Coming up with brilliant product ideas for a profitable product to offer online will oftentimes strike an eCommerce entrepreneur when they least expect it. Oftentimes, however, it’s something you need to be on the alert about.
The internet is a goldmine of ideas and inspiration, but where do you begin as a new entrepreneur? Because at a loose end, online searching will only get you so far, we’ve curated a list of the top resources to help you get started.
This piece is a look at the most incredible resources for product inspiration and ideas. At the onset are some broad ideas to get your creative juice in the right frame of mind for starting your search and then move on to more specific resources towards the tail-end of the post.
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While reading this post and the list of resources, it’s a good idea to jot down all of your ideas. Once you’ve jotted down all of your explored ideas, you’ll be able to revisit them and assess their prospects & viability.
Where to find lucrative product ideas?
- Start with what you have.
- Your local community
- Product and trend discovery sites
- Social curation sites
- Online consumer trend publications
- Your competitors
- Industry leaders
- Online consumer marketplaces
- Consumer lifestyle publications
- B2B wholesale marketplaces
- Social forum communities
- Social media networks
- Audience surveys
- On-site and third-party customer reviews
- SEO analytics and insights
- Crowdsourcing
- Look at the past.
While studying the resources included in this post, it’s of necessity to bear two things in mind:
· Niches & product categories: Look at smaller product categories and niches. While a niche is a smaller subset of a bigger category, it compensates for fewer competitors and a more specialized audience. It’s easier to reach the top of Google when there’s less competition, and advertising to your customers is usually more cost-effective and efficient.
· Search beyond products: When searching for new product ideas, keep in mind that the search should extend beyond the products themselves. While it may sound good word platitude, as it’s panning out a commonplace in Strategies for Finding Your First Profitable Product, even the most common and popular product categories face stiff competition. Choosing a distinct or alternative approach can be critical to your success. Avoid focusing exclusively on products; instead, look for potential inside the product category. Contemplate new markets, new features, and new application possibilities for these products.
1.Start with what you’ve already got.
Before you delve into the depths of the internet in search of small business ideas or to the ends of the world in search of products and niche ideas, it’s always a good idea to start with the ideas you already have.
Perhaps you’ve been working on a product or idea for years. Perhaps it exists in the form of a half-written business plan stashed away in a folder on your computer. Even if you previously discounted it, it’s worth a second look. At one point, you believed it was a brilliant idea, correct?
The following questions can prove handy-dandy compiling a list of eCommerce business ideas:
- Which products, niches, or industries pique your interest or passion?
- What are your friends’ passionate products, niches, or industries?
- Which areas of your life are causing you pain?
For instance, Lisa Kalberer and Allison Hottinger, sisters and entrepreneurs, are passionate about family and tradition.
They impart these ideals to their households over the holidays by creating a manager. The Giving Manger was formed when friends expressed an interest in developing their traditions.
The passion-driven product drew the attention of influencers, who helped propel the brand to national prominence, both online and in stores.
Established pain points and challenges
If there is an issue, resolve it. Consider the areas of your life where you suffer, as well as the areas of pain for those around you. For instance, Active Hound stepped in to address the issue of easily eaten and destroyed dog toys. Dog owners will feel upset about unreliable products, and the associated costs will quickly accumulate. The market for that product was defined by one single point of pain.
2.Your local community
Occasionally, a novel idea is new. Brick and mortar businesses have existed significantly longer than their eCommerce rivals.
Paying attention to brick-and-mortar retail trends and applying them to eCommerce might be the difference between creating a profitable and distinctive internet business idea and failing.
Read Also: 15 Product Research Ideas To Find Dropshipping Products 2021
Take a look around your neighborhood and observe what new or fascinating store concepts are being discussed. Additionally, your local newspapers can be an excellent source of this type of news and information.
For instance, a grocery delivery service InstaCart is an excellent example of a business that recognized an opportunity to bring a brick-and-mortar concept online. According to PwC’s 2017 Total Retail Survey, most food buying occurs in-store.
Still, with the growing popularity of services like Amazon Pantry, there is an opportunity to drive and capture online sales.
Though many consumers are skeptical of online grocery shopping, InstaCart partners with brick-and-mortar retailers to ensure that customers continue to purchase at their favorite grocery store. This also benefits small businesses by allowing customers to shop at preferred business grocers.
3.Product and trend discovery sites
Uncrate-men’s products and AHAlife-luxury products are excellent resources for regularly discovering new curated product trends. Additionally, product review and discovery websites are an excellent source of product and internet business ideas. What better way to be inspired than to get a daily peek at the latest and fascinating products being introduced to the market by other entrepreneurs?
To get you started, below are a couple of popular consumer product blogs:
Consider not only the large and popular sites but also niche review sites. Consider the products and niches you are most interested in and search consumer product review blogs in those niches.
