Exclusive: From Valentine’s Day strawberries to college printers, these are America’s most-purchased items on Amazon Prime
Exclusive data shared withFortuneshows Amazon Primeshoppers’ purchases in 2024 followed habitual seasonal and social cycles, with essentials and trending items shifting throughout the year based on holidays, social-media influence, and life milestones. Despite economic uncertainty, Prime members increasingly sought value and convenience, driving a 50% year-over-year increase in same- or next-day delivery of household essentials and groceries.When you look through your Amazon Prime purchase history, it may seem like a fairly random jumble of items: meat thermometers, solar-powered turtle statues, eggs, and insulated coffee cups.Recommended VideoBut it turns out consumers are actually unconsciously falling into familiar cycles of shopping inspired by the season, social media, or upcoming milestones—or, as Amazon Prime’s vice president Jamil Ghani describes it, the “rhythm of life.”In data shared exclusively withFortune, Amazon revealed the items which were purchased—in their millions—most frequently by subscribing customers.Overall, with storm clouds gathering over the U.S. economy, shoppers are hunting for greater value in their purchasing, said Ghani—echoing a wider trend observed by other consumer brands such asHormel Foods and Walmart.For Amazon, this presents an opportunity: In 2024, the Big Tech giant saw more than two billion “essentials” items delivered on same- or next-day delivery, up 50% on the year prior.“It’s always true that Prime members are seeking value from their membership and from their shopping on Amazon.com, but that is even more so true today than ever before,” Ghani toldFortune. “We also see with the Prime program that it’s a bit of a flight to safety in economic uncertain times because Prime just delivers such a disproportionate value.”Here’s what Amazon shoppers were buying en masse in each month of 2024, and what likely inspired the purchases.Winter purchasesThe start of the next calendar year came—perhaps unsurprisingly—with a flood of interest in items which helps customers stick to New Years’ resolutions.Trending purchases included kitchen scales and vegetable choppers to support healthy eating, as well as the ‘Atomic Habits’ book by James Clear. Elsewhere, humidifiers, thermometers, and nasal-irrigation systems were purchased by those struggling with colds or flus.On the grocery side—a major driver of Amazon Prime purchases—popular items included bananas, apples, celery, hand warmers, and moisturizing cream, as well as anti-dandruff shampoo.Standout purchases in February included strawberries for Valentine’s Day and a continued focus on health and wellness, such as Vitamin D supplements and collagen powders.Ghani said he found the data collected forFortune“super intriguing,” adding he sees the “rhythm of life” in the purchases: “It’s what inspires us to apply technology, operations and infrastructure to make sure we can meet those needs in the moment, whether it’s at four hours’ time scale or one or two days.” In March, with Easter around the corner, trending purchases included a crock pot for hosting as well as candy like gummy clusters and ring lollipops. Spring-cleaning buys also began with shoppers purchasing portable carpet cleaners, air purifiers, and surface steam cleaners.Another factor intensifying purchasing behaviors is social media, with TikTok influencers sharing their top buys in Amazon storefronts—often promoting Prime deals or swift delivery.“Over the last many years, the cycle times on product trends is higher,” Ghani—named as one of the 25 most powerful rising executives in the Fortune 500—explained. “It’s concentrated in certain categories more so than others [where] there are evergreen needs—groceries is a great example.”Ghani added most families purchase the staples of milk, eggs, and bread, for example, drawing 150 million U.S. grocery shoppers a year with a growing interest in fresh and perishable items.Wider interest trends overlay the basics, he added: “Those are staples in addition to the trend-based things where we obviously work really hard to make sure that those brands and items are in our store as quickly as possible to meet the needs of customers—wherever they might get that influence.”Spring purchasesWith many people preparing for summer and the weather getting warmer, nutrition-rich foods and health-related buys ramped up in April. Popular groceries included avocados, bags of salad, and a ready-made chicken Caesar salad, while trending items included exercise steppers and personal blenders.In May, as families began to spend more time outside and prepare their gardens for the summer, outdoor purchases gained popularity. Trending items included garden hoses, lawn- and garden-pressurized sprayers, and a solar-powered garden statue of a turtle.Similarly, as students began graduating college in May, moving-out buys were aplenty, such as extra large packing bags, compact irons, and the famous Dr. Seuss book for grads, ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go.’In June, barbecue foods and accessories began rising up shopping lists including cucumbers, mangoes, and water-resistant sunscreen as well as grill-cleaning brushes and digital meat thermometers.And while spending is consistent and in some cases increasing, the “reality is that customers are always looking for value,” Ghani added. “The average consumer, the average Prime member, [what] they’re really looking at is: ‘Is the item I want at a price that I like, delivered with the convenience and the speed that I like?’