5 Biggest Winners in Global eCommerce of 2018
Such rapid growth of the e-Commerce industry has prompted online retail become one of the most popular businesses model today. The growing trend is expected to continue as millenials take over as the largest population group with the greatest global spending power in 2019.
We notice popular products of 2018, by analyzing sales across the globe and specific regions, twitter sentiments, order information, etc. with PriceMole Competitor Price Monitoring. So here is Part 2 of the Biggest Losers & Winners of Global Ecommerce in 2018 with our top 5! 
#5 Backpacks & purses
Be it a child or youth or adult, most likely you have used a bag or carrying device at some point in your life. We all transport things on a daily basis, bags are a diverse and useful fashion product worth a $151 billion.
Naturally, peak season comes around in August of every year in the Northern hemisphere, when school is about to start. But overall, Woman seem to buy more bags than men and children combined. Backpacks are vey popular for people the ages 18-34, so probably university students just like school children.
Best Sellers Globally: Aer Designs, Peak Design, Chloé Tess Bag, Loewe Gate Bag
Best Sellers Amazon: Amazon basics, JanSport, Adidas
Biggest Retailers: Rei,
#4 Athleisure Wear
"Athleisure now accounts for 24% of US apparel sales."
- Marshal Cohen, NDP Group Study via the Fashion Network
Athleisure is a trending term meaning to make workout clothes and sweatpants acceptable everyday attire.
Although we are all too familiar with the trends of tight workout clothes since the 80s and 90s thanks to the lovely Jane Fonda, it has become more fashionable to wear this type of attire all day, prompting a surge in sales.
Athleisure Wear tops sales increased by 11%, and bottoms by 5% in the last year. In the last two years, there has been a 90% increase in activewear with odor control products, a +48% moisture wicking products, and +36% increase in organic products. Also, sneaker sales climbed 2% to $19.6 billion last year in the US.
"Nearly HALF of women admit to wearing gym clothes when they're not working out - as ATHLEISURE trend kickstarted by Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, becomes even MORE popular."
According to Global Industry Analysts Inc., sports and fitness apparel clothing will reach $231.7 billion worldwide by 2024. While other apparel categories are declining, consumers are getting just what they want in athleisure wear. Women are the primary driver for this sales category.
Best Sellers Globally: leggings and crop tops in neutral tones, sports bras, cropped hoodies.
Biggest Retailers: Lululemon, Sweaty Betty, Athleta, Fabletics, Calia, Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Victoria Sport
#3 Watches
It's a big tick for watches in 2018, in more than one category. We seem to be having Vintage Vibes, Smartwatch Surprises and Mostly Minimal all at the same time. Men drive sales in this category, as watches seem to be their way to express personal style.
"Time will tell. Time is always telling. Time never stops telling."
- Questlove
Smart Watches are trendy in groups of people concerned with health and physical well being as they monitor heart rate, blood pressure, sleep rhythms and much more.
Minimalist Watches are a must have for business associates and entrepreneurs. According to the GEM national report, more than 100 million startups are launched every year, which is about three startups per second, so this growing trend makes complete sense. Additionally, these watches are never outdated and get along well with every outfit.
Facebook and Instagram tend to be the most popular channels for growing a watch store.
Best Sellers Globally: Rolex, Omega, , TAG, Fossil
Best Sellers Amazon: Casio, Samsung, Timex
Biggest Retailers: Amazon, Overstock, Macy's, World of Watches
#2 Shapewear
Shapewear has been vailable since the 1920s, from Girdles to Modern Shapers. This Product has proven its not a Fad or Trend. Shapewear is an undergarment designed to alter the wearer's body shape temporarily, to achieve a more desirable figure, used by men and women.
"When I started Spanx, I'd never taken a business class in my life. Now Spanx expects $400 million in annual sales. People love to look and feel good!"
- Sara Blakeley, Founder of Spanx
In the past 12 months, google trends reports days where the search was +350% higher than in previous years. By 2022, the shapewear industry is expected to skyrocket to $5.6 billion in sales. Women have always been and still are the primary driver for this sales category.
At number 4 we saw that Workout clothes are trendy, and shapewear is also a growing market. These are related categories catering to different needs. Will a clear winner emerge? We don't know yet!
Best Sellers: Hi-Waist Briefs, Girdle, Smooth Full Body Briefers.
Biggest Retailers: Spanx, Hanes, Prima Donna, Leonisa, Under Armour, Nike, Adidas, etc.
"Coming down four sizes, in 2 minutes for £20, count me in!"
#1 Smartphone Accessories
"Anything can change because the smartphone revolution is still in the early stages."
- Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc.
As highlighted in an earlier article Phone accessories have high markups and are easy to sell. Everyone needs them, and everyone has different tastes so just about anything sells. No wonder iPhone Accessories was the #1 best seller of 2018.
In 2018, about 2.5 billion people own a cell phone. In the USA its nearly 263 million people. Globally 83% of smartphone owners now use a protective case, that number grew by 4% since last year.
Geographically, Asia-Pacific accounts for the largest market share regarding revenue in the overall mobile phone accessories, three years running. North-America is expected to see significant growth of 14.0% in revenue by 2023.
Best Sellers: Power Banks, Protective Cases, Screen Protectors.
Biggest Retailers: Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Bonanza
Most popular Brands according to Amazon: Samsung, Anker, LifeProof, OttorBox, etc.
How can I easily retrieve similiar information for my own use?
- - Research ideas in Google Trends to find popular and growingsearch ter
- - Find market data to see if the industry sales are growing with helpful tools like Google , PriceMole , SEMRush , etc.
- - Narrow down to product categories using Google search volume
- - Research blogs and influencers to find passion topics like on Linkedin , Medium , Facebook , Twitter or Business Insider
Have any questions, comments, ideas? Think we missed a high margin product category? We look forward to hearing from you!
Want to learn more about Competitor Price Tracking with PriceMole? Learn more on our Website ,, Shopify , Facebook , Linkedin , and Twitter .