4.Sites dedicated to social curation
Polyvore and similar image curation platforms may prove a valuable source of niche and product idea generation. Numerous photographs depict innovative, new, and popular enterprises and consumer products. Leveraging the built-in social signals, you may at times get a sense of their popularity almost instantly. This could be your first hint concerning the market potential for the product or niche.
Several of the larger social curation sites that may serve as inspiration for niche business ideas include the following:
Wishlistr: Wishlistr is a service that allows you to collect, organize, and track products you’re interested in, as well as share your wish list with others. To date, more than 9 million “wishes” have been submitted.
Wanelo: Wanelo (Want – Need – Love) bills itself as a community for all product shopping, bringing products and merchants together in a Pinterest-like fashion. You can begin by looking at popular people.
Fancy: Fancy describes itself as a combination of a store, a magazine, and a wish list. Fancy can assist you in finding the ideal gift for any occasion and share your favorite finds with your friends.
5.Consumer trend publications online
An excellent way to start your search for product ideas is to look at some of the leading consumer product trend periodicals.
Following trend publications is a great way to get a sense of the direction consumer products are taking and the trendy product ideas introduced to the market by other entrepreneurs.
Additionally, subscribing to these periodicals can introduce you to new product categories and industries that you were previously unaware of.
Keeping an eye on what’s popular might help you develop new products, services, and experiences for your online business.
Numerous popular trend publications are available online, including but not limited to:
Trend Hunter: Trend Hunter is the largest and most popular trend community on the internet. Trend Hunter makes for a source of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and the insatiably curious, owing to its global network of 137,000 members and 3,000,000 fans.
According to the founder of Trend Hunter, as is the case with many of the entrepreneurs, he was an entrepreneur at heart but had no idea what he wanted to pursue.
So he chose occupations that he believed would bring him to his business idea, but years later, he’s still searching for inspiration. it’s what led to Trend Hunter – a community for insatiably curious people to discuss ideas and be inspired. “
TrendWatching is an independent trend consultancy that scours the globe for the most exciting consumer trends and insights. TrendWatching features a staff of professionals reporting global trends in London, New York, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney, and Lagos.
PSFK is your “business intelligence platform that inspires creative professionals as they develop new products, services, and experiences in retail, advertising, and design.” It examines consumer patterns and insights based on research that you may use as a springboard and validation for online business ideas.
Inkkas, make for an excellent example of an entrepreneur who recognized a trend in another country and brought it home. Inkkas are exquisite, one-of-a-kind shoes crafted from original South American materials. Dan got the idea after noticing a trend for these types of shoes in Peru. After concluding that this was an excellent product that would also sell in the North American market, he brought the idea home then successfully funded his Kickstarter campaign, raising over $77,000 in pre-orders.
6.Your competition
Take note of your competitors’ and popular businesses’ triumphs in your industry. Which of their products has been the most successful? How did they achieve such prominence? Occasionally, brands will share the whys and hows of new products.
Examine their community in addition to their products. Who is their target market, and why are they so devoted to their products? Look at how the brand communicates with consumers and how customers connect with them online. Identify holes in your competitors’ product offerings and look at how your new product can address those gaps.
7.Industry leaders
If you are familiar with the industry or niche in which you wish to work, you can utilize numerous techniques to identify industry influencers.
Following the proper people on social media can inspire new ideas by providing a steady stream of carefully curated content from influential people. It is up to you to sift through all the possibilities.
There are various online tools available to help you identify online influencers in a specific industry or niche:
8.Online consumer marketplaces
Online consumer marketplaces are another excellent source of product ideas. With millions of products, you may want to start your search with some of the most popular and trending things and then expand out into other exciting categories that capture your eye:
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer. Amazon Best Sellers lists the most popular products on Amazon based on sales. In addition, Amazon Movers & Shakers highlights the top-performing products in terms of sales rank during the last 24 hours. Both are updated on an hourly basis.
Kickstarter: Kickstarter is the world’s largest crowdfunding. With Kickstarter Discover, you can sort all projects by popularity, funding, staff picks, and a variety of other criteria.
AliExpress: AliExpress is Alibaba’s consumer wholesale platform, which enables smaller orders. AliExpress Best seller displays the most frequently purchased products.
Jet: Jet is another popular online shop. Each product category has its top sellers list, such as this one for wholesale and for books and media.
eBay is the world’s largest consumer auction platform. Utilize eBay Market Research to find which product categories are the most popular on eBay.
Etsy is an online marketplace for handcrafted goods. Investigate what’s trending to find out about the most popular listings.
9.Consumer lifestyle publications
Consumer-facing periodicals in your sector can disclose a great deal about a market segment and its current trends. First, consider the topics discussed in the media and the pieces that impact the audience.