“The reality is that members are seeking that value regardless of what the drivers are of the pricing … so we’re going to have the sharpest prices available in the marketplace regardless of what’s going on underneath.”Summer purchasesWith kids off to college in July, stationery and dorm equipment were among trending items including wireless printers, scanners and copiers, drawer organizers, and hair dryers.With consumers also preparing for outdoors or overseas adventures, purchases also included water-filtration devices, compact first-aid kits, and Bluetooth speakers.August was all about preparing for the return to school, with popular grocery items including colored pencils, ring binders, index cards, as well as rulers, notebooks, and calculators.In September, travel was still a priority for many, with trending items including GPS trackers and keychain fobs, as well as European plug adapters.Fall purchasesAs fall rolled around, fresh fruit and vegetables continued to dominate in the groceries category while trending items changed to reflect seasonal celebrations. In October, Halloween led to a rise in modeling putty and camera memory cards, while cooler weather led to a rise in space heaters.As consumers got ready for Christmas, their focus shifted to gifting and holiday hosting, buying gift wrap cutters, mini strings of lights, sensory squeeze toys, and emergency fire blankets.The story was the same in December, when trending items included lip balm, mascara, and insulated tumblers for holiday gifting, as well as party games and a poinsettia building block set.Ghani said ultimately he has two levers to get customers coming back in 2025 and beyond: Speed and price. He intends to improve both, tellingFortune: “Millions of items might be relevant for the fastest speeds but out of the universe of 300 million items that members have included with free shipping in their membership, we need to get faster and faster. “Our job is to reduce our own cost to serve because the less expensive it is for us to deliver a unit, manage that unit, and our overall operations, the more selection we can bring into our store … sustainably and profitably.”As a result, “we’re able to bring more of this low average selling price selection—which disproportionately tends to be household essentials and groceries—which are traditionally low margin businesses and so it’s a virtuous cycle that we can get faster, we lower our cost to serve, we can bring in more selection at those speeds.”Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
Chanel’s profits plunge 28% as global turbulence threatens the luxury giant’s pricing power
French luxury group Chanel said Tuesday that it suffered a 28.2-percent drop in net profit to $3.4 billion last year because of “challenging” conditions in some markets.Recommended Video“We saw challenging macroeconomic conditions which had an impact on sales in some markets,” the CEO of the fashion house, Leena Nair, said in a statement. Global revenue dipped 5.3 percent to $18.7 billion.It said the headwinds raise questions over whether it will raise prices, as it typically does twice a year, in March and in September.Several rivals, such as Hermes, have already hiked their prices to compensate for the 10-percent tariffs into the US market ordered by President Donald Trump.Chanel’s chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux told Vogue Business that the situation with the US tariffs was “extremely volatile” and “we are waiting to see what will be the outcome of all the ongoing discussions” before deciding.Chanel 2024 sales in North and South America dipped 4.3 percent, while those in the Asia-Pacific region plummeted 9.3 percent. Revenues from European sales rose 1.2 percent.Chanel said it made “record” investments in 2024, notably acquiring prestige properties in Paris and New York and expanding its global network of stores, including in China and Japan. It planned to pursue that path, by expanding further in China as well as in India and Mexico.Nair told Vogue Business that China was “one of the most dynamic and important markets for the luxury ecosystem” and Chanel had opened 15 new stores there last year, and planned to open another 15.Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
Lululemon is accusing Costco of selling dupes of its $100 pants and hoodies for a fraction of the price
Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco that accuses the wholesale club operator of selling lower-priced duplicates of some of its popular athleisure clothing.Recommended VideoLululemon Athletica claims in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that Costco has “unlawfully traded” on its reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel that uses knockoff, infringing versions of its patents.Lululemon alleges that Costco is known to use manufacturers of popular branded products for its private label Kirkland brand, but that the company and the manufacturers don’t tell consumers of the connection between them for many of the Kirkland-branded products. Because of this, Lululemon claims this leads at least some shoppers to believe that Kirkland-branded products are made by the authentic supplier of the “original” products. Lululemon claims Costco doesn’t try to dispel the ambiguity.“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the research, development, and design of our products, we take the responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal action when necessary,” a Lululemon company spokesperson said in a statement.Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is making duplicates of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets, and ABC pants.Lululemon claims one of the duplicates that Costco sells is the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip, with the lawsuit showing a screenshot image of Costco’s website showing the item priced at $19.97. Lululemon sells several men’s jackets that cost more than $100 each.Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.Lululemon is requesting a jury trial and wants Costco to stop selling the products that it considers to be duplicates. It is also seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages.Lulemon was in a similar legal dispute with Peloton in 2021. Two years later the companies announced a five-year partnership that included Lululemon becoming the primary athletic apparel partner to Peloton.Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
Tariffs, war, and inequality have battered the luxury goods market—Gucci sales are down 24%
MILAN (AP) — Global sales of personal luxury goods are ”slowing down but not collapsing,” according to a Bain & Co. consultancy study released Thursday.Recommended VideoPersonal luxury goods sales that eroded to 364 billion euros ($419 billion) in 2024 are projected to slide by another 2% to 5% this year, the study said, citing threats of U.S. tariffs and geopolitical tensions triggering economic slowdowns.“Still, to be positive in a difficult moment — with three wars, economies slowing down, inequality at a maximum ever — it’s not a market in collapse,’’ said Bain partner and co-author of the study Claudia D’Arpizio. “It is slowing down but not collapsing.”Alongside external headwinds, luxury brands have alienated consumers with an ongoing creativity crisis and sharp price increases, Bain said. Buyers have also been turned off by recent investigations in Italy that revealed that sweatshop conditions in subcontractors making luxury handbags.Sales are slipping sharply in powerhouse markets the United States and China, the study showed. In the U.S., market volatility due to tariffs has discouraged consumer confidence. China has recorded six quarters of contraction on low consumer confidence.The Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia are recording growth. Europe is mostly flat, the study showed.This has created a sharp divergence between brands that continue with strong creative and earnings growth, such as the Prada Group, which posted a 13% first-quarter jump in revenue to 1.34 billion euros, and brands like Gucci, where revenue was down 24% to 1.6 billion euros in the same period.Gucci owner Kering last week hired Italian automotive executive Luca De Meo, the former CEO of Renault, to mount a turnaround. The decision comes as three of its brands — Gucci, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta — are launching new creative directors.Kering’s stock surged 12% on news of the appointment. D’Arpizio underlined his track record, returning French carmaker Renault to profitability and previous roles as marketing director at Volkswagen and Fiat.“All of these factors resonate well together in a market like luxury when you are in a phase where growth is still the name of the game, but you also need to make the company more nimble in terms of costs, and turn around some of the brands,’’ she said.Brands are also making changes to minimize the impact of possible U.S. tariffs. These include shipping directly from production sites and not warehouses and reducing stock in stores.With aesthetic changes afoot “stuffing the channels doesn’t make a lot of sense,’’ D’Arpizio said.Still, many of the headwinds buffering the sector are out of companies’ control.“Many of these (negative) aspects are not going to change soon. What can change is more clarity on the tariffs, but I don’t think we will stop the wars or the political instability in a few months,’’ she said, adding that luxury consumer confidence is tied more closely to stock market trends than geopolitics.President of Italian luxury brand association Altagamma Matteo Lunelli underlined hat the sector recorded overall growth of 28% from 2019-2024, “placing us well above pre-pandemic levels.”While luxury spending is sensitive to global turmoil, it is historically quick to rebound, powered by new markets and pent-up demand.The 2008-2009 financial crisis plummeted sales of luxury apparel, handbags and footwear from 161 billion euros to 147 billion euros over two years. The market more than recovered the losses in 2010 as it rebounded by 14%, with an acceleration in the Chinese market. Similarly, after sales plunged by 21% during the pandemic, pent-up spending powered sales to new records.Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
