'Everybody wants to self-optimize'

Business Insider

03-05-2025

Keisha Sarpong needed a new work bag to ferry her documents and laptop to the office. But as she started looking, she realized she didn't want the bag to make her look too much "like a lawyer with a briefcase" when she went to happy hour, Sarpong, a 30-year-old nonprofit worker who also runs a TikTok fashion account, tells me. Oh, and it'd be nice if it had enough space for her to take it on a trip. Basically, she wanted a bag that could do it all.
The bag Sarpong eventually settled on features a stylish black leather finish, a laptop sleeve, and plenty of space for a water bottle and notebooks, plus an adjustable strap that can secure it on a rolling suitcase. It may not be perfect for everywhere, but it's pretty close.
Sarpong's search isn't an isolated instance of a picky shopper. She's part of a growing cohort of consumers demanding more from the products they spend their hard-earned money on. It's not just bags that you can work and play and travel with. It's air fryers that can cook almost anything. Makeup products that double as skincare items. Or even an unassuming ceiling lamp that, you see upon second glance, is also a smart projector and speaker. Faced with rising prices and increasingly busy lives, Americans are arming themselves with products that work like a Swiss Army knife.
"If I'm going to invest in a quality staple, I want to make sure I'm going to get a lot of use out of it. I'm really drawn to pieces that are multifunctional," Sarpong says. It's not just her bag that she's making work overtime — she also tells me she owns travel cubes that do triple duty as a purse organizer and cosmetics pouch. That's where she stores her all-in-one makeup products, which can be variously used on lips, cheeks, and eyelids.
Whether it's higher prices, hybrid work, or an ever-rising obsession with efficiency and optimization, there are a slew of reasons Americans are looking for stuff that can fill more than one role. And as tariffs threaten to raise prices even further, people are trying to find value wherever they can get it. For businesses, expanding their product offering to fill different parts of customers' lives can insulate them from fickle tastes and cushion their bottom lines in leaner times. As multifunctional goods become ever more popular, it's clear that we're living in a three-in-one economy.
American consumers are wrestling with a lot of uncertainty these days. Years of COVID-driven inflation have left people unsure of just how much things are supposed to cost. Economic upheaval has people worried about their jobs. And businesses are skimping on the quantity and sizes of their products (whether it's smaller portions at restaurants or fewer sheets of toilet paper per roll) — leaving Americans wondering whether they're really getting a bang for their buck. All these factors are pushing people to look for deals wherever they can: In a recent survey of consumers by the accounting and consulting firm EY, 77% of respondents said they were actively changing their buying habits to seek better value.
How do you make your dollar go further in this environment after you've already followed the classic budgeting advice? Hybrid products could be a tool in consumers' inflation-fighting toolbox. Inflation-weary consumers are increasingly turning to these products, especially for appliances and tech gadgets, says Steffen Schenk, the managing director of NielsenIQ's North America tech and durables sector. For example, he points to combination microwave-roaster-grill air fryers that save time and space in small kitchens and self-cleaning robotic vacuums with built-in mops. NielsenIQ has seen growing consumer demand for smart kitchen appliances and tech wearables.
"The reality is that convenience is now one of the key drivers of choice across most categories," Schenk says. "And once again, having those multifunctional devices really helps with that."
Kristen Jauregui, a 35-year-old payroll specialist who runs a lifestyle blog, has been putting a bigger emphasis on budgeting than she has in the past amid the chaos of tariffs and elevated inflation. Jauregui tells me that she's consuming much more mindfully, whether it's buying less, doing more price comparison before hitting " check out," or looking for products that serve more than one occasion.
"If I can find something that is multifaceted or can be used in more than one aspect, I will absolutely buy that over a product I can only use once," Jauregui says.
Jauregui has been optimizing her closet for both work and play. Ever since the pandemic, she's swapped out high heels for more comfortable loafers and sneakers that can be worn straight from the office to a night out. Another hybrid product Jauregui has recently started using is solid shampoo, a bar that can be used as shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body soap. These bars — which Jauregui purchases from the beauty brand Kitsch — have saved her money and time, as Jauregui no longer needs to buy travel-size containers of different toiletries when she goes on trips. According to consulting firm Capgemini, big companies like L'Oreal are hopping on the trend and launching their own solid shampoo products.
In addition to everyday essentials, consumers are turning to products with various uses to justify their desire to splurge. Hardcore austerity has never been America's strength — when sales spiked after the 2001 stock market crash, former Estée Lauder CEO Leonard Lauder called the need to partake in small luxuries during major downturns the " lipstick effect."
After all, if the lipstick you purchased doubles as a moisturizer and blush, you're getting much more bang for your buck.