To find which articles are the most popular, look at the number of comments, social media engagements, and social media shares. Popular articles may serve as a source of inspiration for niche market ideas.
10.B2B wholesale marketplaces
Nothing beats getting product ideas direct from the source. This approach is a long-standing favorite among eCommerce businesses, and this list would be incomplete without it.
Wholesale and manufacturer sourcing websites provide you with access to thousands of product ideas. However, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of products offered, so proceed cautiously.
Alibaba: Alibaba is one of the world’s largest eCommerce corporations, ranking alongside Amazon and eBay. Consumers from all over the world can connect with wholesalers and manufacturers in Asia using the site. With hundreds of thousands of products, there is virtually nothing on Alibaba that you can not find.
Although Alibaba is widely regarded as the most extensive online wholesale and manufacturer database, there are numerous other sites similar to Alibaba that you can use for inspiration and product ideas.
Oberlo is a Shopify-owned marketplace where you can buy products to sell on Shopify directly from suppliers.
Because these suppliers offer automatic order fulfillment, it’s a popular turnkey choice for many companies considering what to sell on Shopify.
Browse what’s available and review Oberlo’s most popular products to inspire your ideas.
Several additional B2B wholesale marketplaces include the following:
11.Social forum communities
Reddit is the world’s largest news aggregation on social media. It bills itself as the “first page of the internet” and wields considerable influence.
Reddit features dozens of “subreddits,” or sub-sections or niches dedicated to specific topics and interests. These subreddits are a great place to find inspiration for your next product or business idea.
Read Also: 10 Product Evaluation Ideas For Dropshipping Products 2021
If you have a concept for a particular industry, niche, or product category, it’s worth finding a search and joining and actively participating in a matching subreddit community.
Similarly, other product-focused subreddits are brimming with ideas.
Below are a few depictions:
Shut Up And Take My Money: Interesting, intelligent, and valuable products that people crave.
Buy It For Life: For practical, long-lasting, and well-made products.
Additionally, there are various subreddits dedicated to Amazon-curated products. It is worth checking out the following:
If you’re a regular on Reddit and pay attention, you’ve probably come across interesting postings like this one, which invites commenters to share their finest under-$50 purchases.
Whichever route you pursue, Reddit has been and continues to be a fantastic source of eCommerce business ideas and inspiration, backed up by an active and supportive community.
Quora
Quora is a community-based question-and-answer site. The firm describes it as “a place to gain and share information.”
In essence, users come to Quora to ask and answer questions about just about everything. As with Reddit’s subreddits, Quora includes topics that you can personalize.
For example, consider including feeds about specific products or industries, as well as anything else influenced by online business.
Additionally, Quora displays which topics and questions are trending and the total number of answers-each with several upvotes and downvotes from the community
After populating your feed, you’ll begin to notice questions and answers that may serve as inspiration for eCommerce business ideas. Here are just a couple of examples:
- What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
- What would you buy from Amazon?
- What’s your favorite product?
12.Industry and niche forums
Subject to your target industry, you may be able to find product ideas to sell on niche discussion sites. Gaming is one industry with a vibrant online community, and you may find out more about it by visiting sites such as NeoGAF or GameFAQs.
Here are a few additional industry discussion sites where you can discuss niche product ideas:
13.Social media networks
There are a handful of different ways to use social media to search for products and niche ideas.
If you’re interested in a particular product category or industry, you can search for relevant hashtags. Another effective strategy is to conduct a social media search for hashtags that indicate buyer interest and intent, such as # and #buy.
Product curation accounts: There are numerous Instagram accounts dedicated to curating product content.
As with multiple other examples above, you’ll likely want to search for and find accounts within the niches in which you’re most interested.
If you already run a business page on either one or more social media platforms, you may be able to use the data from your audience to find eCommerce business ideas. Determine which pages, hobbies, interests, and other qualities they share and use that information to generate product products.
Another visually appealing platform for eCommerce business inspiration. The average order value of sales generated by Pinterest is significantly larger than that of any other social channel. This implies that Pinterest users are exploring, shopping, and purchasing, making it a perfect place to conduct product and trend research. Don’t forget to check the popular section to see what’s hot.
Instagram isn’t just for ideas about food and pets; it’s also a good source of product and eCommerce business inspiration. Because it is photo-based, it makes it easy to scan through a large number of ideas and photographs swiftly.
Snapchat
Snapchat is particularly well-suited for the younger market, but its trend-spotting powers are limited. So instead, utilize the Discover feature to find what the Snapchat community is discussing and follow influencers in your niche to understand their needs and motivations better.
Facebook continues to have the highest number of active users of any social media network. So if you’re attempting to reach a specific market, there’s a good chance they’re on Facebook. Along with hashtags, hot topics, and popular pages, check whether Facebook groups in your niche are popular. Through those communities, you may be able to participate and find inspiration.
