Digital and livestreaming shopping marketplace platform Whatnot released its 2027 consumer trends report this week, and the sports and collectibles marketplaces continue to be massive growth areas.
Over 100 million sports cards have been sold on Whatnot so far in 2026, with millions participating in live sales, where shoppers participate in real-time, interactive video streams and purchase items directly or via auction. That was an $8 billion global market in 2025, and Whatnot says it’s set to double that total this year. A survey conducted by Censuswide revealed that 47% of Gen Z and 44% of millennials said they shop live now more than a year ago, while 35% of shoppers look to make purchases live before anywhere else.
In the sports collectible space, while basketball, football and baseball continue to see increased demand across cards, jerseys, autographs and memorabilia, the soccer market showed a tremendous amount of potential in both the men’s and women’s games. Following this year’s men’s FIFA World Cup in North America and in advance of next year’s women’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, searches for women’s soccer on Whatnot increased about 70% so far in 2026. Searches for U.S. Women’s National Team superstar Trinity Rodman led the way, while searches for Spanish legend Alexia Putellas roughly tripled.
During the World Cup this year, jersey searches surged 230% month over month and vintage jersey searches spiked nearly 70%. Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi led the way in jersey searches this summer, incredibly impressive for the 19-year-old to already rival the GOAT in popularity. Searches for Erling Haaland increased 17x this summer as American fans embraced the upstart Norwegian team during their unexpected run. Just like card, jersey and memorabilia demand increased during this World Cup year, including tens of thousands of first-time soccer card buyers, expect similar results in 2027.
While Michael Jordan has been retired for nearly a quarter century, he still led Whatnot NBA card searches so far in 2026, barely edging out Victor Wembanyama. And as 2025 top overall pick Cooper Flagg put up a Rookie of the Year season for the Dallas Mavericks, unique searches for his name skyrocketed 440%.
As Pokemon celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, an astonishing four Pokemon cards sell on Whatnot every second, the company reported, while the order volume and consumer base more than doubled from last year. Hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers flooded the marketplace looking for the rarest cards and chases and special art and vintage cards through pack swaps, pack openings and single-card purchases. More than 10 million cards were sold in September, an all-time high for a month, while the franchise’s single highest-selling week ever took place over the summer.
Not surprisingly, Pikachu led all Pokemon searches to date this year, followed by classic original characters Charizard, Eevee, Gengar and Mewtoo. Instead of solely focusing on rarity or value, buyers are now looking to collect their favorite Pokemon and artwork that have tangible meaning to them, even if that means prioritizing sentimental value ahead of long-term monetary value. As new releases extend into the holiday season, expect Pokemon’s momentum to extend into 2027.
Whether sports trading cards, jerseys and memorabilia or the trading card game market led by Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering, the market is hot in 2026 and doesn’t project to cool down going into next year. Younger consumers are embracing live purchasing as well as in-store and convention buys to either build their own small business or just further their love of the hobby. What was once seen as a pandemic-era fad is now not just here to stay, but a juggernaut $15 billion-plus market on Whatnot that should not be ignored or overlooked.