5 Biggest Winners Global eCommerce 2018
Are you starting an online store? Already running an online store? Maybe even profiting from one?
According to Statista, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase 246.15% by 2021, from 1.3 trillion in 2014 to 4.5 trillion in 2021. There has never been a better time to get in the game.
The most important thing about running an online store and being successful is selling the right product — a profitable product.
The data used in this article has been gathered from a very large data set of over 100M distinct SKUs / URLs tracking a number of top eCommerce sites over the past year from our Competitor Monitoring & Dynamic Pricing App PriceMole.
Here is Part 2 of the Biggest Losers & Winners of Global eCommerce in 2018 with our top 5!
#5 Smartphone Accessories
3% growth worldwide
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 are 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. Interesting to note is that India saw a 9.6% growth in 2018.
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.
#4 Athleisure Wear
4.5 % growth worldwide
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 and is a $200 billion dollar industry today.
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 are 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
5% growth worldwide
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.
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. Sales grew by 6.3 % worldwide in 2018.
Minimalist Watches are a must have for business associates and entrepreneurs. Sales grew by 4.4% worldwide in 2018. 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.
According to Statista in a 2017 survey, approximately 70 percent of Millennials worldwide reported owning at least one traditional analogue watch.
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
6.7% growth worldwide
Shapewear has been available 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 Backpacks & purses
11.5% growth worldwide
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 $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 very popular for people the ages 18–34, so probably university students just like school children.
Travel Bag sales saw an average growth rate of more than 6.99% according to MarketWatch.
Important to note is that Fashion Brands are embracing the idea of making bags multifunctional to address a broader spectrum of needs, desires, and demographic life stages. This has helped expand the consumer group, prompting their exceptional 11.5% growth worldwide.
Even luxury designer brands are adding more function into their products, and this convergence has proven to be an equation for even greater success among today’s fashion accessory consumer.
— Beth Goldstein, NPD’s accessories and footwear industry analyst.
Best Sellers Globally: Aer Designs, Peak Design, Chloé Tess Bag, Loewe Gate Bag
Best Sellers Amazon: Amazon Basics, JanSport, Adidas
How can I easily retrieve similar information for my own use?
- Research ideas in Google Trends to find popular and growing search terms
- Find market data to see if the industry sales are growing with helpful tools like Google , PriceMole Competitor Price Tracking, 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
Be sure to check out Part 1 : 5 Biggest Losers of Global eCommerce 2018
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 .
Originally published at pricemole.io.
