Google Trends: Find & Validate Trending Products for Your Store

Can Google predict the future of retail? As it turns out, yes—by as much as three quarters in advance.

New research from K. Ramesh and Gary Lind analyzed Google search patterns for nearly 200 publicly traded US retailers between 2004 and 2019. When search volumes go up, so do revenues—often long before analysts or investors catch on.

In fact, investment strategies built around search trends outperformed traditional models by 2%–3%. That’s big news for retailers like you, too. Google Trends is a free forecasting tool sitting right in front of you. 

Ahead, we’ll show you how to make Google Trends work for you—whether you run an online store or a brick-and-mortar business. You’ll learn what it is, how it helps retailers, which products are trending right now, and common mistakes to avoid.

What is Google Trends?

Google Trends is a free tool from Google that tracks what people are searching for, how interest in those searches changes over time, and where those searches are happening. Instead of giving you exact numbers, it indexes search volume on a scale of 0–100 so you can compare the relative popularity of different topics, products, or keywords.

As the world's leading search engine, Google handles over two trillion search queries annually. Its advanced algorithm effectively makes sense of the search data you and your customers are looking for, making it one of the best places to find near-real-time market research on shopping trends. 

How Google Trends helps retailers

Google Trends is free market research you can put to work today for product discovery and validation. Here’s how:

• Discover product search volume: Don’t waste time launching something no one’s looking for. A quick Trends search shows whether shoppers are already hunting for your product idea. 
• Check seasonal demand: Holiday toys, sunscreen, home workout gear—most categories have built-in cycles. Use Trends to plan ahead, balance seasonal items with evergreen ones, and avoid cash-flow surprises. 
• Nail down your customer’s vocabulary: Should you advertise “hair dryer brush” or “blowout brush”? Trends lets you compare terms side by side to see which words your audience actually types into Google. That insight can make your ad copy, SEO, and marketing campaigns way more effective.

Eight trending products on Google Trends 

Here is some of the data we used to define what is “trending”:

1. Shopify merchant data: US Shopify merchant sales growth in June 2025 was compared to June 2024 to see which products were taking off this summer. 
2. Google Trends validation: We validated that momentum on Google Trends to confirm real search demand.
3. Deloitte’s ConsumerSignals report: This is a longitudinal study of what products households are spending on and why. Their latest findings show that when US consumers splurge, they’re most often driven by comfort (21%), relaxation (16%), and practicality (12%).
4. National Retail Federation’s 2025 retail forecast: This report, among other things, highlights health and wellness as a top priority for US consumers.

Here are eight trending products backed by sales data, search behavior, and consumer spending trends:

1. Yoga mats

Over the past year, search interest in “yoga mat” has stayed consistently strong in the US, with clear seasonal spikes. Google Trends shows demand climbing to its highest point around December 2024–January 2025 (New Year’s resolution season) and again in spring 2025. The latest data still sits well above the baseline seen a year earlier.

This demand lines up with broader consumer behavior. Deloitte’s ConsumerSignals highlights that Americans splurge on purchases that are comforting (21%) and practical (12%)—two boxes a yoga mat ticks. And according to McKinsey, the US wellness sector now exceeds $500 billion in annual spending, growing steadily at 4%–5% per year, even amid broader economic uncertainty.

Yoga mats have become a catch-all symbol of at-home wellness, doubling as bases for Pilates, stretching, meditation, and home workouts. That makes them a resilient product with both seasonal peaks and evergreen demand.

Key insight: Demand is high—but so is competition. Differentiate with eco-friendly materials, functional upgrades, stylish design, or bundles. Take a cue from Gaiam, who migrated to Shopify and boosted conversions with visually navigated, storytelling-driven landing pages instead of standard product grids.

2. Wrap skirts

Over the past year, search interest in “wrap skirt” has steadily climbed in the US, with the strongest spikes between March and May 2025. Google Trends shows a clear seasonal lift, with search volume holding above its 2024 baseline.

This trend was confirmed in Google’s Spring 2025 Shopping Report, which named the wrap skirt the breakout spring skirt search of the season. 