Nowadays, consumers stressed from constant budgeting might forgo expensive vacations but still decide to treat themselves to a little retail therapy, Schenk says. If consumer sentiment continues to decline and tariff-induced uncertainty drags down the US economy, Schenk expects the lipstick effect to kick in during the back half of this year.
"If you look at some of the trends we're seeing around self-indulgence, wellness, and so on, we would expect a similar lipstick effect in this cycle," Schenk tells me.
Young people tend to be the early adopters, but if something is hybrid, it makes everyone's lives easier.
Sarpong has already been indulging in some lipstick effect shopping — literally. She's a big fan of the beauty brand Rhode's pocket blushes, which come in a small, unassuming cylinder, not unlike a glue stick. The pigment can be used as a blush, lip color, or moisturizer.
"It's in the name. It's a nice handheld size, so I can bring it with me everywhere," Sarpong tells me. "I can touch it up on my cheek but also my lips. It's a nice two-for-one."
Multifunctional products can help consumers use some "girl math," as TikTok would say, to justify those nonessential splurges during economic hardship. After all, if the lipstick you purchased doubles as a moisturizer and blush, you're getting much more bang for your buck.
In addition to acute economic drivers, longer-term trends have also increased consumer appetite for products that do it all. One is the pandemic-driven downfall of the five-day in-office expectation. As the divide between where work ends and where the rest of our lives begin has become less clear, consumers seek products that can cross over from one side of the divide to the other. This cross-functionality appears to appeal especially to Gen Z and millennials. Saoirse Cleary, the creative strategy director at the marketing agency MG Empower, tells me that the younger generations' emphasis on work-life balance makes them more open to trying new products that offer unique wellness or lifestyle features, such as athleisure wear and multifunctional makeup products. These demographics are also much more likely to find these multifunctional products through social media channels rather than traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Convenience seeking isn't just a Gen Z or millennial thing, though. "Young people tend to be the early adopters," Cleary added. "But if something is hybrid, it makes everyone's lives easier."
Yet another driving factor for the three-in-one economy is Americans' desire to optimize every part of their life. Devices and goods that fulfill multiple needs can feed people's drive to be the best, healthiest, or most efficient. Schenk, from NielsenIQ, tells me smartwatches that track health metrics while keeping time have been especially popular. From 2019 to 2023, the number of new products in the wearables category jumped from 5,000 to 80,000 — an increase not seen in any other product category, NielsenIQ GfK Market Intelligence says.
Oura rings, which provide users with various biometric data.
Everybody wants to self-optimize, so everything you buy has to be the best version of what you could get.
"People started out with just wanting to track their steps with a wearable device or on their phone, and now it's about period tracking, sleep tracking, and heart rate tracking," Cleary says.
"You have to highlight the hybrid benefits of a product nowadays," Cleary adds. "Everybody wants to self-optimize, so everything you buy has to be the best version of what you could get."
Amid this consumer phenomenon, companies are increasingly leaning into the desire for multifunctional goods to add to their bottom lines, especially when those products can satisfy people's craving for a "little treat." Cleary tells me that appealing to people in various walks of life can expand the awareness of a brand outside its core constituency, which helps to lure in new customers who may not have run into the company's offerings otherwise.
"A bag that functions for work, the gym, and social outings can be embraced by minimalists, professionals, and fitness enthusiasts alike, creating crossover appeal that strengthens a brand's reach," she says.
Cleary adds that in her work helping global brands develop their influencer marketing strategies, she's seen companies launch multifunctional product campaigns.
Multiuse products can also deepen relationships with existing customers, especially during an economic downturn. When companies launch value-rich products that make people's lives easier, they build trust within their customer base. On the other hand, price increases and a decrease in perceived product value isolate cash-sensitive shoppers. With consumers like Sarpong and Jauregui putting more thought into their purchases, a multifunctional aspect helps brands make buyers feel like they're getting the best option.
Twice in the past few years, the fragility of our global economic system has been pushed to the forefront. When the pandemic hit, businesses shut down, and a toilet paper shortage had people rushing to store shelves. Now, as businesses grapple with tariff-driven uncertaint y and DOGE drives federal worker layoffs, consumers are feeling déjà vu. For everyday people, there isn't much you can do to shield yourself from breakdowns in complex supply chains or policy decisions made in DC, but changing your consumption patterns is one actionable way to exert your economic agency.
"The way that we've used technology has changed. The way that we shop has changed. The way we interact with people has changed. So I try to make sure that anything I purchase is multifaceted," Jauregui tells me.
"I've changed how I purchase makeup and skincare products because I want to make sure they're versatile," Jauregui adds. "If something happens tomorrow, and the world shuts down, will I be able to find a way to get this?"