Holiday Countdown: What Are the Top Selling Products in Artist Shops?

Welcome to our Holiday Countdown series! We want your shop to be all prepped for the upcoming holiday shopping season by helping you plan ahead. While the vast majority of us don’t even want to start thinking about Christmas lights until the first snowfall, for those of us in the online store world? ‘Tis the season to start planning. Like, yesterday. The National Retail Federation reported that for some retailers, the holiday season can account for as much of 30% of the stores’ annual sales. And to have a successful holiday sales season, you have to be prepared. Let’s get started!

Step one to getting your shop ready for the holiday shopping season is simple enough: make sure you’re featuring items that are tried and tested best sellers. It’s important to have a solid assortment of products in your Artist Shop, like a box of e-commerce chocolates (except unlike chocolate boxes, you actually know what you’re getting when you click on an item). But it doesn’t hurt to feature items that many customers are attracted to in promos, lifestyle photos, and in photos on your homepage to attract that initial attention. So what are the best-selling products in Artist Shops? We crunched the numbers and looked at the products that shops sold the most of in the last 90 days to reveal the top 10 best selling products in Artist Shops.

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10: Weekender bag

Pssh, of course we’re starting with ten! Classic #suspense tactic! If you’re going to do any kind of holiday travel guide or a “what to pack to survive the family this holiday” photo shoot, the weekender bag is a great item to include. It’s a great sell for those who want a fun bag to take with them on their travels.

9: Travel mug

Coffee is life, coffee is friend. We all need a way to take this life fuel with us, and travel mugs are a great way to appeal to those who travel a lot and want to carry their hot (or cold) beverage around in style. It’s also nice because travel mugs provide a great way to experiment with seamless patterns on an accessory (might I also suggest experimenting with patterns on pillows, zip pouches, and notebooks?)

8: Latte mug

In many places, if the holidays hanging out just around the corner, winter is hanging out just around the corner as well. And you know what that means: it’s pumpkin spice latte, tea, and hot chocolate season. A latte mug is a perfect pinky-out version of our mugs that are a perfect sell during the chilly months where all you want to do is curl up with a warm beverage.

7: Home throw pillow

People love pillows! They’re a great way to dress up a room or a less-than-interesting chair.

6: Spiral notebook

Spiral notebooks make excellent and adorable stocking stuffers for customers who might want to buy one for that relative they know goes through notebooks like crazy…or for that relative they just kinda know.

5: Small zip pouch

Zip pouch, spiral notebook…anyone noticing a bit of a ‘back to school‘ theme here? *Nudge nudge.* Small zip pouches are awesome because they can be used for everything from art supplies to makeup to dice for Dungeons and Dragons, thus they appeal to a ton of people. Which makes them an awesome gift (that you can also stuff with bonus gifts)! Plus, they come in vivid colors that someone might love paired with your design, but might not want to wear as, say, a tee.

4: Unframed fine art prints

Fun fact: art prints were the first non-apparel item added to Artist Shops, and for good reason! What creative doesn’t want to print their designs on wall art that provides it with the canvas it deserves? The price of unframed fine art prints is a little more digestible for customers, not to mention it gives them some fun options for alternative ways of hanging up their items at home. On Threadless, art prints have had a big resurgence in popularity recently, so people have definitely got their eyes on the art print prize.

3: Tote bag

A great stocking stuffer or a great item for people to use as a stocking and fill with goodies for the holidays!

2: Standard mug

Mugs are just fun. I don’t know how else to put it, it’s just a fact. For you, the shop owner, they’re a great way to print your designs in a super glossy, crisp way. And for customers, mugs are that perfect balance between inexpensive and a “treat yo’self” nice gift, for themselves or others.

1: YE OLDE T-SHIRT!

How on-brand! It only makes sense that the good ol’ t-shirt is the best selling item in Threadless Artist Shops. In fact, the t-shirt, triblend, and v-neck absolutely dominated our best-seller list. By a lot.

Never underestimate the power of the tee, folks.

We’ve broken it down even more for you; here are the best-selling tee types and colors for men and women:

MEN’S

1. Black tee
2: Triblend heather onyx tee
3: Classic black t-shirt
4: Smoke tee
5: Asphalt tee
6: Navy blue tee
7: White tee
8: Triblend grey tee
9: Triblend blue tee
10: Heather grey tee

WOMEN’S

1. Classic unisex black t-shirt
2: Triblend heather onyx tee
3: Black v-neck
4: Fitted white tee
5: Classic unisex white t-shirt
6: Triblend heather white tee
7: White v-neck
8: Fitted heather grey tee
9: Triblend grey tee
10: Fitted midnight tee

Get your shop ready for the holidays: add these items, order them for yourself at the low base cost so you can include them in lifestyle and promotional photos, and homepage images, etc.! I know it seems early, but trust me – you’re going to want to start thinking about this now to save future you a whole lotta trouble for a stress-free holiday season.