There are millions of online stores across the internet. This opens up a door of endless possibilities when it comes to selling online products and maximizing sales and revenue.
You're not alone if you're looking for new ideas for shoppable products. Many online store owners constantly look for new products to add to their inventory. The challenge is finding the right product with an equal balance of supply and demand.
In this guide, we'll share a few simple strategies for identifying profitable products to sell online in 2024. Let's dive in.
Understand What You Want to Sell
Not all online products are created equal. There are several types of eCommerce products to consider, which include:
Commodities: A commodity is a product considered the same no matter who produced it. You can think of commodities as goods that have little differentiation, like sugar and coffee.
Niche products: A niche product is a specific item in a broad market. It's supposed to serve a particular customer. Examples would be Catholic home decor and weight loss supplements for women.
Physical products: These are any products that have tangible value. Physical products, like shoes and laptops, are the most popular products to sell online.
Digital products: Any product stored, delivered, and used electronically. Examples of digital products include software and online courses.
As you can see, there are many different products to consider if you're ready to add to your inventory. Choosing the right one comes down to your business model and your customer base.
Also, keep in mind the associated costs for storing and shipping products. For example, products with low overhead costs are easier to produce and store in your inventory.
When researching high-yield products, you must account for the costs of producing, shipping, and promoting them. You'll also need to determine your return on investment (ROI) compared to production costs.
Usually, lightweight items are easier to create and ship. On the other hand, bulky and large items are more difficult and expensive to have in your inventory. For example, shipping a package of earbuds is much easier than a set of drums.
To choose products with higher profit margins, you can steer towards industries that always stay in style. This includes clothing items. Clothing-based businesses typically enjoy healthy profit margins between 30% to 60%.
If you're looking for a fashion product to sell, men's leather jackets emerge as a standout choice. These versatile garments provide style and sophistication and serve as wardrobe staples year-round.
Brands like LeatherCult have excelled in this niche market by offering a wide array of meticulously crafted men's leather jackets.
Their success story underscores the significance of aligning your online store with products that exhibit enduring popularity and continued consumer demand.
Solve a Customer Problem
One of the easiest ways to find new products to sell is by first solving a problem your target audience has. By identifying a problem, you can determine a need. Needs are the basic things in economics that drive supply and demand.
When people need something, they'll stop at nothing to get it. By performing market research, you can see which eCommerce products are driving the most consumer interest.
You can also read online forums like Reddit and Quora to find out what kinds of problems potential customers are having. Then, determine what product will solve that problem.
For example, this Reddit thread shows the customer's pain point of cleaning the interior of a car windshield.
What is the best product people recommend to keep the windshield clean? A microfiber towel. It's worth adding this product to your inventory if you sell car accessories.
Appeal to Hobbyists
When people are enthusiastic about their hobby, they'll usually have no problem spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get the product they want.
For example, golfers are known for spending a lot of money on equipment to lower a few strokes in a game. Also, YouTube gamers will spend thousands of dollars on gaming PCs to experience state-of-the-art graphics and computer speed.
Therefore, when you're shopping for new products to sell, make sure you shortlist expensive hobbies. Here are some examples of hobbies that people are willing to spend on:
It's important to note that if you provide products for hobbyists, you'll need to improve your quality control. Hobbyists won't spend their money on online products on a whim. They want a quality product in exchange for their hard-earned money.
Stick With Your Personal Passion
One of the best ways to sell new products is by figuring out your passion.
Finding your personal passion means you'll be creating products you truly care about. Naturally, you'll pay close attention to quality control and deliver great customer service.
Focusing on your passion also gives you a unique story to tell to your audience. Need inspiration? Take a page out of Tabitha's book from House of Joppa, a successful online store that specializes in Catholic jewelry and home decor.
It's no secret that storytelling drives most marketing messages in the eCommerce realm. If you have a special attachment to a product, you're more likely to engage potential customers who share the same passion.
Leverage Your Professional Experience
You don't just have to sell products based on your passion. You can also consider your professional experience.
Do you have in-depth experience in an industry and know of some ways to make it better? If so, you can develop an outstanding product to serve a market need.
This approach works wonders for digital products.
For example, Jeremy Moser is a content marketer turned entrepreneur with more than eight years of experience in copywriting and creating content for big brands. He turned his experience into an online course where people can learn how to write landing pages that convert.
It's his credibility in the field that helped drive the success of this product. If his experience were in cooking, nobody would trust his copywriting abilities.
In short, use your experience to your advantage to help you sell high-quality products.
Jump on Trends Early
It can be challenging to catch trends before they happen.
