Quarantine shopping trends like home fitness equipment, sourdough starters, and tie-dye sweats have jolted web traffic at unsuspecting businesses.
The evidence: In exclusive data shared with Retail Brew, SimilarWeb ranked the 25 e-comm sites that experienced the most traffic growth in May. Traffic spikes aligned with current trends like...
- Streaming. Twilight Time, a store for downloading classic films, topped the list with a 798% May traffic increase.
- Skating. Four roller skate sellers cracked the top 25: Moxi Skates (up 371%) Riedell Skates (up 283%), Planet Roller Skate (up 238%), and Roller Skate Nation (up 203%).
- Redecorating. Best-BuyFurniture.com ranked third with a 708% increase in traffic. Hive Modern and Home Elegance also logged traffic jumps of over 200%.
Few of the brands listed are household names, meaning quarantine shopping searches have at least promoted brand discovery. Or these brands earned a PhD in search engine optimization.
Check out the 25 fastest-growing brands by web traffic for the month of May, per SimilarWeb data, below.
1. Twilight Time
E-comm users were more nostalgic for classic films than classic stores. This film archive's traffic grew 798% in May.
2. GNR Merch
Guns N' Roses fans fueled a 765% jump in May traffic.
3. Best Buy-Furniture
At Best Buy-Furniture, traffic grew 708% last month. Something tells me the name's similarity to another big business helped...
4. Shirtz
A seller of graphic tees and accessories, Shirtz recorded a 460% traffic increase in May.
5. SoulFly
Rounding out the top five, sneaker and sports apparel site SoulFly logged a 423% traffic bump.
6. Homelegance
Home decor site Homelegance noted a 380% traffic increase.
7. Moxi Skates
The first of roller skate sellers to appear here and not the last. Moxi led the category with a 371% traffic increase.
8. Shop BLT
Visits to Shop BLT, a computer hardward and videogames site, increased 370% in May.
9. Insomniac Shop
May traffic at Insomniac Shop, a storefront for music festival-inspired merch, rose 366%.
10. Riedell Skates
283%. That's the traffic rise this roller skate emporium experienced last month.
11. UFC Store
The first rule about fight club is...they wear matching outfits? That's my guess after traffic jumped 277% there in May.
12. Ryder Wear
You can't stream hours of Yoga With Adriene without an outfit for it. So trips to Ryder Wear, an athletic and yoga apparel store, increased 261%.
13. Hive Modern
Another home furnishings brand, another slot on the traffic growth list. At Hive Modern, traffic increased 248%.
14. Planet Roller Skate
Virtual trips to Planet Roller Skate increased 238%.
15. Old Time Pottery
The name's misleading: Old Time Pottery is actually a home furnishing and decor store. Traffic there increased 210% in May.
16. Beach Sissi
No open beach or pool? Not an excuse to let a swimsuit purchase go by. Trips to this online swimsuit destination grew 206%.
17. Roller Skate Nation
The last of the skate destinations on our list, traffic here increased 203%.
18. Shoe City
This footwear retailer logged 195% traffic growth last month. I wonder: Was it running a promotion on Crocs?
19. Evermine
Personalization site Evermine saw a 181% increase in May traffic.
20. Eight Sleep
Casper and Purple, watch your back supports. Eight Sleep, with a 176% increaese in site visits, was the only mattress brand to enter the top 25 e-comm sites last month.
21. Sierra
T.J. Maxx and Marshalls's outdoor gear sibling site logged a 175% traffic increase in May.
22. Sisters Apparel
What's responsible for the 175% bump at Sisters Apparel: the tie-dye sweats or the James Charles tie-in?
23. Hourglass Cosmetics
An overall slump in the cosmetics sector didn't stop shoppers from bumping up Hourglass Cosmetics's traffic by 168%.
24. Nicks Boots
Visits to this work boot purveyor increased by 162% last month.
25. Sell Back Your Book
The recommerce sector's growth extends to college textbooks. Web traffic jumped 142% at Sell Back Your Book in May.