We’re so excited to bring you our first-ever trend report! With advice from our expert curator and Merchandising and Marketplace Manager, Tara Reed, our goal is to illuminate what people will be searching for this holiday season so you can plan ahead. Keep reading to find out what tops the lists for search trends, shopping volume and increasingly popular color themes to help you design, plan or shop through the rest of 2020.
Worldwide Shopping Trends
DIY – Quarantining these past few months has led to a renewed interest in all things DIY as well as easy home improvements.
There is a broader trend in DIY creating a revival of home sewing and DIY decor. Folks have more time at home and a desire to put a personal touch in every corner of their space. In addition—face masks have been an approachable re-entry project for many new and renewed crafters.”
– Emerson, Manager, Third Party Marketplace Strategy
Spoonflower sales increased 167% YoY for the first half of 2020. Check out our recap of Q2 to learn more. We’re so honored that customers are discovering and supporting Spoonflower during this time.
Face Masks – With masks now being required in many places, the need for these products is skyrocketing. We’ve seen some awesome cut-and-sew options pop up in the Marketplace!
Looking for DIY kits or premade masks? Check out our mask options here.
Online Shopping – Overall online sales worldwide have seen an increase this year with a lot of customers shopping online for the very first time. We saw +281% new customers in Q2 across Spoonflower.com and our marketplace partnerships*. We foresee this trend continuing strong as we move into the holiday season.
As an artist you have a huge opportunity to be discovered and found by these customers. In addition to optimizing your designs for discovery on Spoonflower.com, we encourage you to consider opting in to make your designs available for marketplaces if you haven’t explored this already.
* Learn more about our marketplace partnerships.
Tara’s Tip: Keep in mind that customers do their holiday shopping a few months in advance, so stay ahead by designing for the next season now.
Trending Searches
We researched the most searched for terms on Spoonflower so you can get a sense of the kinds of designs that are rising in popularity and see what new themes have popped up this year.
Here’s what customers have been searching for most recently:
Did you know that we recently added a mature content filter on our site? You can find it at the bottom of the list of filters on any search page.
Fall & Autumn Search Trends
We compiled different fall and autumn related search terms to see how the search volume changed throughout the year.
Halloween searches have doubled compared to last year and are continuing strong. They typically taper off by the end of September.
Winter Search Trends
For searches related to winter and holidays you can see they’re being searched for sooner compared to last year.
Trending Home Products
Seasonal – Products we predict will gain popularity in Q4
Tea Towels
Demand for tea towels increases the most from October – December.
Designs that sell best: Engineered prints (specifically designed for tea towels) and calendars.
Need more inspiration? Check out our upcoming Tea Towel Design Challenges for October.
Tara’s Tip: Update your tea towel calendars for the next year before the start of October so they’re ready for holiday shoppers!
Throw Blankets
Interest in throw blankets is up significantly this year.
Tablecloths
More tablecloths are purchased in Q4 to prep for family gatherings.
Designs that sell best: Traditional motifs and seasonal designs.
On the Rise – Products rapidly gaining in popularity among consumers
Curtains
Designs that sell best: Medium and larger scale designs
Duvet Covers
Designs that sell best: Cooler color palettes (think blues and greens) as well as calming neutrals
Knife Edge Throw Pillows
Designs that sell best: Colorful and bright
Our throw pillows are available in 20″ and 18″ sizes and we’ve added an extra long lumbar option!
Top Selling
Wallpaper
Three types of wallpaper available, learn more.
Tara’s Tip: Be sure to set and save the scale for your designs on wallpaper. Not sure where to start? Check out this blog post for tips on designing wallpaper.
What’s Next?
Tara: Now that you know what’s been trending, here’s a look at what we think is coming next. We hope you feel inspired by these trends and use them as a jumping-off point!
Upcoming Design Trends & Themes
- Nature (bringing the outdoors in) and retro botanicals – For wallpaper
- Contour drawing – Great for wallpaper and home decor
- Micro scales – For fabric and masks
- People are becoming deeply proud of their personal sense of style and want to express that with custom masks.
- Bananas
- Reptiles (Alligators, Turtles, Snakes)
- Unconventional paisley
- Think of ways to bring different motifs into paisley. Take time to reimagine it.
- Block printing
- 70s
- Toile – This is especially popular on wallpaper and for upholstery type projects
Tara’s Tip: When working on magazines we curate designs 4-5 months ahead of the season they’re launching in. We are always checking out newly uploaded designs, so be sure to add designs periodically!
Color Predictions
Calming neutrals will take center stage towards the end of the year and well into the New Year. These soothing colors give a loving nod to nature, helping to balance out all the time worked from home by bringing the outdoors into your space in a subtle way.”
– Tara Reed, Merchandising and Marketplace Manager
Now it’s your turn!
What trends and colors do you see getting popular between now and the end of the year? And is there anything you think we missed that you want us to include in our next trend report? Leave a comment to let us know, we’d love to get your feedback!
I have a collection of these Autumn Winter trend colors that I made the night they were announced. If any one likes plaids or stripes in these colors, check out my shop.
Super duper useful report! Thank you !!! 😀
This is cool.
