Year in Review: How Strategist Readers Shopped in 2025
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As much as we love talking about our ownshopping findson the Strategist, we’re equally as interested in what our readers are buying. So we’re using this as an opportunity to take a bird’s-eye view, analyzing the shopping trends and patterns that emerged during the previous 12 months. We took a peek atyourvirtual shopping carts to answer some of our most nagging questions, like: What’s the best deal you took advantage of? And what item is on everyone’s wish lists? Here’s a closer look at how you shopped in 2025.
What were our top sellers every month?
This year, we inducted a number of gifts, gadgets, and beauty products into the Strategist Canon, and our best sellers showcase just a few of them. Perhaps in response tothe cold frontsthat defined the beginning of the year, thousands of you bought ourBest-in-Class humidifier(which earned its title at the end of 2024). As cozy season gave way to sun-dress temperatures, fervor for ourfavorite affordable pillowwas replaced by a need to steam. Both our favoriteironand our favoritesteamerhad a month to shine.
Summer began with everyone’s favorite Father’s Day gift:A custom LEGO mini-figure. But as July slipped into August, the Prime Day deal we’re still thinking about — Clinique Black Honey for $18 — made room forthe corn-stripping toolyou’re all using to enjoy corn at its best (off the cob). When Clinique’s Black Honey dipped to$12.50 in September, everyone restocked (or stocked up). October, though, was a month for a new favorite — specifically,the magnesium oilwe’re all still spraying on our feet to sleep better. We ended the year with a return to old favorites:AirPods on saleand the card game that’s been uniting and tearing apart our readers’ families for years.
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How about the items on your wish lists?
About halfway through the year, we introducedour product-save tool, which allows you to save products you’d like to keep track of for later. (To save a product, just click the heart on the product image and it’ll be stored in the “Saved for Later” tab of your account.) In the months since, you’ve all been saving bigger ticket items — like Quince’sunder-$1,000 sofawe tested for“Couch Week”— and things you’re maybe a little skeptical about. (We get it — Magnesium spray does seem slightly dubious.) Other highlights include a longtime favorite, Laneige’s lip mask, and a few other new additions to our archive: analternative to plastic deli containers,a pen with seriously smooth flow, and the paper-clip penholder we can’t stop putting in gift guides. Here’s another tip: When something you’ve saved goes on sale, we’ll send you an email to let you know.
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You were really passionate about pens.
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Speaking of pens, when our writer Martha Tuber wenton the record about her favorite pens, many of you agreed that Anterique’s ballpoint pen, with its smooth flow and non-smudgy ink, is actually the best. (One reader even called it “goated.”) While the pen quickly went out of stock after her article went live, many of you saved it for later, making it the most saved product all year. (And lefties don’t worry: We heard your cries and asked someleft-handers about what they write with and why.)
Everyone studied up on how to smooth fine lines and wrinkles (or prevent them in the first place).
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We ended October witha wrinkles extravaganzawhere we learnedhow to address signs of aging in our necks, what the difference is between a$300 and a $1,000 LED face mask, and whymiddle-aged women love Jones Road. More than anything, though, you wanted to know whichmoisturizers are best for mature skin. Nearly 2,000 of you bought our top pick fromCeraVe.
Who was the hardest-to-shop-for person on readers’ lists?
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In previous years, thousands of you have puzzled over what to get the teenagers in your life, buthusbandsconfused you the most this holiday season. Whether you’re shopping for thehusband who doesn’t want anythingorthe notoriously picky one, it turns out that the best gift is simply something that will keep him busy. For over 1,400 of you, that looked like a collection of theTimes’most difficult crossword puzzles.
It was the year of … electrolytes?
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It may feel like the protein bubble has yet to pop, but thousands of you shelled out for electrolytes this year. (Fiberwe’re looking at you, too.) Our writer Brenley Goertzen’sguide to the best electrolyte powderswas our top-read Best in Class story, and you all bought more than 11,000 boxes of our top pick, the DripDrop packets she uses to refuel after hard runs or weight-lifting sessions. (At 16 sachets a box, that comes out to over 176,000 packets of electrolytes.)
We also ditched plastic, starting with our deli containers.
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Black+Blum Meal Prep Box Set
Many of you, it turns out, were affected bythe Great Black Plastic Spatula Panic. Accordingly, of all the hunts we went on this year, the one that you resonated with most was fora replacement for everyone’s beloved deli containers. So, if you’re finally ready to stop committing plastic sins — reusing, microwaving, and dishwashing your microplastic-laden deli containers — take a page from everyone else’s book and invest in Black+Blum’s leakproof and microwave-safe containers.
Sandals prevailed in a no-toe-show summer.
In our eyes, this summer was one best defined by itslack of toes. Still, when fashion writer Ambar Pardilla asked dozens of the most tasteful people she knows abouttheir favorite sandals, you couldn’t get enough of their responses. Almost 500 of you took a chance on some incognito Crocs, but the pull for some good old Havaianas was strong, too. Ourshoe of the summer— theKeen Newport H2— landed in many of your carts as well.
You all really love Jennifer Anniston.
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This year, we asked everyone fromSally Jessy RaphaeltoScarlett Johanssonabout the things they can’t live without, buteveryonetuned in whenJennifer Annistonshared her list. Sure enough, the most popular item wasn’t the Sephora makeup brush she uses for everything from foundation to powders or what she calls “the G-string of no-show socks.” Rather, you all bought the screen cleaner and wipes she uses to clean screens and glasses. Her friends like it, too: “They keep disappearing from my house because my friends always clean their glasses or clean their phone, and it ends up slipping into their pockets,” she told us.
We found the differences between the cheapest and most expensive versions of things.
We declared March“Jeans Month”at the Strategist, and started the festivities with an answer to the question everyone was wondering:Really, what’s the difference between a pair of $30 jeans and $300 jeans?Pardilla chatted with experts in the field (as in, textile professors and the “Menswear Guy,”) and found it ultimately comes down to material and production process. “Unlike $300 jeans, $30 jeans are probably going to be comfortable from the moment you put your foot through the leg,” she writes. So, at the end of the day, “It’s not always about quality. It’s about what you want out of your jeans. And maybe that doesn’t have to cost you $300.”
But when the sale isgood, the splurge is worth it.
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You might not actually need a Dyson vacuum to clean all the nooks and crannies in your house, but when we found one discounted by 50 percent, you all made it the most popular deal of the year. After all, it’s not everyday that you can buy a Dyson for less than $300. May 2026 bring us a slew of new deals of that caliber.
More From The Strategist
- The Back-to-School Hall of Fame
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- Everything You Need to Outfit Your College Dorm
- The Strategist Summer 100
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
