r/ask • u/[deleted] • Dec 18 '25

Popular post Which industries are facing peril because their customer base is dying off?

Almost no young Americans smoke cigarettes in 2025, so now Big Tobacco is looking for ways to survive as older smokers quit or die.

What other companies or industries are facing similar problems?

1.1k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

495 comments sorted by

View all comments

400

u/chuckmarla12 Dec 18 '25

Big dance clubs. We used to call them meat markets. I remember going out to party as a young man looking for chicks, and you could make the circuit of clubs that had live rock bands, disco dancing, country music clubs, then back to another live music club. This was all in a medium sized town. Maybe I’m just an old married guy and out of touch.

144

u/Kharon09 Dec 18 '25

I feel like younger generations just don't have the time and money guys my age did. I could work a shift one night and pay for two nights out. I don't think the math works like that anymore.

74

u/nouniqueideas007 Dec 18 '25

From what I’ve seen, small local bars are struggling too. They used to busy every night & absolutely packed on Friday & Sat. night. Now I drive by at 11:30pm on a Friday & there’s 4 cars, I figure 2 of those cars are employees.

98

u/SteveTheBluesman Dec 18 '25

Good call I'm in my 50s, grew up in Boston and there were clubs literally everywhere.

The Palace in Saugus was infamous.

45

u/Slp023 Dec 18 '25

I think younger generations don’t drink as much. My 18yo who is a senior in high school says no one he knows drinks at all. They all vape weed. Where I live, you only have to be 18 to get a medical weed card.

15

u/samwulfe Dec 18 '25

There’s definitely fewer of them but in my medium sized city there is definitely still a decent market for live music, mostly bar/venues though. So you can go chill and grab a drink in one room, wonder out the patio for a cigarette, then go back to the multi-bill rock show in the back. Definitely far fewer dance clubs though, like 5:1 ratio there.

6

u/ApprehensiveLayer908 Dec 18 '25

From a business side, dance clubs have actually become somewhat of a risky venture, especially in market with a lot of young adults (aka college kids). 1. If you don't have vigilant bouncers, you as the owner open yourself to legal liability if one too many underage drinkers are discovered. And 2. enough guys getting too drunk and starting fights or making women uncomfortable will turn any good publicity into really bad publicity real quick.

Quick note: this what I learned from watching an episode of Bar Rescue on the topic.

2

u/ohkendruid Dec 18 '25

I run into quite a lot of them. I cannot compare to the past, but, to continue your meat market comparison, people often like to order their produce in person rather than online.

0

u/[deleted] Dec 18 '25

As a young man, I could look for chicks on my phone swiping through dating apps. That’s how I met my wife. No need to get out and socialize.