Shoes and tech most popular in the UK in August

Nike Air Force 1 GS Black

Trends come and go. Summer passed with the blink of an eye, as did the month of August. Curious to see how trends shaped consumer habits last month, we decided to look back and find out which products and categories were the most popular in the UK.

For those unfamilliar with PriceRunner, it is one of the UK’s biggest price and product comparison sites currently with 2.2 million products from 5,900 shops that all deliver to the UK, visited by millions of consumers every month.

Let’s start by taking a look at the most popular products in August, where popularity is defined as the number of clicks on a product link on PriceRunner's website out to a retailers’ website. 

So which products came out on top, and why?

Let shoes entertain you

In August, there was still a hint of summer with warmer temperatures up and down the country, some of us were travelling abroad again, commuting to and from work.

However, despite having even more of our freedom given back to us to go back to our (somewhat) usual routines, the most popular products during August were ones that would keep us entertained during our spare time.

The most popular product category of all in August was shoes, where the children's shoe Nike Air Force 1 GS - Black made the top 10 of most popular products, coming in at 4^th place. The shoe increased in popularity by 67% (in total clicks) compared to July. A year of lockdowns and limited ways of exercise, as well as schools starting up again, is a likely driver behind the categorie's popularity.  

With many of us going back to the office and children going back to school, consumers also wanted to invest in a new laptop. The category increased by 46% compared to July, where the Apple MacBook Air 13" was the 5^th most popular product in the UK of all, increasing with 79% compared to July.

The top 10 most popular products in August (compared to July) were:

It's not unusual for us to see tech at the top of the list, frankly it's what's usually up there. Particularly products like TV's and game consoles the Xbox Series X, which has been nearly impossible to get hold of since it launched last year. 

But August was an unusual month where shoes were on top of the list, the trends of the past year with more time spent outdoors is still going strong. 

The top 10 most clicked product categories in August (compared to July) ) were: 

What trends might we see in September?

Looking at popular products, shoes are still by far the most popular product category midway through September. The category has right now received almost 70% more clicks than the second largest category, televisions. The boots just keep on walking in September.   

Toys seem to be climbing down the list, most likely as children go back to school and parents buy less to keep their kids entertained. Games consoles and sportswear are instead climbing up the lists in September, with the Xbox Series X so far in the lead.

However, with stock running out as soon as it becomes available in almost all shops, mainly thanks to the semiconductor crisis, fans will probably have to act fast to get their hands on a console.

Stay tuned to see which products and categories actually topped the list in September!