Google's Holiday 100: What people are shopping for — and what it says about us

Every festive season brings its lists — wish lists, shopping lists, to-do lists — but only one tells a larger story about who we are. The Holiday 100 is that list. Drawn from global search data, it’s not a catalogue of consumerism but a snapshot of sentiment.

It shows, with unnerving precision, how modern life has shifted from chasing novelty to craving stability.The Holiday 100 sorts people into six archetypes — the Homebody, the One with Style, the Traveller, the Beauty Maven, the Fitness Fan, and the Little One. Each category is a psychological portrait disguised as a shopping guide.

1. The Homebody

The Homebody is no longer a recluse. They’re the modern curator of calm. This year’s top-searched products — Cozy Earth Bubble Cuddle Blanket, Casper Original Pillow, Bombas Merino Wool Blend Socks, West Elm Homescent Diffuser, Red Light Mask, and even a TV Projector from Home Depot — reveal how comfort has become a full-time aesthetic.Post-pandemic, the home has transformed from shelter to sanctuary. People aren’t furnishing spaces anymore; they’re constructing emotional ecosystems. The search for warmth, scent, and softness isn’t about luxury — it’s about control. In a world that feels unpredictable, the homebody’s purchases are protective spells woven in cotton, wool, and light.

2. The One with Style

If the homebody seeks stillness, the One with Style seeks continuity.

Their favourites this year include Ralph Lauren Cable-Knit Sweaters, adidas Samba Jane Sneakers, Coach Nolita 19 Bags, Gap VintageSoft Joggers, Kendra Scott Bella Hoops, and minimalist Crescent Bags.This isn’t fashion as reinvention — it’s fashion as reassurance. The rise of heritage textures and timeless shapes suggests that people are tired of algorithmic churn. The old markers of extravagance have been replaced by subtle signals of authenticity.

Style has matured into quiet confidence — a language of self-assurance spoken in wool, leather, and understatement.

3. The Traveller

Once a symbol of freedom, travel has become an exercise in precision. The Traveller’s wishlist is practical and purposeful: Samsonite Outline Pro Carry-On, TUMI Split Travel Kit, Movado Bold Evolution 2.0 Watch, Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, and Duluth Trading Co. Lifetime Leather Tote.The fantasy is no longer about escape; it’s about efficiency.

People want to move — but smoothly, safely, predictably. The romance of wanderlust has been replaced by the art of packing light. Even the tools of travel now reflect a need for order: seamless, modular, streamlined. To travel in 2025 is to navigate chaos with curated calm.

4. The Beauty Maven

If travel is about precision, beauty is about ritual. The Beauty Maven’s top searches include Olaplex Nº.7 Bonding Oil, rhode Glazing Milk, ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint, Makeup by Mario Ethereal Eyes Palette, e.l.f.

Glow Reviver Lip Balm, and the Conair InfinitiPRO Styling Wand.It’s a shift from transformation to maintenance — from spectacle to stability. The new beauty ideal isn’t about changing how you look; it’s about staying consistent. The surge in searches for “Sephora gift sets” signals that self-care has become a social currency — a shared language of resilience.Perhaps the most striking change is the collapse of hierarchy.

Affordable and luxury coexist peacefully. People aren’t buying prestige; they’re buying performance. In the modern beauty ritual, routine is rebellion — against chaos, burnout, and impermanence.

5. The Fitness Fan

The Fitness Fan is the disciplined counterpart to the beauty maven. The most popular searches — adizero Running Shoes, Pilates Rings, Athleisure Leggings, Boxing Gloves, Curl Bars, and Personalised Yoga Straps — point to a culture of continuity, not competition.Gone is the obsession with transformation. Fitness today is about rhythm: the quiet satisfaction of showing up. The aesthetic of health has become softer, slower, more sustainable. People are no longer chasing “after” photos — they’re chasing balance.To buy a jump rope now isn’t to prove ambition. It’s to anchor discipline in a distracted age.

6. The Little One

And then there’s the Little One — the quiet heart of the Holiday 100. The top toys of the season — Lovevery Helper Play Kit, Nature Explorer Set, Pottery Barn Kids Solar System Backpack, FurReal Maggie, and the timeless Checkers Board Game — point toward a subtle rebellion against screens.Parents, it seems, are trying to buy back wonder. The surge in tactile, hands-on toys reflects a yearning for slowness and sensory discovery. In a digital world, these are gifts that ground childhood in touch, imagination, and curiosity — the very things adulthood forgets.

The Emotional Economy

Across all six archetypes, one truth emerges: consumption has turned introspective. The Holiday 100 doesn’t just track trends — it maps emotion.

Each product is a small answer to a bigger question: how do we hold steady in an unsteady world?

The Meaning Behind the List

At its core, the Holiday 100 isn’t a shopping guide. It’s a psychological record of how people cope. A blanket isn’t just warmth; it’s control. A carry-on isn’t just luggage; it’s mobility within limits. A skincare routine isn’t vanity; it’s structure in chaos.Every item on the list — every search, every click — reveals a quiet human instinct to find order, comfort, and meaning in small things. We’re not buying to impress anymore. We’re buying to belong: to our homes, to our habits, to our better selves.The Holiday 100 may look like a list of products. But read closely, and it’s really a map of modern resilience — proof that we’re not chasing more, we’re collecting calm, one small act of intention at a time.