

You got a gym membership and you got a facial.

[A]

From Planet Fitness to Equinox and all the med spas in between, the wellness industry is living its best life right now.

[B]

We call it the boxing and Botox economy.

[A]

And it isn't a trend. This is a tidal wave of trends. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for ceviche Wednesday and Slammin Salmon?

[B]

Uber Eats got caught charging different prices to different people.

[A]

It's personalized pricing, AI spy pricing that's inshidification to the max. That would actually hurt our economy.

[B]

For our second story, Nvidia issued 20 press releases on Monday because our economy's become a giant bet on AI.

[A]

To Jensen Huang, we say, just like Hamilton, the future has its eyes on you.

[B]

And our third and final story is a new milestone. More than half of retail stores in America are selling services, not stuff it's

[A]

the Botox and boxing economy because E commerce and social media are two tidal waves of trends that made it happen.

[B]

But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[A]

First, surprise. Spandex just filed for bankruptcy. Can't believe we're saying it, Jack.

[B]

Spandex. It was invented by DuPont scientists back in 1958, changed fitness forever.

[A]

Spandex walked so that Lulu could run. Now we should point out Spandex is owned by the Lycra company, which supplies basically the whole athleisure industry.

[B]

And Athleisure slowdown has simply stretched the Spandex too thin.

[A]

And second, Arizona just filed criminal charges against Kalsheet today accusing the prediction market company of operating any legal gambling business

[B]

because betting on sports is the same as predicting on sports. We think this is the start of a legal question that's going to go all the way to the supreme court.

[A]

And finally, OpenAI just got sued by the dictionary. They're claiming that OpenAI is guilty of quote unquote, massive copyright infringement. Their words literally, by the way to

[B]

use it in a sentence dictionary, has a copyright on 100,000 articles that were all scraped by OpenAI. Allegedly. And if you ask ChatGPT, like what is chrysanthemum? It'll plagiarize what it read in the dictionary.

[A]

Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary 11 year old Yeti Bodhi Badarai from lovely Concord, New Hampshire.

[B]

Push and play. Hey, it's Bodhi from New Hampshire. And my best fact yet is the plural of Lego is Lego. That, that is because you always say Legos in your like episodes where you talk about Lego and it's very annoying.

[A]

Bodie, thank you for the fact checked on this. We really appreciate it. The Lego Lego controversy is one that we still struggle with, we should point out.

[B]

Bodie, I'm sorry, that's on me. I've always called him Legos with an

[A]

S. No, Jack, you don't have to take this on both of us, man.

[B]

Nick, the kid's name is Bode. He's from New Hampshire. He must be a great skier, definitely. So I'm gonna defer to him on how to, how to describe multiple Lego.

[A]

Bodhi, thanks for always giving us the fact check. Yetis, you're looking fantastic for ceviche Fuente. That's why we're wearing the slammin salmon. But we really would like to see you when you look your most fantastic.

[B]

April 8th. We will be at Irving Plaza. The show is at 7:00'.

[A]

Clock.

[B]

Arlington, Virginia was our best show yet. I think New York is gonna be even better.

[A]

It's our New York City live show. There are just a few tickets yet so grab them now. Now. April 8th, 7pm can't wait to see you there.

[B]

Links in the Episode Description this podcast was born in New York City. I'm just saying.

[A]

So was I. We're just saying. We're just saying. And before we go, a Happy birthday to legendary Eddie Matt Rolane turning 32 in Rochester, Michigan. Since his dad is his boss, we hope he gets the day off to go to Costco in his Crocs.

[B]

Happy 29th birthday to Claire logging in Cary, North Carolina. She just started freelancing and she's crushing it.

[A]

And Jackson Baker has got a 19th birthday in Skinny Atlees, New York. Congratulations Jackson.

[B]

Happy 16th birthday to Gabriela Aguado in North Bay Village who's celebrating her sweet 16 with a lead role in the

[A]

local performance of Hadestown. And Meredith Johnson. Enjoy that 29th birthday down in Texas. Happy Birthday.

[B]

Happy Birthday to Zach Steinfeld turning 31 in Atlanta celebrating that birthday with the Slammin Salmon pink T Boy Crewneck sweatshirt.

[A]

Hopefully getting a 300 bowling game too.

[B]

Or at least a turkey.

[A]

And Alyssa Naue Bauer just got promoted to Director of Technical Accounting down in Houston. Congratulations Alyssa.

[B]

And congratulations to Kelsey Black, one of the five finalists for Austin's 40 under 40 for retail. That's quite an honor.

[A]

And a special shout out to Vijay and Kirsten, who are building True Chroma, this insanely cool app that actually uses AI to help plan your wardrobe. Check it out. Two Yetis Building something awesome.

[B]

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T Boy.

[A]

Celebrate the wins.

[B]

This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Disney and Lyft. And Nick and I both own stock of Peloton. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.