Sneakers, faux fur and Off-White: 2018’s trends according to eBay

Rest assured: if something is trending, you will find it on eBay. The e-commerce giant has published its 2018 Shopping Report, revealing the best selling products since January, and the fashion items which made the list come as no surprise for those following the latest catwalks and trend forecasts.

Even though fashion houses like Burberry, Gucci and Versace have banned fur from their collections, one only has to take a look around to realize the fur look isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s actually getting more popular: between July and September, eBay registered a 105 percent increase in sales of faux fur items. From vests to backpacks, a total of 50,000 fake fur pieces were sold on the platform, thanks to celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who frequently flaunt their “Teddy Bear coats” on Instagram.

eBay’s report also confirms the rising popularity of animal prints: in the first week of October alone, an average of 378 animal print items were sold each day on the platform. Cycling and biker shirts, which were featured in several Spring/Summer 2019 catwalks, are on the rise on eBay too: no less than 110,000 cycling and biker shorts were sold since January. Once again, the trend was pushed by Instagram superstars Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid.

The logo frenzy inspired by the 1990s took over eBay as well, with sportswear brand Champion leading the way. Sales of Champion sweatshirts increased 76 percent on eBay since January. They’re followed by New York cult brand Supreme, which racked up an impressive 30,000 searches a day on eBay this year.

Gucci is enjoying a popularity wave, as anyone with a mild interest in fashion can tell. Internet users type the label’s name on eBay’s search bar every 20 seconds since January. As a result, 126 Gucci bags were sold on eBay every day and nearly 500 Gucci bags were sold every month.

According to the online marketplace, Dior and Fendi are experiencing a resurgence in popularity too: interest in Dior went up nearly 20 percent after the fashion house re-launched its Saddle Bag in July. Fendi’s “double F’s”, which were not so popular last year, had 365,000 people looking for them on eBay in 2018.

Virgil Abloh designer of the year on eBay

2018 was the year of Virgil Abloh. In addition to launching a series of successful collaborations with brands such as Rimowa and Nike, the mastermind behind streetwear label Off-White was appointed Director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton in March. His popularity was confirmed on eBay as well: a total of 38,500 Off-White sneakers were sold on the platform this year -- that’s five pairs per hour at an average of 289 US dollars per pair. Off White’s sneaker with Converse Chuck Taylor was Abloh’s most beloved collaboration, at least among eBay shoppers.

Speaking of sneakers, they are one of eBay’s strongest categories, with 40,000 pairs being sold on the platform each day in the United States alone. The most sought-after sneaker style of 2018 was the Nike Air Max 1/97 Sean WotherSpoon, but Air Jordans are not that far behind, with half a million of them sold on eBay this year -- that’s one pair every minute.

The good news for eBay (and sneaker retailers worldwide) is that consumers seem to be willing to spend more on their pairs: eBay shoppers are purchasing more than 370 pairs of sneakers costing over 250 US dollars every day.

Images: Pixabay, Asos Facebook, Gucci Facebook, courtesy of eBay