The 10 fastest-growing trends that will shape 2019
Aperol Spritzes hit it big in 2018, emerging as the the fastest growing product category for goods and services in 2018, according to data from Square.
Sales of the bubbly prosecco-based beverage jumped 515% year-over-year – yet another data point that proves the Aperol Spritz craze around the country was real.
More than 2 million businesses use Square’s (SQ) credit card transaction platform; the technology processes more than 1.4 billion card transactions a year, totaling $65 billion in volume.
Square’s data team shared the top 10 trends that may shape 2019, judging by how big the growth was in 2018.
Sales of oat milk were up with the Spritz – 425% year over year – exceeding cow, almond, cashew, soy, and coconut milk. Overalls followed in third place with a 330% spike, with rose gold with a 235% increase, and enamel pins at 210% following.
Unicorn stuff (“all the things - unicorn latte, unicorn ice cream, etc.”) was up 110%, hair braiding services up 96%, tahini up 90%, succulent (plants like aloe) sales up 80%, and perms rounded at the top 10 with a 77% spike. It’s a funky list.
Square’s data report noted that certain trends were more concentrated in certain places. New York, for example, was the Aperol Spritz capital of the country while Pennsylvania the land of the oat milk. Similarly, Square found enamel pins are big in Texas, and California is where the unicorn craze is the most pronounced. Overalls are most popular in Illinois.
And for the hair, perms are “in” in Massachusetts, and braids are concentrated in Florida.
To qualify as a real trend, Square set a transaction threshold at a 10,000 transaction per year minimum.
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Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, retail, personal finance, and more. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.
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