The fashion media is in sync with the momentum. As Cosmopolitan reported in August 2025, what began as the scarf skirt microtrend—silk bandanas tied as skirts or layered Y2K-style—has evolved into full wrap skirts, bolstered by Spring 2025 runway nods from Miu Miu, Dior, and Salvatore Ferragamo.

Key insight: Fashion moves fast, but it’s also cyclical. Wrap skirts rode the Y2K wave back from their 2000s heyday, proving the value of tracking revivals alongside new microtrends. Stand out by timing limited drops to seasonal peaks and pairing skirts with complementary pieces (like sandals). 

3. Soap

Searches for “soap” have stayed strong and even ticked upward through 2025. Google Trends shows a steady baseline compared with last year, with subtle peaks around seasonal buying moments.

In 2024 alone, Shopify merchants moved more than 23 million bars of soap and over 18 million bottles of shampoo. When you fold in consumer drivers—comfort, practicality, and wellness—it’s easy to see why soap continues to dominate the beauty and personal care aisle.

The bath and body category is evergreen and entrepreneurial. Take Lisa Jolly, founder of The Honeybunch Shop. She taught herself to make soap over a weekend, landed a $100,000 order on her 40th birthday, and eventually scaled to multiple retail stores and a factory.

Even Sydney Sweeney launched her own soap with a “touch” of her bathwater this year. If that doesn’t prove soap is having a cultural moment, what does?

Key insight: Essentials can be elevated. The brands that win in soap lean on eco-friendly packaging, refill systems, natural formulations, and novelty scents like bacon. 

4. Travel pants

Google Trends data shows a long climb for “travel pants” in the US—steady through the 2000s, a noticeable lift post-2016, and a sharp spike after 2022 as travel roared back. 

In two decades, interest in this product has grown to its highest level, making it one of the clearest examples of a slow-burn product maturing into a mainstream category.

According to Skift Research’s 2025 Travel Outlook, people are planning 24% more trips than in 2024—and they’re dressing for them. Google’s Spring 2025 Shopping Trends report even named “wide-leg linen pants” as the breakout travel style. 

On the topic of pants, in 2024, Shopify merchants also saw increased sales of “barrel jeans,” matched by a 500% rise in Google searches.

Key insight: Build seasonal edits around travel gear, highlight technical fabrics (breathable, wrinkle-resistant), and target TikTok’s and Instagram’s “#airportoutfit” crowd with styled content drops timed to peak travel months.

5. Reusable water bottles

Google Trends shows a steady upward trend for “reusable water bottle” searches over the past five years, with a clear uptick through 2025. A new brand or style goes viral and sparks interest—most recently, Stanley Cups dominated social feeds, and now, alternative styles are vying for attention.

The global reusable water bottle category was worth $9.72 billion in 2024, projected to rise to $10.17 billion in 2025 and $15.27 billion by 2034.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s #WaterTok has 2.5 billion views—proof that bottles are more fashion, less function. As The Economist deadpans: “Water bottles, the accessory Gen Z is thirsting after.”

Case in point: memobottle. 

Originally a Kickstarter campaign to reduce single-use plastic, the brand raised over a quarter-million dollars and became a design icon. Thin enough to slip into a laptop bag, it solved a real business traveler’s problem. 

Then it went viral, landing in Oscar nominee gift bags for Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, cementing its reputation as both a sustainability play and a premium lifestyle accessory. 

Key insight: This category, believe it or not, is less about hydration and more about self-expression. Gen Z treats bottles like fashion drops, not gym gear. Focus on curating bold designs, highlight your sustainability achievements, and ride cultural moments to turn a basic utility into a statement piece.

6. Home décor

Searches for “home decor” jumped mid-2025, right as Instagram feeds filled with summer refreshes and early holiday mood boards. The curve suggests people are treating décor as a year-round project, not a once-a-year splurge.

The numbers behind the trend are huge. The average US household spends $2,752 a year on home décor, with cities like Seattle topping $3,493 annually.

On social, the obsession is even louder: Instagram’s #homedecor tag has 174 million posts, making it one of the platform’s most enduring lifestyle categories.

