SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The past
year was full of trends, moments, and movements that changed the
cultural and commercial landscape. Today, eBay releases its new
'Top Shopped' report1 that takes an exclusive
look at 2017 sales from the marketplace. The 'Top Shopped' report
spotlights and reflects on how pop culture and current affairs
influenced shopping on one of the world's largest online
marketplaces. With over a billion listings – a majority of which
are new or available to buy immediately – eBay continues to be a
barometer of trends.
"With a watch purchased every four seconds and a smartphone
purchased every five seconds, eBay sales uniquely reflect the
cultural zeitgeist," said Bradford
Shellhammer, eBay's Head of Personalization and Engagement.
"From adidas Superstars to eco-friendly luxury, to Wonder Woman
memorabilia and merchandise to Radiohead on vinyl, shoppers know
that whatever they're coveting, they can find it on eBay."
TOP SHOPPED2 17 for '17 | The
Moments that Mattered Most
- The Force Is Strong: In the two months before the
December 15 release of Episode VIII,
The Last Jedi, Star Wars fever transcended generations to reach new
levels of fandom. There were more than 450K Star Wars items bought, with Rey proving
herself the most beloved character (7K Rey items purchased), and the Star Wars Lego
collaboration was the most popular Star Wars-related toy
(7.5K bought).
- Giving Back for Good: There seemed to be no shortage of
tragedies and natural disasters, but shoppers rallied together to
put their paychecks to work to benefit the greater good. In the
wake of these disasters and as a humanitarian response, the eBay
community donated over $700K to
charities.
- Royal Fever Reigns: Between Netflix's "The Crown,"
Pippa Middleton's wedding, and
Meghan Markle's engagement to
Prince Harry, eBay saw US shoppers
coveting British brands throughout the year. In the weeks following
the first outing as an engaged couple on November 27 – and with Meghan wearing a white
belted wrap coat – there were more than 13 white coats purchased
every hour on eBay. Additionally, 4.6K Mulberry 'The Bayswater' handbags, and more
than 3K pairs of Hunter Wellingtons
were purchased since January 1,
2017.
- Swanky Phones: With larger screens and new technology
like Face ID, smartphones continued to get more premium in 2017
with the introduction of the iPhone X. Since its debut, eBay
shoppers collectively have bought more than 29K iPhone Xs and nearly 39K iPhone 8s. Throughout the year, there were
more than 2.6 million smartphone purchases on eBay.
- Art for Social Change: More than ever before, artists
were compelled to start a dialogue about social issues – and
shoppers showed their support. The eBay community raised nearly
$800K for the New York Public Art
Fund through an exclusive charity sale of Ai Weiwei works – within
24 hours. Meanwhile, nearly 13K works
of art by Shepard Fairey were purchased in 2017 – with sales
spiking in January and November, months with notable political
moments.
- Move Over Millennial Pink: As the Millennial Pink
obsession reached its tipping point, 'Gen-Z' yellow bubbled up,
priming itself to take the reigns as the new 'It' color of 2018. In
fact, there was a 7 percent increase in sales of yellow dresses
(seen on celebs and social media influencers alike) compared with
2016.
- Coffee Culture: Shoppers are elevating their at-home
coffee game. Last year, there was an 85 percent increase in
year-over-year sales of Chemex Coffeemakers, and a 70 percent
increase in sales of Ninja Coffee
Bars. In fact, a Ninja Coffee
Bar was such a hot-selling holiday gift in 2017, that one
sold every two minutes on November
14.
- Connected Home: Enabling people to search, listen and
shop faster, Wi-Fi connected, voice-activated devices and smart
speakers infiltrated the home. The most popular were Nest devices
(more than 211K bought), followed by
the iRobot Roomba (more than 58K
bought). The Google Home Mini spiked since its October 19 debut, with shoppers purchasing nearly
240 every day.
- Throwback Streetwear: The '80s and '90s streetwear trend
reached its tipping point in 2017, with more than 57K fanny packs and more than 25K Champion sweatshirts purchased. When it came
to most coveted sneaker, the Adidas Superstar (107K pairs bought) beat out the Reebok Classic
(28K pairs bought) and the Nike
Cortez (24K) in a huge way.
- Female Empowerment: In an unprecedented political year,
social issues bubbled to the surface and had an unparalleled impact
on fashion choices. Shoppers bought more than 43K pieces of apparel featuring political and
feminist slogans, 24K women's
pantsuits, and 2K 'Nasty Woman'
shirts.
- Car Collectors: From rare to new, eBay continues
to let shoppers buy for their dream garage. Perfect for weekend
road trips or for a showroom display, some of the most impressive
(and expensive) 2-door coupes and supercars include a 2006 Ford GT
Base that sold for over $240K or a
2017 Lamborghini Huracan LP580 2-door Spyder that sold for nearly
$230K.
- Revival of Vinyl: With Sony Music Entertainment
beginning to press records after a three-decade hiatus, the frenzy
for vinyl made an impact in 2017. There was a 24 percent increase
in vinyl record sales on eBay compared to 2016 – with almost
10K vinyl records being purchased
every day in 2017. Fleetwood Mac's
Rumours was most coveted on vinyl, followed by Radiohead's OK
Computer. Crosley was the most popular record player brand,
followed by Jensen; and, there were over 95K record players and turntables bought
throughout the year.
- Trending Toys: Nostalgia was everywhere this year, and
trending toys were no exception. Shoppers went wild for Super
Nintendo (over 500K gaming systems
bought), Tamagotchi toys (16.6K
bought), and Teddy Ruxpin (more than 8K).
- Superhero Stardom: Marvel & DC Comics superheroes
were ubiquitous throughout 2017, in the lead up to and following
notable movie releases. Spiderman: Homecoming, Wonder Woman and
Thor: Ragnorok proved most popular, with 205K Spiderman comic books (43 bought every hour)
and 55K Spiderman action figures
purchased; 47.7K Wonder Woman comic
books and 17K action figures (also
the third most popular Halloween costume bought on eBay); and
nearly 9K Thor comic books and more
than 15K action figures bought since
the release of the films.
- Solar Eclipse of the Heart: Named the biggest and best
solar eclipse in US history, shoppers went to great lengths to view
the August 21 spectacle. For the eclipse, there were
133.5K protective glasses,
19K tents, and 10.5K pairs of binoculars purchased in the month
leading up to the eclipse.
- Rainbow Saturation: The obsession with mythical
creatures reached its peak in 2017, with psychologists musing that
the trend reflected a form of escapism during a tumultuous year.
The movement took on various forms as shoppers coveted clothing and
accessories in a variety of colors, including unicorn phone cases
(nearly 70K bought), unicorn costumes
(56K bought), unicorn pajamas and
onesies (nearly 21K bought) and
mermaid makeup brushes (57.5K
bought).
- Going Green: Environmental awareness and sustainability,
became the norm as opposed to the exception. Gucci announced its
commitment to fur-free design, and sales increased by seven percent
compared to 2016 sales. Dior introduced eco-friendly packaging,
with sales increasing 13 percent year-over-year on eBay.
About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global
commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds
platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers
around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity
through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's
largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value
and unique selection. In 2016, eBay enabled $83 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more
information about the company and its global portfolio of online
brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
1 Data is based on US sold items that
included the key terms in the listing title across all categories
from January 1, 2017 to December 19, 2017, as well as January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 to show year-over-year
comparisons.
2 eBay's "Top Shopped" picks were culled from
trends, themes, and items pertaining to pop culture phenomena
across multiple categories.
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SOURCE eBay Inc.