E-commerce platform Shopify has unveiled the top trending product categories in Australia for May 2024, highlighting vintage advertisements and self-care products as gaining popularity in terms of purchases.

Vintage advertisements experienced a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 508.3%, while self-care products also saw a surge in popularity. Sauna heaters increased by 520%, bidets by 690%, hair styling tools by 22%, water bottles by 147%, and ear candles by 263%.

Exercise equipment trends showed a 22% increase in treadmill sales, while free weights saw a decrease of 11%. Lingerie purchases increased by 91%. Cooking accessories have also seen a rise in popularity, with pasta-making accessories increasing by 92%, pasta makers by 317%, pizza cutters by 34%, wok accessories by 105%, hot plates by 586%, deli slicers by 243%, sandwich makers by 107%, and bakeware sets by 143%.

In a potential sign of the cost-of-living crunch and inflation on coffee shop prices, coffee machines have also seen a rise in sales, with French Press Coffee Machines increasing by 27% and espresso machines by 40%.

Nostalgic tech products have seen a resurgence too, with MP3 players increasing by 228%, two-way radios by 175%, DVD and Blu-Ray players by 57%, and jukebox sales by 99% MoM. Tech-related products that trended in May include Tablet Computer Screens & Screen Digitizers (1141% MoM increase), hard drive accessories (1077% MoM increase), keyboard keys and caps (290% MoM increase), and computer processors (195% MoM increase). E-book readers have seen a decrease in sales by 52%.

Winter-related items have seen a surge in sales, with space heaters increasing by 105%, kimono coats by 379%, snowboard boots by 203%, snowboard sales by 120%, and ski and snowboard helmets by 402%. Ice skate blades have seen an increase in sales by 109%.

The top 5 most popular product categories for May were Tablet Computer Screens & Screen Digitizers (1141% MoM increase), Hard Drive Accessories (1077% MoM increase), Boat Ladders (1016% MoM increase), Thermal Optic Accessories (999% MoM increase), and Shipping Tags (875% MoM increase).

The data is based on sales by Shopify merchants in Australia from May 2024 compared to April 2024.