Key insight: Home décor sells when it’s visual and shoppable. Lean into scroll-stopping visuals, seasonal refreshes, and smaller-ticket items that hook buyers early. Shopify merchant Sweet Water Decor nailed this formula, starting with hand-lettered mugs that went viral on Instagram before expanding into candles and other décor staples. Start with one photogenic hero product, then scale into the full room.

7. Pet supplies

A New York judge ruled in 2025 that dogs count as “immediate family,” a historic shift in how pets are treated legally. Beyond legal definitions, the pets-as-family phenomenon directly impacts consumer spending. 

Search interest in “pet supplies” has stayed consistently high over the past year in the US, with a clear lift in late summer 2025.

Gone are the days of pet supplies being “discretionary.” In Korea, the pet population has topped 15 million, fueling demand for pet-friendly home appliances. And in the US, veterinarians like Dr. David Jeffrey report a sharp rise in owners asking about CBD treatments for their animals.

Key insight: Capture this market by expanding into wellness (CBD chews for anxiety, joint-support supplements), lifestyle (self-cleaning litter boxes, pet-friendly vacuums, orthopedic dog beds), and premium goods (matching pet-owner apparel sets, designer carriers, subscription treat boxes). 

8. Blushes

Google Trends shows a continued interest in “blush” over the past year, with spikes around holiday shopping and summer makeup trends. There's more to that steady curve, because according to Business of Fashion, “blush is having a renaissance.”

Notably, Rare Beauty’s Soft Pinch Liquid Blush alone drove $2 billion in global revenue in 2023, selling one unit every nine seconds—Vogue called it “makeup’s comeback kid.”

Meanwhile, Rhode's Pocket Blush, a TikTok darling since launch, became the “most talked-about blush” in August 2024, topping Launchmetrics' media-impact ranking ahead of both Rare and Benefit.

Instagram and TikTok are amplifying this “blush boom.” Trends like “tomato girl” and “strawberry girl” makeup have spotlighted bold, flushed cheeks, while new techniques—blush draping, sandwiching, glazing—keep the category humming.

Key insight: This is what works in beauty: take a product everyone uses, put a spin on it, and you have white space. Consider the Shopify-powered brand Glamnetic. Founder Ann McFerran took magnetic lashes, an innovation on an already popular item, and scaled into Sephora and Ulta. The same strategy applies to blush: reinvent the staple, and it can redefine your brand.

How to use Google Trends for product research

1. Start broad and drill down to niche opportunities

A quick search can show you if interest is rising, flat, or fading before you sink time and budget into inventory.

1. Search a broad category: Begin with a general term like “moisturizer.” This gives you the lay of the land and a sense of whether demand is steady, seasonal, or fading.
2. Scan rising queries: Google Trends will surface related searches—think CeraVe, Neutrogena, night, or sunscreen. These show you where shoppers are zooming in.
3. Spot the niches: Use those related queries to identify sub-categories: cult brands, time-specific routines, or added benefits like SPF.
4. Act on the data: You could:
1. Stock trending brands (CeraVe, Neutrogena).
2. Merchandize “nighttime skincare” as its own category.
3. Highlight SPF prominently in product packaging or marketing copy.

2. Identify seasonal trends and plan your marketing calendar

Not all products are popular year-round. The most obvious examples are Christmas-related products. People generally don't buy Santa-themed decorations in June, and high demand for holiday products peaks in the later months of the year.

Products that might not seem seasonal often have cyclical purchase patterns. Google Trends shows searches for “lunchbox,” for example, peak in August—just before the start of a new school year.

To analyze popular products by season on Google Trends: 

1. Year-over-year analysis: Compare search interest in your product during the same months across different years to identify consistent seasonal trends.
2. Look for patterns: Notice if search interest peaks around certain events, weather patterns, or some national holidays over others. This may indicate the best times to ramp up your marketing efforts.
3. Analyze broader seasonal category trends: Look at the overall trends within your product's broader category during different times of the year to gauge whether interest in the category is rising or waning. This broader perspective can help you distinguish between product-specific seasonal trends and general market movements for better marketing campaigns.

3. Consider customer feedback

Customer feedback, combined with Google Trends data, is always a great starting point for launching a business, new product, or service that’s actually in demand. 

