BOLO TRENDS
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER · ISSUE 010 · THURSDAY, AUGUST 27 2026
TL;DR
Ponchos are at 201,000 searches a month heading into their November peak, so this is another signal to buy fall layering now. Cardigans are at their floor. Soccer cleats are early. And the western retitle we gave you in July needs changing: the demand moved to the makers.
THE LEAD · FIRST LOOK
Ponchos peak in November. The ramp starts now.
If you are sourcing outerwear for fall, ponchos should already be in the cart.
Google search data shows poncho at 201,000 searches a month. Last July it was 165,000. The size of that gap is not the story. The shape of the year is. Last year poncho went 165,000 in July, 201,000 in October, and 246,000 by November. It has already touched 246,000 once this summer.
These are buyers layering before the cold lands, not after it. The window opens in September.
Source: Google search data.
THE MOVE
Source ruana wraps, blanket ponchos, and fringed capes. Wool and heavy acrylic first. Southwestern and Fair Isle patterns move fastest.
SECOND CHANCE
Missed the August Top 25 BOLO list? Here it is again!
Last week we sent the August Top 25 BOLO Keywords Guide. Twenty five keywords across denim, bags, boots, men's shirts and outerwear. Five each, every one dated and marked with where the demand is going.
Page 8 is the one that matters. All 25 ranked by volume on a single sheet, built for standing in front of a rack rather than reading on the couch. Boots and men's shirts are in there because readers asked for them by name.
Free. 9 pages. Data through July 2026.
The Board
Four signals. Google search data, July 2026.
SIGNAL 01 · FALL SPORTS
Soccer cleats are already at last year's ceiling.
Google search data shows soccer cleats at 246,000 searches a month. Last July it was 165,000. Last year the term did not reach 246,000 until August and September. It got there in July this time.
Fall league registration is already closed. These are parents with a season starting in two weeks, not browsers.
THE MOVE
Source molded studs and firm ground cleats. Youth sizes first. Check the sole plate for wear before you pay for them.
SIGNAL 02 · PRE RAMP
Cardigan is sitting at its floor.
Google search data shows cardigan at 135,000 searches a month, against 165,000 last July. Last year cardigan went 165,000 in July, 246,000 in September, and 301,000 by November.
Buyers are not searching yet. That is exactly why the bins are still full of them and nobody is stealing them out of your cart.
THE MOVE
Pull chunky knits, cable knits, and oversized grandpa cardigans now. List them in September.
SIGNAL 03 · TITLE TERM
Slacks pull 1,000,000 searches. Stop Calling Them Dress Pants.
Google search data shows slacks at 1,000,000 searches a month, the same as last July. Dress pants sits at 33,100 over that same month. That is a 30x gap between the word buyers type and the word resellers title with.
THE MOVE
If slacks is missing from your titles on anything tailored, add it tonight. No sourcing trip required.
RECEIPTS · CORRECTION
We told you to retitle to western boots. Change it again.
Source: Google search data.
In July we told you to lead your cowboy boots listings with western boots. Google search data showed western boots at 60,500 searches a month and climbing. It now sits at 18,100. Last July it was 40,500, so the term is running below where it sat a year ago. That is one month of data and we will keep watching it, but the reason we gave you for that swap no longer holds.
Here is what the wider category actually did. Google search data shows cowboy hat at 201,000 searches a month against 301,000 last July. Cowboy boots, the same. Turquoise jewelry is at 49,500 against 135,000. Felt cowboy hat is at 8,100 against 74,000.
Now the makers. Google search data shows Stetson cowboy hat at 135,000 searches a month, up from 49,500 last July. Resistol is at 12,100 against 8,100. Wrangler 13MWZ is at 6,600 against 2,400. Fourteen generic western terms down, and every named maker we track up.
Buyers did not leave western. The serious ones are still here.
THE MOVE
Check the sweatband before you check the shape. Stetson and Resistol go first in the title, ahead of the material and the crease. On denim, look for the 13MWZ tag inside the waistband.
MORE RECEIPTS
Aviator sunglasses did not hold.
Issue 002 called aviator sunglasses men a real style shift at 14,800 searches a month, off three straight months of climbing. Google search data now shows the term at 8,100. Last July it was 22,200, and August is the month it peaked last year at 40,500. It's unexpectedly falling at the same time it peaked last year.
That call is scored FADED. Three months of climbing was not enough on a series that small, and we are keeping the receipt where you can see it.
And now you know.
BOLO TRENDS · @BOLOTRENDS
Know a reseller still titling everything cowboy boots? Forward this to them.
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