iPhone 4, the World Cup and Silly Bandz: eBay’s “Top Shopped” Reveals the Pop Culture Moments and Fashion Trends that Mattered Most in 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), the world’s largest online marketplace and a leader in mobile commerce, today announced its annual “Top Shopped” report¹, revealing the top pop culture moments and fashion trends that captivated shoppers’ curiosity – and cash – in 2010. eBay analyzed sales and search data across categories in the Marketplace to identify the year’s major moments and movements. From tech and toys to sports memorabilia and fashion, eBay tracked trends that turned the ordinary into prized possessions.

“Year after year, we see the hot trends, topics and pop culture obsessions translate into online sales.”

“With more than 200 million daily live listings and a community of more than 93 million active users, eBay is uniquely positioned to take the pop culture pulse based on the millions of Marketplace purchases made each day,” said Karen Bard Sayah, eBay’s Trend Expert. “Year after year, we see the hot trends, topics and pop culture obsessions translate into online sales.”

eBay’s Picks² for America’s “Top Shopped” and Pop Culture Obsessions of 2010:

1. iPhone 4
2. Barbie
3. Military jackets
4. Hot Wheels
5. iPad
6. World Cup
7. The Beatles
8. Silly Bandz
9. Alice in Wonderland
10. New Orleans Saints
11. Marc Jacobs
12. LeBron James

America’s 2010 Top Pop Culture Obsessions:

Gotta-have Gadgets: One company produced two of the year’s most coveted new devices: Apple’s iPhone 4 (1,634,674 related items sold) and iPad (621,399 related items sold). Apple’s flagship products conquered the tech scene as well as pop culture and were wanted by everyone from avid readers to families, gear geeks, and anyone interested in the latest must-have.

Fans Span the Globe: In 2010, the world was united by a buzzing plastic instrument. Together, the FIFA World Cup and the now iconic vuvuzela horn, sold a total of 265,268 related items on eBay. Another global competition, the Vancouver Olympics, revealed the sporting and spending spirit with 11,716 related items sold.

Rivals at It Again: Perhaps the most famous and fierce rivals in sports, the New York Yankees (569,411 related items sold) and the Boston Red Sox (272,828 related items sold) topped the charts this year, even beating out the 2010 World Series competitors – the San Francisco Giants (71,620 related items sold) and the Texas Rangers (52,581 related items sold).

NOLA’s Comeback: Champions, and underdogs, of the 2010 Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints, were a pop culture obsession on eBay with 151,083 related items sold. The Saints defeated their opponents on eBay as well as on the field. The Indianapolis Colts, defeated in the Super Bowl, sold 87,722 related items. However, while Drew Brees led his team to victory, Peyton Manning was still the favorite according to eBay with 91,972 related items sold compared to 61,473 related items sold for Brees.

Back to Basics: It’s no surprise that two of the hottest toys for holiday were classics. The number of Barbie items sold totaled 1,178,909 and Hot Wheels wasn’t too far down the road with 748,140 related items sold.

Fashion trends, a firm fixture on the pop culture radar, were charted over the course of the year, as style-seekers flocked to eBay Fashion, a dedicated destination for clothing, shoes and accessories on the marketplace, to browse and buy their favorite styles, brands and designers from more than 20 million daily live listings. The details on top fashion finds and fads are in the data, which reveals that Americans saluted style with a frenzy around military-inspired items, went mad for plaid, embraced the return of the romantic 1950s, and showed an animal attraction for feathers, faux fur and leopard print.

eBay’s Picks for America’s “Top Shopped in Style” and Fashion Obsessions of 2010:

1. Military jackets
2. Plaid
3. 1950s
4. Neon
5. Marc Jacobs
6. Feathers
7. Faux fur
8. Tory Burch
9. Ankle boots
10. Leopard print

America’s 2010 Top Fashion Obsessions:

A Salute to Fashion: One of the biggest fashion trends this year, military jackets topped the list as the fashion obsession for 2010 with fashion fanatics buying more than 1 million related items on eBay (1,038,026 related items sold).

Pretty in Plaid: As the favorite fabric for fall, plaid was a hot commodity on eBay, coming in second as a fashion obsession with 718,365 related items sold.

Return of the Decades: Retro fashion was haute this year with decades like the 30s, 50s, 80s and 90s trending high on eBay. The feminine 1950s took the cake with 626,264 related items sold, followed by the 1980s (378,222 related items sold), 1930s (321,103 related items sold) and 1990s (299,785 related items sold). Neon was also a big fashion trend this year and was a bright spot with 469,356 related items sold.

The New Glam: Decadent materials like faux fur (105,988 related items sold) and feathers (121,983 related items sold) as well as dramatic, bold prints – specifically leopard print (80,120 related items sold) – were all the rage with the fashion-savvy set of 2010.

Fashion Icon Lives On: This year marked the passing of iconic fashion designer Alexander McQueen. His legacy has lived on with fans buying 20,070 related items. In addition, McQueen’s unofficial muse and fashion icon for the new millennium, Lady Gaga, had shoppers vying for her look with related sales that totaled 96,470.

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About eBay

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects hundreds of millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

¹ Data is based on U.S. eBay listings that included the key terms in the listing title across all categories from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 19, 2010.

² eBay’s “Top Shopped” picks were culled from items sold pertaining to pop culture phenomena across multiple categories.