Design open-ended questions that prompt your ideal customers to discuss their pain points and moments of struggle. With powerful tools for advanced search query research like Semrush or Ahrefs, you can even dive deeper into long-tail keywords for users trying to find answers to hyperspecific challenges related to your product idea for further validation. 

4. Leverage related queries and related topics for keyword goldmines

Aside from telling you how popular a term is, Google Trends also reveals the surrounding searches and themes people use alongside it. 

That’s where related queries (the exact phrases people type) and related topics (the broader concepts they’re exploring) come in.

Use this data to uncover the exact language your customers use, along with emerging trends to target in SEO, ads, or product descriptions.

Take “laser hair removal” for example:

• Rising related queries include “price of laser hair removal” (+170%) and “laser hair removal Manhattan” (+120%). Both suggest strong demand for cost transparency and location-specific services.
• Related topics like “Milan Laser Hair Removal” and “Electrology” show that consumers are not only weighing providers but comparing alternative treatments.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Search your core product term.
2. Scan related search queries to surface customer intent—are they price-sensitive? Local-focused? Curious about substitutes?
3. Use related topics to map your competitive set and find nearby niches worth testing.
4. Fold these insights into keyword targeting, ad copy, and merchandising strategy. For example, you could build city-specific landing pages or bundling services to address price concerns.

5. Compare product ideas to find your winning edge

Google Trends’ “Compare” feature is a lightweight competitive analysis tool. You can stack two or more products side by side and see which one is gaining faster traction—and where.

Here’s how it works:

1. Type in your first product or topic.
2. Click the + Compare button in the search bar.
3. Add your second product or topic.
4. The chart will now plot both lines against each other, using the same 0–100 relative scale.

Take the search terms “yoga mat” versus “pilates reformer” in the US over the past year.

• Yoga mats (blue) consistently outperform pilates reformers (red), with clear spikes in January (New Year’s resolutions) and spring.
• Pilates reformers have moments of interest but never sustain the same volume.

If you’re a retailer in the wellness category, this insight suggests that yoga gear is a safer bet for evergreen inventory, while pilates equipment might be a smart niche upsell for more dedicated fitness shoppers. You could:

• Stock a wider range of yoga mats (eco-friendly, alignment-printed, bundles with accessories).
• Test pilates reformers as a premium, higher-ticket product for a smaller, more loyal segment.

Take advantage of Google Trends' "Compare" feature for a competitive edge:

• See where demand is strongest: Comparing products side by side shows you which one has higher or more consistent search interest. That helps you decide whether to invest in the bigger, established market—or take a bet on an emerging one.
• Identify gaps in the market: A comparison highlights not just winners and losers, but also what’s missing. If a niche product is growing but underrepresented, that’s an opening to position yourself differently—whether through pricing, features, or marketing.
• Prioritize resources: Knowing which product has the higher baseline demand means you can allocate inventory, ad spend, and content creation more strategically—while still leaving room to experiment with the underdog.

6. Validate product demand beyond Google Trends

Google Trends data is a good indicator of search habits, but not all trending topics are products that people buy. Validate your product idea by comparing data from several marketplaces before spending thousands of dollars on product development:

• Look for competitors selling the same product: Something as simple as observing how many competitors are offering the product can indicate market saturation or opportunities for differentiation.
• Scour marketplaces: Gauge demand, pricing strategies, and customer reviews on similar products on marketplaces.
• Analyze social media trends: A quick hashtag search on Instagram or TikTok (e.g., #NighttimeSkincare, #SPFMoisturizer) will show whether the conversation is bubbling over with real engagement—or barely a trickle.
• Survey your target audience: Feedback from potential customers validates whether the interest shown in Google Trends translates into actual buying intent. It’s one of the best ways to validate whether your product idea will sell. 

Pro tip: Google Trends shows you where interest is heading, but interest doesn’t always equal sales for your business. Once you’ve spotted a promising idea, validate it with real purchase data. Shopify admin gives you a single source of truth across sales, inventory, and customer touchpoints, so you can see whether a trend is actually converting into revenue.

Beyond the basics: Advanced Google Trends features

Once you’re comfortable fiddling around with the basic features, get your hands dirty with the more advanced filters Google Trends offers.

