What do consumers do when they want a product? They search for it.
This year, though consumers were more selective, they were certainly still spending. A look at the products and brands that piqued their interest in 2024 can provide a blueprint for what brands should be locking in on in 2025.
Below, Vogue Business breaks down some of the top fashion and beauty searches across Google, Pinterest and Depop to assess some of the year’s top consumer priorities.
The middle is the sweet spot
This year, as luxury prices climbed, more consumers searched for middle-tier and ‘accessible luxury’ items and brands that offered quality at price points that weren’t too big a hit on already strained bank accounts. It’s no wonder, then, that Coach’s Quilted Tabby Bag reached peak popularity this year, with Google searches for the item hitting an all-time high. The brand’s successful turnaround has made it a hit with Gen Z, which gravitates towards its low to mid-hundreds handbags, from the Tabby to the Brooklyn. Other players would do well to follow its lead.
Trendy staples were another Google Shopping search highlight, and mid-tier brands were the go-to for finding them. Search interest for “ballet flats” increased 84 per cent this year in the US, and “kitten heels” also reached a record high. Google recommends Berlin-based footwear brand Aeyde for both, per the engine’s data on popular brand searches. Both styles are priced in the $200s.
Other standout searches include Axel Arigato slogan tees (“T-shirt slogans” increased 160 per cent this year in the US), a Nanushka boxy blazer (“business casual” beat records this year in the US), and an Anine Bing cardigan (cardigans spiked in November, as they do every year, per Google). On Depop, top brands searched were Lululemon, Skims, New Balance, Stüssy and Ralph Lauren.
Small luxuries win
In a similar vein, as luxury prices climb out of reach, consumers are looking to engage in ways that won’t break the bank. Searches for “bag charm” reached a peak in the US this year, according to Google. “Necklace charms” also beat records in 2024, as users sought to glam up their existing wears, rather than purchasing new ones. “Oversized sunglasses” spiked too, despite Google noting that they do every summer in the US.
Brands are clocking on. Retail intelligence platform EDITED recorded a 47 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of new handbag charms arriving online at US and UK luxury brands this year. Mytheresa saw big success with its brooch stock.
“They serve as an entry-level purchase, providing customers with an accessible way to buy into a brand without committing to a larger investment,” Richard Johnson told Vogue Business earlier this year. And looking to Autumn/Winter 2025 and 2026, WGSN predicts that “chaotic customisation”, wherein consumers hyper-personalise their products, will drive brands’ hardware and details.
Fragrances follow the same pattern. On Google, searches for “unisex fragrances” were up 130 per cent. And on Pinterest, perfume dominated the year’s beauty searches. “Perfume scents” was up 134 per cent, “Sol De Janiero Perfume” up 173 per cent, and “Carolina Herrera Perfume” up 120 per cent. It’s good news for brands, more and more of which are releasing perfumes as a way to keep consumers spending — if less money — amid a tricky retail environment.
Wellness takes priority
This year, wellness-related searches knocked straight-up beauty out of the park, as consumers indicated a desire to invest in themselves. Bar Elf Cosmetics’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter (for which searches were up a major 5,000 per cent), the majority of top beauty-related searches veered in the direction of skincare, sleep and longevity.
Longevity is set to dominate the wellness sector in 2025, per Euromonitor International’s ‘Top Global Consumer Trends 2025’ report. This is a major opportunity for brands, from digital health, fitness and sleep tracking to NAD+ supplements.
On Google, searches for “skincare kit” were up 100 per cent year-on-year. Similarly, on Pinterest, searches for “bath and bodycare” have been up 245 per cent — the platform’s highest increase in beauty searches after “Summer Fridays lip balm” (up 247 per cent). On Google, specific products won out; Estée Lauder led the charge, with searches for its Advanced Night Repair serum up 5,000 per cent in the US. Outside of bodycare, Oura is the top-searched brand of smart ring this year in the US on Google. 2025’s hottest trend is, after all, longevity.
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