The Fastest Growing Merchants of 2025: What Real Consumer Spend Data Reveals
Facteus analyzed billions of real consumer transactions across our panel of 185+ million debit and credit cards to identify the merchants that grew the fastest in 2025 – not based on headlines, surveys, or social buzz, but on where Americans actually swiped, tapped, and clicked throughout the year.
Across four major categories (Apparel, Restaurants, General Merchandise, and Gas & Convenience) clear patterns emerged. Value-seeking behavior is accelerating. Digital-native brands are scaling into the mainstream. And regional players with cult followings are punching well above their weight.
Here are the merchants that outpaced the competition in 2025:
Fastest Growing Apparel Retailers in 2025
Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains in 2025
Fastest Growing General Merchandise Retailers in 2025
Fastest Growing Gas & Convenience Stores in 2025
Fastest Growing Apparel Retailers
- Alo Yoga
- Aritzia
- Jos. A. Bank
- Fabletics
- Fashion Nova
- Uniqlo
- Vuori
- Boot Barn
- Hollister
- Skechers
What the data tells us: The athleisure and lifestyle category continues to dominate apparel growth. Alo Yoga, Vuori, and Fabletics – all rooted in the activewear-meets-everyday-wear movement – claim three of the top seven spots, reflecting a consumer base that has permanently blurred the line between workout gear and wardrobe staples.
But this list isn’t just a story about yoga pants. Aritzia’s rise to #2 signals that elevated, trend-forward basics are resonating with younger shoppers willing to spend more per piece for perceived quality. Meanwhile, Jos. A. Bank at #3 is a surprise worth noting – pointing to a potential rebound in occasion-driven menswear as return-to-office mandates and in-person events regain momentum.
Fastest Growing Restaurants
- Legal Sea Foods
- Golden Chick
- Menchie’s
- 7 Brew Coffee
- Papa Gino’s
- Black Bear Diner
- MOD Pizza
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Scooter’s Coffee
- Dave’s Hot Chicken
What the data tells us: If you’re looking for proof that consumers are gravitating toward differentiated dining experiences over generic fast food, this is it.
The most striking theme: regional loyalty runs deep. Legal Sea Foods (Northeast), Golden Chick (Texas/Southwest), Papa Gino’s (New England), and Black Bear Diner (West) all made the list – a signal that consumers are actively choosing familiar, regionally rooted brands over national chains. These aren’t brands with 10,000 locations. They’re brands with devoted customer bases in specific markets, and they’re growing faster than many household names.
Coffee is another standout story. 7 Brew Coffee (#4) and Scooter’s Coffee (#9) both cracked the top 10, reflecting the continued explosion of the drive-thru specialty coffee segment. Both operate primarily through drive-thru-only formats, keeping overhead low while meeting consumers exactly where they want to be: in the comfort of their cars.
Fastest Growing General Merchandise Retailers
- Whatnot
- Five Below
- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
- Hobby Lobby
- Dollar Tree
- Goodwill
- Amazon
- Bass Pro Shops
- Walmart
- Costco
What the data tells us: Two macro trends collide in this category: the continued rise of value retail and the growing power of digital marketplaces.
Whatnot – a live-auction, social marketplace – taking the #1 spot is arguably the biggest surprise on any of these lists. It reflects an entirely new mode of commerce: real-time, social, and entertainment-driven shopping. The fact that a platform most people over 40 have never heard of is outgrowing Amazon, Walmart, and Costco speaks volumes about where younger consumers are directing their discretionary dollars.
Additionally, the value story is impossible to ignore. Five Below, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Dollar Tree, and Goodwill collectively occupy four of the top six spots. American consumers are not just tolerating discount shopping – they’re actively seeking it out. The thrift and treasure-hunt retail model, where the experience of finding a deal is part of the draw, continues to resonate in an environment where consumers remain price-sensitive even as inflation moderates.
The bottom of the list is where things get interesting from a scale perspective. Amazon (#7), Walmart (#9), and Costco (#10) – three of the largest retailers on the planet – all made the growth list, but trail smaller, more nimble competitors. These giants are still growing, but at their scale, hungrier and more targeted players are outpacing them on growth rate. Costco’s inclusion at #10 reinforces the membership-warehouse model’s continued appeal, particularly among consumers who view bulk buying as a long-term value strategy rather than a short-term trade-down.
Fastest Growing Gas & Convenience Stores
- Maverik Country
- Marathon Petroleum
- Allsup’s Convenience Stores
- Texaco
- Gulf Oil
- Kwik Star
- Chevron
- Buc-ees
- Wawa
- Love’s Country Store
What the data tells us: The gas and convenience category reveals a clear split between two growth strategies: regional brand loyalty and the “destination convenience” model.
Maverik, Allsup’s, and Kwik Star are all strong regional operators that have built fiercely loyal customer bases in the Mountain West, Southwest, and Midwest respectively. Their growth suggests that in a category often perceived as commoditized, brand affinity and in-store experience still matter – a lot.
Buc-ee’s (#8) and Wawa (#9) represent the “destination” end of the spectrum – convenience stores that consumers will actively drive out of their way to visit. Both have invested heavily in food quality, store experience, and private-label offerings that transform a fuel stop into a retail event, blurring the lines between convenience, QSR and traditional grocery. Their placement here reflects continued geographic expansion meeting strong per-store demand.
The Bigger Picture
Zoom out, and three themes define the fastest-growing merchants of 2025:
- Value is not a trend – it’s a structural shift. From Dollar Tree to Goodwill to Ollie’s, consumers across income levels are gravitating toward merchants that deliver more for less. This isn’t just inflation-driven belt-tightening but likely a long-term change in how Americans think about spending.
- Regional brands with authentic identities are winning. Whether it’s 7 Brew Coffee, Maverik, or Black Bear Diner, merchants with deep roots in specific communities are growing faster than many national players. Consumers reward authenticity and familiarity – and the data proves it.
- Digital and experiential commerce is reshaping the landscape. Whatnot’s #1 ranking in General Merchandise isn’t a fluke. And the exponential growth of convenience stores that prioritize novel experiences, like Buc-ees, signals a broader shift toward shopping as entertainment, where the line between experiential content and commerce continues to dissolve.
About the Analysis
This analysis is based on Facteus’ proprietary U.S. consumer transaction dataset, derived from 185+ million anonymized debit and credit cards. Growth rankings reflect year-over-year (YoY) spend growth among merchants in the top 30% of total sales within their respective categories for 2025 compared to 2024. All data is privacy-compliant and anonymized at the source.
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