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In June, beating the heat was a top priority for shoppers. Several items designed to help us stay cool popped last month, according to data Shopify provided to Retail Brew.
- Sales of beach mats were up 188% month over month.
- Evaporative coolers were up 174%.
- Powered hand fans and misters were up 164%.
- And child swim aids were up 93%.
Summer sports equipment also got a boost: Sales of volleyball nets popped 406%, and just in time for the European Cup, soccer balls and soccer uniforms were up 72% and 45%, respectively.
Moving indoors, sales of CD players and recorders jumped 85%. Streaming and home media player sales were up 67%, and projector accessories rose 49%.
Other beneficiaries of summer spending are pets, some of whom were lucky enough to get their own exercise equipment and furniture last month, when sales of dog treadmills increased 85%, and cat furniture accessories were up 81%.
Meanwhile, some shoppers were already preparing for the fall, as back-to-school spending on items such as uniforms (153%), bulletin board accessories (80%), cheerleading pom poms (74%), and crayons (45%) spiked.
Unrelated to summer or back-to-school shopping trends, sales of toothbrush accessories soared in June, topping Shopify’s list of the top 20 trending product categories for the month. In the number one spot, toothbrush replacement heads were up 433%. And in third place, right behind volleyball nets, was “toothbrush accessories,” which jumped 395%.