For example, GLP-1 weight management programs are poised to be a profitable product to sell online due to their alignment with health trends, the reach of the digital marketplace, recurring revenue potential, and data-driven personalization.
As a result, it presents a compelling opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to tap into the expanding market of health and wellness solutions.
But how can you anticipate trends like this before they become viral?
That's where Google Trends comes into play. Google Trends is a data analysis platform that helps people identify key trends based on search patterns from popular keywords.
Marketers religiously use Google Trends to identify content ideas. So, as an online entrepreneur, you can also leverage this handy tool to help you identify growing online trends.
Another great way to gauge the online shopping market is by browsing trends on online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Wayfair.
Many of these global retailers have 'What's Hot' or 'Best-Selling' lists that show you the most popular products in their eCommerce platforms. You can browse these lists and determine which products you can invest in.
Screenshot by Brandon Lee
Identifying profitable products requires substantial market research, often involving proprietary methods, detailed analytics, and vast data collection. As you engage in these deep dives, protecting all the data you've accumulated becomes paramount.
Secure data solutions like s3 Backup guarantee that your collected research data, customer preferences, and market analysis are safe from potential losses or breaches.
Also, employing identity resolution tools, like those offered by platforms like Hightouch, allows you to consolidate scattered customer information, offering invaluable insights into potential product preferences and purchasing behaviors.
When collecting data that will influence your inventory, you should be careful about its storage. Investing in the proper tools to make this process easier will allow you to focus on adding new products to your inventory.
Check Out Customer Reviews on Existing Products
Another way you can find new products to sell is by checking customer reviews on items you want to sell. This will help you find out what's right and wrong with the existing market and help you create better products.
For example, let's say that you're looking into selling men's winter coats. By browsing online reviews, you find out that many people don't like how their coats are too thin.
Screenshot by Brandon Lee
You can use this intel to develop superior products for your online store and usurp your fiercest competitors.
Tap Into the Power of SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website's online position on search engines like Google and Bing. It's usually the primary campaign in digital marketing, especially for eCommerce platforms like OpenCart.
Fortunately, you can learn from SEO keywords to find new products to sell. For example, let's say you're targeting the primary keyword, 'women's jeans.' After performing a quick Google search, you'll see the following related terms:
Women's high-waisted jeans
Women's skinny jeans
Women's jean shorts
These related search terms all offer new product ideas. You can provide these new products with your existing catalog to drive more traffic to your website.
Check Out Related Products
Upselling and cross-selling opportunities make online stores extra money from initial sales. You can maximize both opportunities by adding related products to your store.
Most online retailers like Amazon will show related products anytime you browse or buy a product. You can use this data to find out new combinations to add to your online store.
Screenshot by Brandon Lee
You can also browse other products that customers often buy on these platforms. This kind of information isn't only helpful for online shoppers but also for online store owners who want to add more products to their inventory.
Watch Influencers
Influencers drive social media and real-world trends. The most popular influencers can even create trends that can last for a long time.
Therefore, if you want to add more products to your inventory, you should see what popular influencers are doing in your niche.
For example, let's say that you're targeting young women between the ages of 18–30. Many of these women follow a particular influencer on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Taylor Swift wore jean shorts to a Kansas City Chiefs game, and they sold out overnight. That's the power of influencers.
By studying their content, you can determine the products they promote on their channels. This is a great way to study your market so that you can create similar products.
Ultimately, keeping tabs on popular influencers is the way to go if you want to find emerging products before they go viral.
Test Before You Launch
Having a great idea means nothing if you can't get customers to visit your checkout page and swipe their credit cards.
It doesn't make business sense to invest in buying new inventory if you aren't sure how the market will respond yet. That said, you should run a limited test before planning a full launch.
For example, let's say you're considering selling custom kitchenware on your website. Before you spend thousands of dollars on new inventory, you can run a small testing campaign, such as offering limited items on social media, to see how your audience responds.
To set up a limited launch, you should create a landing page and enable customers to insert their email to receive access to a demo product. This way, you can measure customer buy-in before moving on.
Final Words
The journey to uncovering profitable products to sell online in 2024 is an exciting and dynamic endeavor.
Position yourself for success using the strategies we've discussed today — like staying ahead of market trends, using data analytics, and exploring niche markets.
Remember, the digital marketplace is ever-evolving, and flexibility is key.
Embrace innovation, be willing to adapt, and keep your customers' desires at the forefront. With these approaches, you'll achieve profitability in no time.
Plus, you'll build a resilient, future-proof online business with sales volume to sustain your business goals.
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