Thank you for doing this! It was entertaining and well-worth reading.
Hopefully, we will see you again with another Trend Report.
Nancy Morgan
Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for the feedback. You’re in luck! We’re working hard behind-the-scenes on a 2021 trend report. Stay tuned!
please continue with these trend reports
Thanks for the great info. 🙂
Love this trends report!!! It’s easy….follow the trends and you’ll succeed. This report is a true gem, please make it a regular feature.
Thanks so much for this trend report! Useful and inspiring!
Love this report. Hope to see another one soon. Thank you.
This is great:) thanks. One thing I find challenging is the turn around time to approve my designs after I’ve created them to approve them for sale. Is there a way to approve for sale without this delay?
Hi Lorena,
Thank you for the feedback! You do need to proof and then approve your design for sale. The reason for the proof is that the colors you see on your computer monitor may come out differently when printed and there can be issues with your files that aren’t apparent until printed. This step allows artists to make sure that the color, image resolution, and repeat all match how the design should look.
Best,
Amy
Spoonflower
I’d love to give surface design a go and find your website so inspirational. I may just pluck up the courage and upload a design then try and get my head around creating repeats etc! This is a really interesting article. Thank you.
Hi Sarah,
We’re so happy to hear you found this post inspirational! We have a handy round-up of different ways you can create a seamless repeat here and hope you find it helpful as you begin!
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
It’s about time! Now we see how busy SPOONFLOWER showrooms are.
I’ve always wondered when SOOOING would be popular again and creating
the comforts of home doing what one loves instead of the rat race to be in the city!
I’m inspired by the trends and hoping trends around the globe and not so narrow
as our backyards.
I look forward to a group of SPOONFLOWER members that can be scouts
going to foreign places for an annual designers workshop after a COVID vaccine is found.
We need to break more ceilings and walls open to see a vision beyond 2020!
so helpful and interesting to read Tara’s insights and thoughts… I hope this trend report becomes a regular feature.
Warm and cool grey is still selling, especially in the NW, maybe not so much in the burned areas though!
I’ve been making custom cheater lap quilts using the 2yard layout – I place patterns for 2 blankets on it – I’d like to see more patterns rotated (sideways) . When cut in half for the 2 blankets, they are then “right side up ” 😉 And/ or in “ditzy:” form (so it doesn’t matter which direction the fabric lies). Also would love to see the blankets I’ve created saved so I can go back and adjust. At this time, when I’m unsure, I have to take a photo of it on screen so I can remember a day or two later when and if I decide to purchase it. Or at least an option to view the whole “cheater quilt” and not just a small square of it.
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for your feedback! Right now there is no way to edit your Fill-A-Yards cheater quilts. I think taking a photo or screenshot is a great way to save your ideas until you are ready to order.
Best,
Amy
Spoonflower
Thanks so much for this report- very helpful, especially going into the holiday season.
This is so great, very helpful for sure, thanks for putting this out there, SF!
Perfect! Thank you!
Thanks for the report! Just wondering if you have colour numbers (rgb, cmyk or ?) for your trending colours?
Hi Marcy,
If you’d like to use the exact hex codes from the colors in that section, we recommend pulling the images from the blog or taking a screenshot of that portion and use the eyedropper tool in whatever program you’re using to get those specific colors. I hope that helps!
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
This is a wonderful way to get me thinking about designing again. I love Spoonflower, but I have not had any ideas on how to get started again. This might just be the push I need.
Many thanks! This report is so useful. I look for themes and color palettes when buying vintage so bananas, toile and an 80s color palette it is! I’m going to put that wallpaper from handypanda in my powder room. I’ve been looking for ages…love it!
This is just so useful. I think I’ll return to my designs to focus the tags more specifically to the trends.
That’s a great idea Sue! I’m glad you are finding the trend report helpful.
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
Yes!, I am on the right track! This is so helpful.
Thank you! I love looking at all the designs. I am old now but at one time I was an art student and your web site brings back such excitement. I love to see what young people are designing it is so refreshing.
Thank you for your report, so detailed and complete. Not only can we all see trends, we are reminded of how the new trends are often the old ones coming back. I also believe the report reflects the truth of the times, that a virus cannot stop creativity. During a crisis, people become more creative and resourceful and Spoonflower demonstrates that wonderful, beautiful display of talent.
We’re glad you enjoyed the report and we couldn’t agree with you more. We are always so inspired by our creative community!
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
Awesome! Thanks for this post – lots of great inspo ✨
I really enjoyed this – great idea!
Awesome trend report, love the info and advice. Please keep ’em coming as often as possible. As a new sewer opening an online business info like this is invaluable. Thanks!!!
Thank you! So very helpful!!!
Wow! Thanks for doing such an awesome and useful report. Let’s put t work!
Love this trend report! Keep them coming. So helpful.
Very interesting and relevant. I particularly liked the color predictions.
Look forward to more and regular tips.
We’re so glad you are finding the trend report useful! We appreciate you letting us know and we are planning to continue creating trend reports on a more regular basis.
Take care,
Amy
Spoonflower
It is so helpful to know what is trending right now. Thanks!
I LOVE this! Looking forward to future installments of this type of reporting.