Twitter trends will aid in the discovery of fresh eCommerce business opportunities. These trends can be found on the left-hand side of Twitter.com; on the mobile app, look for the Explore option. You’ll be able to view what’s trending on your network or in a popular location.
Sites devoted exclusively to niche social media
If you’re looking for niche product ideas, social media sites devoted to relevant topics and hobbies can provide insight into fresh product ideas. As examples, consider the following:
14.Audience surveys
Surveys are one of the most compelling insights for gathering qualitative and quantitative information about an audience. Create questions to elicit information about their problems and challenges, their favorite products and why, and what they wish they had to improve their daily lives. Maintain a balance of multiple-choice and open-ended questions to eavesdrop on respondents’ thoughts. Then, utilize this data to generate eCommerce business ideas.
There are several tools available to assist you in creating and distributing your survey:
15.On-site and third-party customer reviews
If you already own a business (whether online or in-person), check your client reviews. Astute entrepreneurs take client recommendations into account and the motivations for them and act correspondingly.
If you lack your reviews, investigate those of similar businesses and products in your niche. Identify commonalities, pay close attention to consumer complaints, and identify how you might address those concerns with a product. Amazon is an excellent resource for unbiased user reviews.
16.SEO analytics and insights
Insights into search engine optimization (SEO) might reveal popularity internationally or in specific geographic places. You can use a variety of Google tools, both free and paid.
Google Trends: find what’s trending internationally and regionally, or narrow your search to specific categories such as business, health, or Science/Tech. Additionally, you can explore Top Stories to see what’s trending. Finally, suppose you have a specific industry or idea in mind. In that case, you may also conduct keyword research to find popular connected searches and predicted search volume peaks (which can help dictate the timing for your product launch).
Google Keyword Planner: The Google Keyword Planner can assist you in determining the average search volume for your chosen terms as well as similar keywords. Additionally, you can look at the AdWords competition to determine whether someone else is bidding on your eCommerce business’s targeted phrases.
Google Analytics: If you already manage a website, use Google Analytics data to see which terms users use to find it. Volume is not always critical: a long-tail, descriptive search word might inspire your next great idea! Additionally, you can find the same insights by utilizing data from your onsite search.
Google search: Google.com is a frequently-overlooked tool for SEO research. When searching Google.com, some essential locations to examine including predictive text (as you write your query in the search field), paid advertisements at the top and on the side rail, suggested searches at the bottom of the page, and Google Shopping results. Remember that photos and news are also available.
17.Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is comparable to surveys, except that you solicit ideas more directly via crowdsourcing. LEGO Idea is an excellent example of a brand that leverages crowdsourcing to generate new product ideas. Consumers can submit their LEGO set ideas, and the site also displays popular and successful ideas. Create your crowdsourced ideas or look for inspiration from those hubs.
If you’re interested in organizing your crowdsourcing campaign for product ideas to sell, check a look at the following resources:
18.Revisit the past
The other strategy of learning involves scouring through the past. By researching the history and previous trends, you might generate a list of renewed product ideas to sell. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery employs this one strategy with its Ancient Ales product line, which uses traditional brewing procedures.
However, history does not always imply historical events and methods. Additionally, it is a discussion of contemporary pop culture trends. We continually witness resurgences of trends, particularly in fashion, and consumers adore nostalgia.
For example, choker necklaces have made a comeback, and a slew of rebooted films and television shows have rekindled consumer interest and passion. You can elicit this sensation of nostalgia by highlighting a product that is no longer accessible or highlighting a forgotten subject that is likely to elicit happy memories.
Profitable product concepts.
You now have resources at your disposal to assist you in developing an excellent list of initial product ideas. Following that, we’ll look through all of the available resources and share some intriguing product ideas with you.
To sail through product ideation, read our piece in the series: 2021’s Trending Products.
In an eCommerce business, you want to look professional and easy to use… Shopify helps you do these two things. It is a powerful eCommerce tool that makes it easy for you to sell online.
Product Ideas FAQs
What are the most in-demand products at the moment?
The majority of high-demand products currently on the market are related to home life, health and wellness, and fitness. Currently, things for the home office, self-care, loungewear, and the home gym are all popular. In addition, facial masks, hand sanitizer, and digital products are also popular.
What are the most commonly purchased products?
People make regular purchases for groceries, hygiene products, and other needs. Conduct keyword research and social listening to find the most popular products at any given time.
What products do I need for my business?
You can either manufacture your products or obtain them from outside sources. Wholesalers, dropshippers, manufacturers, markets, and local artisans are all places where you can acquire products for your business.
How do I develop a product idea?
Your local community, online consumer trend periodicals, industry leaders, and customer reviews are excellent sources of inspiration. This blog article discusses seventeen methods for generating and developing product ideas.
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