Location-based searches

When you search for a term in Google Trends, you’ll see a map shaded by where the keyword is most popular. Darker regions mean higher relative search interest.

On the right, you’ll find a ranked list of states, cities, or countries with the strongest demand. Hovering over a region shows more detail on how that search compares to others in the same location.

Location data helps you spot where to lean in. If “moisturizer” peaks in New York and New Jersey, that’s a signal to localize ad campaigns, target ads, or even test popups in those markets.

Shopping-specific phrases

Switch the filter from Web Search to Shopping to cut out casual curiosity searches and spotlight queries with purchase intent. 

Instead of someone Googling “blush” for inspiration, you’ll see searches like “Rare Beauty liquid blush” or “Soft Pinch liquid blush”—signals that shoppers already know what they want and are primed to buy.

Rising and breakout terms

Switch the Related Queries or Related Topics tab to Rising—this should be the option by default. This shows you which searches are gaining the most momentum alongside your keyword. The percentages reflect how much a term has grown compared to the previous time period.

If you see Breakout instead of a percentage, it means searches grew by more than 5,000%: a strong sign of viral or fast-emerging interest.

Take the supplements category, for example. Terms like “momentous supplements” surged +4,500%, while “gary brecka supplements” hit breakout status.

That tells you two things:

• Consumer discovery is happening now. These brands are being searched by name for the first time at scale.
• You can act before the market saturates. Stock the brand, create content around it, or develop alternatives.

Relative vs. absolute search volume 

A big misconception about Google Trends is that the numbers represent raw search volume. They don’t.

Trends uses a relative scale from 0–100 to show how interest in a term changes over time. A score of 100 doesn’t mean 100,000 people searched for it—it just means that’s the peak popularity for that term in the selected time and place.

This matters because:

• A niche product like “pilates reformer” might never reach the same raw numbers as “yoga mat,” but its relative growth could still signal a profitable trend in a high-spend niche.
• To understand absolute demand, you’ll need to pair Google Trends data with tools like Shopify Analytics, marketplace search volume (Amazon, Etsy), or ad platforms.

Common mistakes to avoid when using Google Trends for product discovery

Google Trends may be one of the easiest tools to use, but it’s also one of the easiest to misinterpret. Here are three pitfalls to watch out for:

1. Narrow reporting timeframes: Looking at only the past 30 or 90 days can skew your perspective. A product might appear to be “taking off,” when in reality it’s just experiencing seasonal volatility. Expand to at least 12 months—and ideally 3–5 years—to understand whether you’re spotting a fad or a sustainable trend.
2. Ignoring context and regional fluctuations: Searches for “humidifier” may spike in Minnesota during winter but stay flat in California. If you’re not filtering by location, you risk making decisions based on demand that doesn’t exist in your target market. 
3. Focusing on short-term trends: A TikTok microtrend (like “strawberry girl makeup”) can boost searches dramatically, but that doesn’t guarantee staying power. Balance short-term opportunities with long-term demand signals.

Integrating Google Trends into your overall product strategy

Google Trends works best when you fold it into your regular business planning. Here’s how to put the data to work:

• Marketing: Use search peaks to time your campaigns. For example, searches for “yoga mat” climb every January. That’s your cue to launch promotions, influencer pushes, or bundled offers right after New Year’s resolutions.
• Inventory: Let multi-year data shape your stock levels. If demand for “reusable water bottles” has grown steadily for five years, that’s a safe category to anchor your product assortment. 
• Pricing and positioning: Rising or breakout terms signal when interest is heating up. That’s a chance to raise margins, introduce premium options, or bundle related products before the space gets crowded.
• Long-term planning: Track how categories shift over time. If “home workout equipment” is flattening while “pilates reformer” searches are climbing, you’ve got an early signal of where to expand next.

Find great products to sell with Google Trends 

If you want to find trending products for your retail store, Google Trends is a great tool. Start your research with the data. Then check out market comparisons and customer feedback to validate your ideas. This is the best way to make sure your shortlisted products sell.

Need a helping hand? Shopify POS collates data from every sales channel and displays it in easily digestible reports. Find your bestselling products by location, identify seasonal patterns, and monitor team performance—all from a single dashboard.