Mexican-American designer apologizes for sandal design accused of ‘cultural appropriation’
Mexican-American clothing designer Willy Chavarria has apologized for an Adidas sandal he created after being accused by Mexican authorities of “cultural appropriation” for imitating an Indigenous shoe design.Recommended VideoThe design launched by Adidas, known as the Oaxaca Slip On, is a black sandal with braided leather straps attached to a chunky sports shoe sole.Mexican artisans and authorities say the intricate leather braids look strikingly similar to the traditional footwear known as huaraches made by the Zapotec Indigenous people in Oaxaca, produced mostly in the town of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag.They have accused the brand and Chavarria of “cultural appropriation” and of copying the design without the permission of the Indigenous community. Authorities were quick to note that cultural Mexican designs have long been copied by major brands before, and said they planned to tighten laws to protect Mexican designs.Chavarria responded to mounting criticisms in comments sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday. In a statement addressed to the “people of Oaxaca,” he said that the design was intended to “to honor the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities — a place whose beauty and resistance have inspired me.”“I am deeply sorry that the shoe was appropriated in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community,” Chavarria wrote. “This falls short of the respect and collaborative approach that Oaxaca, the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, and its people deserve.”Chavarria is a Mexican-American designer, who has risen to fame for his designs exploring Chicano, or Mexican-American, culture, often mixing Mexican themes with American products. His designs include sweaters reading “Chicano” in red, scripted font, and styles with the Mexican flag and cowboy hats reminiscent of northern Mexican culture.In recent months, Chavarria also was put in the spotlight for a show at Paris Fashion Week that was intended as criticism of the Trump administration’s deportation policy.Chavarria’s comments came days after Adidas made a public apology for the design, and in a statement said it was reaffirming “our commitment to collaborate with Yalalag in a respectful dialogue that honors their cultural legacy.” Last week, in a letter to Oaxacan state officials, the company requested to sit down with local officials and to discuss how it can “repair the damage” to Indigenous populations.“Adidas recognizes and values the cultural richness of Mexico’s Indigenous communities and the meaning of their artisanal heritage,” it wrote in a statement.Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.
British Airways owner sees transatlantic slowdown recovering
IAG SA said the weaker demand on transatlantic routes has shown signs of easing over the past three weeks as the travel outlook begins to stabilize following a period of uncertainty.Recommended VideoThe British Airways owner noticed “several weeks” of demand softness in its economy cabins from the US, though the situation is now recovering, IAG Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said on Monday in a Bloomberg TV interview. Some corporate travel also slowed after the US announced tariffs and business passengers delayed some travel as a result, he added.Some airlines saw a decline in travelers flying between Europe and the US after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on countries around the world. IAG, Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG all previously said that the weakness was more noticeable on their cheaper seats, while demand for premium travel remained robust.“I think it’s more the uncertainty,” Gallego told Bloomberg’s Guy Johnson in New Delhi at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association. “People don’t know what’s going to happen.”IAG, which also owns Spain’s Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, last month announced a large purchase of Boeing Co. and Airbus SE widebody jets, a decision it made independently of tariffs, Gallego said. Following a US trade deal with the UK, the airline group won’t pay duties on its Boeing aircraft delivered to British Airways, he said.“It’s true that we wanted to have more certainty on tariffs,” Gallego said. “We still need more details about the complete aviation picture.”Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation SummitMay 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.