If you’ve been online at all in the past month, you’ve probably come across at least one supersaturated neon-colored throwback post with a caption like, “2026 is the new 2016.” What started as a social media meme could ignite a broader shift in the cultural zeitgeist, which in turn could boost retail brands synonymous with the times.
This trend has been dominating the social media cycle for the past few weeks. On Jan. 16, an Instagram account linked to Spotify revealed that its user-created “2016” playlist has surged more than 790% since Jan. 1, adding top tracks like “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson and “Sorry” by Justin Bieber. The caption of the post was “2026 is the new 2016.” A day earlier, the Instagram account of Hollister, a subsidiary brand of Abercrombie & Fitch, posted a heavily filtered carousel of 2016 icons, including a Polaroid camera and the era’s classic skinny jeans.
Meanwhile, the relative search volume for ‘2016 aesthetics’ around the world recently surged to an all-time high on Google, highlighting the trend’s increasing momentum.
As the 2016 resurgence plays out online, the question on investors’ minds is whether this nostalgia reset will lead to a retail resurgence for the brands that once defined the mid-2010s. One sign that the nostalgia wave is being reflected in real-world consumer behavior is that young people are rediscovering the appeal of in-store shopping after years of e-commerce dominance.
“It’s not that they don’t buy most of their products online, but they like going to the store,” Jan Kniffen, CEO of retail consultant J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide Enterprises, said in an interview with CNBC.
This shift reflects a deeper cultural undercurrent, with younger consumers finding themselves increasingly seeking the easygoing, familiar comfort of the mid-2010s.
A reset shaped by today’s economic anxiety
Joel Marlinarson, a social media strategist and owner of Coldest Creative, first identified the 2016 nostalgia trend in a TikTok post that received 1.1 million views last July. Marlinarson told CNBC that many Gen Z look back on that time as less performative and more authentic, especially as it related to social media.
“I think people see this period as a universal feeling of a brighter world,” he says.
Jamie Cohen, a digital culture expert and assistant professor of media studies at Queens College in New York, told CNBC that this “consistent retro nostalgia” is consistent with the sentiments of young people reminiscing about the last era before the “advancement” of social media.
“Of course, the admiration for the simplicity of that era has something to do with fashion,” he said.
Joan Hsu pointed to a more structural problem. The early period was defined by a strong post-financial crisis economy supported by low interest rates and inflation. By contrast, Sue, director of consumer research at the University of Michigan, believes today’s consumer resurgence is a negative reaction to high prices and political instability.
“Consumers seem to be thinking about the current state of the economy relative to the years before the pandemic,” he told CNBC. “Before the pandemic, things felt much better.”
Su added that due to price pressure, consumers tend to refrain from purchasing big-ticket items while continuing to selectively spend on smaller, more comfortable items. She also noted that historically, younger people tend to have a more optimistic outlook than older people. However, in recent years, negative feelings toward the economy among young people have begun to subside.
“What’s now clear is that it’s not just nostalgia, it’s also a form of risk aversion,” Kniffen wrote in an email to CNBC. “When society feels unstable to consumers, they stop innovating aesthetically. They revert to the last time it felt ‘manageable.'”
Kniffen told CNBC that retail trends typically last about 18 months. He expects this 2016 nostalgia cycle to last at least through this year’s midterm elections, and potentially another nine months after that.
“‘2026 is 2016’ is not just a trend cycle,” Kniffen said. “Maybe it’s a coping mechanism too. But whatever it is, it’s reality.”
Turning nostalgia into a retail revival
Brands that could benefit include those that not only evoke rosier times, but also succeed in achieving the ideals sought by “vibe-based Gen Z”: more authenticity and less intentionality, media studies professor Cohen said.
Marlinarson believes the brands most poised to win are conscious brands that have lost the cultural relevance they had in 2016.
“Brands that haven’t been able to stay culturally relevant are using this as an opportunity to remind themselves,” the social media strategist said. “That emotional connection to the brand that people wore when they were 10 or 15 is always going to be important for brands.”
