It’s that time of year again where we take stock of the products our RetailMeNot blog readers purchased the most.
For shoppers in 2023, it was the year of BIG cultural trends. Influenced by TikTok and Taylor Swift, our readers bought viral products (and helped them sell out in some cases). Other top products, though, flew off shelves simply because they were a good deal (and our readers know a good deal when they see one).
For our annual Top Products of the Year series (see what made last year’s list, 2021’s list and 2020’s list), we crunched our numbers to reveal the products our blog readers clicked on and shopped the most in 2023.
How We Chose the Top Products of the Year
At RetailMeNot’s blog, we cover the retail landscape, from the top sales, to new products, to viral trends, to seasonal shopping guides, to major sales, to savings tips for specific stores. In all those thousands of articles we publish every year (which also appear in our email newsletter, in our app and on our social media channels), we include links to retailers’ sites so that readers can check out the products we’re writing about. For this article, we pulled our data to see which of those products got clicked on the most and purchased the most between January 1 and Dec. 14.
The Top Products of 2023
Stanley Adventure Quencher (40-oz.)
For yet another year (this product also dominated 2022), our readers flocked to the 40-oz. Stanley Adventure Quencher. While they weren’t plagued by the supply issues that rendered this product out of stock for most of 2022, there were still no guarantees that popular and limited-edition colors would remain stocked for long.
To keep things fresh in 2023, Stanley came out with exclusive collections with Target (the Hearth & Hand with Magnolia collection) and Starbucks (the impossible-to-find-in-stock red holiday Quencher), fueling the hype even more. It’s clear that Stanley still reigns as the emotional support cup of choice among our readers.
Price: $45 at Target and other retailers
The Dyson Airwrap
This pricey, viral styling product is not new — it’s been around since 2018. But it started going on sale for the first time in 2023, and some fantastic Black Friday deals ($120 off in some cases!) won over the holdouts who didn’t want to pay full price. Some of our top-clicked offers, though, were for the refurbished version of the Airwrap, which shows just how savvy our blog readers are when it comes to snagging luxury products for less.
Price: $599 at Dyson
Lewis the 8-Foot Talking Pumpkin at Target
We’ve seen a variety of viral Halloween decorations come and go, but TikTok launched this product into the stratosphere (and into permanent out-of-stock status) before Halloween. TikTok latched onto the product’s sheer randomness and sassily delivered tagline: “I’m not a jack-o’-lantern. My name is Lewis.”
Lewis was nearly impossible to find in stock in stores and online (we tried in vain to find him ourselves), and those who saw him in Target, or even in the wild, filmed their encounters, fanning the flames of his virality. Our readers hit our “check stock” button thousands of times, and we hope some of you managed to take Lewis home.
Price: $180 at Target (no longer available)
The Home Depot Grand Duchess Balsam Fir Tree
Home Depot is no stranger to having its seasonal decor go viral (see also: Giant Skeleton). But the Grand Duchess Balsam Fir Tree took us by surprise. On the surface, the product is a rather pricey artificial tree, but TikTok quickly discovered just how many lights the thing has, and viral videos of the tree dazzled everyone into buying it (while it was still in stock anyway). Long after the tree sold out more than a month before Christmas, our readers still were attempting to buy it and checking stock.
Price: $349 at Home Depot
Taylor Swift’s New Balance 550 Sneakers
Taylor wore these red-trimmed sneakers to the Chiefs game back in September, and the world spotted them on her feet as she walked out of the game with boyfriend Travis Kelce. Not long after that, they sold out at New Balance. You can still find them on other sites, however, like Net-A-Porter.
Price: $150 at Net-a-Porter
FUNTIN Hair Dryer, Blow Dryer with Diffuser Brush
Luxury styling tools have really taken off — but that just means every content creator and beauty expert out there is trying to find affordable alternatives that still do the trick. And this was one of the most-bought styling products among our readers in 2023. It boasts 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon, and reviewers praise it for doing the job like pricier dryers, but for way less. It’s also an ionic dryer, which means no heat damage.
Price: $39.99 at Amazon
The Bogg Bag + Other Waterproof Beach Bags
Over the summer, we saw a lot of interest in this free-standing waterproof beach bag. And if you hit the beaches this summer, you likely noticed that this bag was ubiquitous — and for good reason. It holds a lot of stuff, it’s easy to wash sand off (and out) of and it won’t become waterlogged. We also saw a lot of interest around similar waterproof beach bags.
Kira Rectangular Sunglasses
Runway models, influencers and celebrities fueled the hype behind the narrow boxy sunglasses trend in 2023. And, when this pair was massively discounted (almost 50% off!) during Tory Burch’s semiannual sale, we saw our readers snatch them up. At just over $100 on sale, they went from “Do I really need that?” territory to, “OK I deserve that!” territory for our audience.
Price: $201 (full price) at Tory Burch
UPPAbaby Vista 2 Stroller
This pricey stroller rarely goes on sale, but when it does, our readers pounce. UPPA had some good Black Friday deals this year, and our audience of bargain hunters took notice.
Price: $999 at Amazon
This Affordable DIY Eyelash Extension Kit
Eyelash extensions were having a moment in 2023, with beauty creators on TikTok demonstrating the best products and their results. This very affordable kit was the most popular one among our readers — and Amazon reviewers praise how natural the lashes look.
Price: $6.64 on Amazon
Home Depot 12-Foot Skeleton
For yet another year, this product made our list of most-purchased and clicked-on products for our blog readers. While the famous 12-foot skeleton from Home Depot has been out for several years now, it still managed to sell out in 2023.
Price: $299 at Home Depot
COOKEEZ MAKERY Baked Treatz Oven
This was one of the top toys of 2023, and we saw it sell out again and again in the leadup to the holidays. This toy resonated with kids, due to its surprise factor (a new plush friend is revealed after they mix ingredients). Plus, the toy smells nice and pops out of the oven warm. Reviewers on Amazon praise the “project” element of the toy — you get to mix ingredients with your kid, almost like you’re baking. The COOKEEZ ovens come from Moose Toys, makers of other viral toys like Magic Mixies, and it’s clear the made holiday magic again for our blog readers.
Price: $26 at Amazon
LOFTER Stone Bath Mat, Diatomaceous Stone Bath Mat
Bath stones were just one of those 2023 trends we didn’t see coming. But they solve one of those problems you don’t realize exist until you really think about it: Traditional bath rugs are … kind of gross (especially for those in humid climates). This hard-surface, absorptive, cleanable bath stone is priced reasonably, looks sleek and was quite popular among our blog readers this year.
Price: $39 at Amazon
Disney Doorables Disney100 Celebration of Wonder Set
When we asked our toy experts which would be the hottest toys of 2023, they flagged Disney’s Doorables collectible figurines. They tie into the surprise trend, kidulting trend and collectibles trend that are dominating the toy market. This set comes with 21 pieces and contains five mystery figures (and was the most-bought Doorables set among our blog readers).
Price: $38.24 at Amazon
Wavmill ChillGo Bladeless Neck Fan
The summer of 2023 was a hot one in many parts of the country, and we saw personal cooling devices like neck fans selling like crazy in June, July and August. These little wearable air conditioners make going outdoors in the hot months bearable, and are a fantastic accessory for camping, music festivals, outdoor happy hours and even just walks to the mailbox for those of us who (like RetailMeNot) are based in Texas.
Price: $19.99 at Amazon
The post The Products That Defined 2023, Based on What Our Site Visitors Shopped appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.