Over time, brands that previously suffered public relations disasters Abercrombie & Fitchwe now have an opportunity to distance ourselves from past controversies.
Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the companies that Kniffen believes can ride this 2016 nostalgia wave, with both its flagship brand and Hollister being able to capitalize on 2016’s “peak casual but hot fashion” in the “right place, right time.”
Fans wait as Lucy Hale appears at the Hollister store at Westfield Century City Mall to present her collection on August 9, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.
Jason Merritt Getty Images
Management may have a chance at redemption if the company can “edit out all the bad parts,” Cohen said. “There’s a lot of things in the past that are not welcome in the present,” he added.
knife sees Levi Strauss Benefiting from the return to skinny and slim straight-fit jeans, he praised recent collaborations and collections that brilliantly revive cuts from older silhouettes. Along similar lines, american eagle outfitters Specializing in “classic denim/normcore” can also be profitable. Although the company has struggled recently, Kniffen said there is room for improvement given its 2016 dominance.
I also like Kniffen victoria’s secretThe brand was perhaps at the height of its cultural popularity in 2016. The brand has made solid efforts to regain its position in the market, including changing its strategy to focus more on inclusivity and bringing back its runway fashion shows in 2024 after a multi-year hiatus.
Stella Maxwell walks the runway during Lady Gaga’s performance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Grand Palais on November 30, 2016 in Paris, France.
Hubert Boessl | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
urban outfitters The brands Kniffen highlighted as potential beneficiaries have been doing well in recent years and were culturally significant in 2016, as were the company’s Anthropologie and Free People brands. Stacey Widlitz, president of SW Retail Advisors, praised Urban’s relatively new president of North America, Shea Jensen, for being the driving force behind the company’s ability to pinpoint future trends.
“They’re getting more in touch with cool things and trends and being able to capitalize on that, whereas in years past brands have lost a little bit,” Widlitz said in an interview with CNBC. “If there’s ever a play that’s going to bring you back in time, this is probably the most likely one.”
coty and kylie
Another company that could take the lead is a beauty company cotyowns the controlling interest in Kylie Cosmetics. Founded by Kylie Jenner, the brand’s lip kits were an essential part of my 2016 makeup routine. Marissa Tiwari, a social media strategist and owner of Marketing With M, said her company has embraced the trend well. As proof of that, Tiwari points to Jenner’s recent Snapchat collection, in which she revived the maximalist “King Kylie” persona that flocked to social media in 2016.
“Kylie, one of the most culturally relevant beauty brands of its time, took this opportunity to really establish itself as the OG of celebrity beauty brand strategy,” Marlinarson added.
Atmosphere at Kylie Cosmetics 10th Anniversary Celebration with friends and family of Kylie Jenner held in West Hollywood, California on October 17, 2025.
Philip Faraone Getty Images
Jenner was among a group of celebrities who shared a look back at 2016 on their Instagram. A Jan. 15 post with the caption “You just had to be there” received 5 million likes.
Cosmetic manufacturer friends elf beauty Another company Tiwari sees leaning into trends for 2016 is having Nina Dobrev star in a recent campaign. Dobrev appeared on the CW show “The Vampire Diaries” from 2009 to 2017.
With sneaker culture coming back to life in 2016, Kniffen said Foot Locker dicks sporting goods Profit is expected in 2025. “These retailers benefit every time sneaker inventory is revived after being killed by the ‘retrocore’ cycle,” he wrote on CNBC.
Kniffen also sees an opportunity. ralph lauren Tommy Hilfiger currently owns it. PVHcapitalizing on a return to “classic normcore” as the “oldest among the young” pick up on the trend. TD Cowen retail analyst Oliver Chen highlighted Coach-owned Coach. tapestryas a brand that can win over Gen Z thanks to nostalgia, quality and marketing.
Other social media discussions focused on publicly traded companies snapchatfamous for its corolla filter that was popular in the mid-2010s. VF Co., Ltd.Other companies that could be at the forefront of a return to 2016 include , which owns Vans. Outside of retail, Marlinarson believes: coca cola It had a chance of winning after the company revived its “Share a Coke” campaign last year “for a new generation.”
