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The first step to starting a profitable eCommerce business is choosing the right product to sell online.
If you are ready to start an online business, you might be wondering what are the top selling products online? What are the most profitable products to sell online? What are high demand products to sell?
There certainly is a huge number of possibilities, but narrowing them down is not as difficult as you might think if you stick to key points.
Sometimes inspiration can hit from real life, like it did with Sweet & Spark when they started a very successful and profitable business selling jewelry products.
But sometimes there are just too many ideas! So what should you do when looking for a product to sell online?
The first thing you should do is research. Look into product options for selling online. Brainstorm a bunch of ideas and then learn everything you can about them.
Use the product selling guide below to help you know what to look for and how to evaluate the best products to sell online.
Most Profitable Products to Sell Online:
An important factor in choosing the best things to sell online is profitability. If a product isn’t going to make good money for you each time it sells, there is no reason to sell it!
If you are looking for the most profitable product to sell online, this list should give you a starting point. Any of the options below would be good.
If you are ready to start an ecommerce store, use this Shopify Launch Checklist or just start your own online store directly on the Shopify website.
To get started sourcing any of these products from dropshippers or wholesalers I highly recommend Salehoo.
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1. Jewelry
Jewelry is low cost wholesale which means high margin and high profit for selling.
Jewelry also doesn’t require a lot of space for inventory since it is so small. Which means you can even store it in your house for selling.
The average margin is $5-$35 which means there is a lot of possible profit. One of the downsides to selling this product however is that there is a lot of competition in the market.
2. Beauty Products
There is always going to be a market for beauty products. And it is a big market! While there is a lot of competition with selling beauty products, there is a lot of profit to be made.
The average margin is anywhere from $5 to $25.
3. Kid’s Toys
Another highly profitable product to sell is kid’s toys. The margin is big as is the market.
It is however a marketplace dominated by some big brands that are hard to compete with. Average margin is $10-$30.
4. Phone Accessories
A profitable niche product to sell is phone accessories. Anything from phone cases to chargers and even apple watch bands.
Margin is typically from $3-$15 and best of all, there isn’t as much competition or big brand names in this product marketplace.
Check out the options for your online store for wholesalers on Alibaba or Salehoo.
5. Pet Care Supplies
The average margin for pet products is anywhere from $5 to $50. $50 margin on a product sale is a ton of profit!
There are of course a lot of big name brands like Chewy with ecommerce stores that are difficult to compete with though. The online pet market is very full, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t still room for more. Source products on Salehoo.
6. Active wear
Another profitable product to sell online is active wear, also known as athleisure wear. Basically, it is just what you wear when you work out.
Brands like Lululemon have shown how popular active wear is. Expect to make $5-$15 in profit margin.
More reading:
- Best Things to Sell on Etsy
- Shopify vs. WordPress: Which is the Better Selling Platform?
- 11 Businesses that Run Themselves
- Starting a Company Checklist
most popular Products to sell online
Another important consideration in choosing the best products to sell in an online store to make money is popularity.
You should sell products that have high demand already built in.
Here are some popular products to sell online:
7. Subscription Boxes
Boxes that get sent every month to customers with different items in them are very popular right now.
Once a customer signs up, they will receive these subscription boxes on a regular schedule in the mail for a set price.
They can be used for any type of merchandise including pet products or treats, beauty items and even clothing.
8. Shapeware
Think Spanx and you’ll understand why this is a high demand product to sell. Shapeware is an undergarment that women wear to slim their figures, and keep things looking smooth underneath what they wear.
It is one of the best things to sell online right now. The global market for shapewear is expected to reach about $3.7 billion in 2028, making it a money maker.
9. Phone Accessories
Smart phone accessories like chargers and power banks, tripod phone holders and car phone holders are popular products for selling.
10. Fashion and Clothing (T-shirts are a hot item!)
Clothing always has a built in demand and market. This year sweaters, winter coats and socks are popular clothing items.
And graphic t-shirts are popular as well.
11. Yoga Mats and Exercise Bands
Health and fitness products are some of the most bought items online these days.
12. Water Bottles
For whatever reason, bottles to drink water from are popular and one of the best items to sell online due to demand and profit.
13. Digital Products
Digital products that can be downloaded like printable planners, stationary and calendars are very popular and profitable, making them one of the best products to sell online.
These are not only popular, but an excellent source of passive income.
14. Video Game Accessories
Video games and video game accessories are a growing market.
*Bonus tip: If you have found some popular products, do some research on “related products.” It will potentially expand the options for you.
You may be able to find a product to sell in an online store that you love that is also profitable and popular!
Related reading: How I Make $8,500 a Month from My AirBnB Side Hustle
Niche Products to sell Online
Choosing a niche product can actually be smart for business. While the target market might be smaller, they are usually highly engaged. Plus, it makes marketing to a specific group of people more cost-efficient with better ROI.
In addition, a niche market may have less competition, making it easier for you to create a volume of product sales.
So, when it comes to the top selling products online, niche products are in the list!
Here are 3 niche products to sell online:
15. Shapewear
A good example of a niche product is shapewear which you probably already know is tight fitting undergarments that can help slim you. Spanx is the most recognizable name in the industry.
This industry is on the rise and expected to continue to grow. According to Grandview Research, the global shapewear market size was estimated at 2.43 billion USD in 2019 and is expected to reach 2.62 billion USD in 2020. So there is plenty of room for sales!
16. All-natural beauty products
There has been an increase in awareness and concern over toxins in food and now in beauty products. People want to use products that are safe and healthy to use.
The nice thing about the all-natural niche, is there are a lot of available product options. You can focus on skin care, or makeup, whatever you are most interested in. If you want to be really adventurous, create your very own line of all-natural beauty products or skin care!
17. Eco-friendly Products
Another niche product that is a good choice for selling online right now is anything eco-friendly. With climate change becoming increasingly obvious, many consumers are trying to purchase more responsibly.
Eco-friendly water bottles, cleaning supplies or even solar powered toys are not only great niche products to sell, but are also trending in popularity.
Trending products TO Sell Online
Aside from the obviously popular products, are “the next big thing” products.
Find products that are just starting to trend. If you feel like something is on the rise, starting to sell it before it completely blows up means less competition and more sales for you.
Plus, if you were one of the first people to sell a trending product, you can easily become a brand associated with that product and a leader. (Like the aforementioned Spanx!)
For instance when KETO was first hitting the scene, that would have been an ideal time to start selling KETO friendly snacks. Actually, it’s still a good time to sell KETO products!
There is a lot of search volume for KETO and healthy food products in general. So selling items such as health bars and powders is a smart choice. Use Google trends data to find trending products to sell.
And don’t forget in this new day and age that the demand for virtual can create lucrative service-based products. In the trending arena of fitness for example, you can offer online fitness classes for a fee.
With little overhead and cost-of-goods required, you just need to focus on marketing and promotion to bring in money for your time. Any type of service or on-going subscription is a powerful product to sell because it will generate recurring revenue.
For 2023, some trending products include fitness equipment and supplies, skin care and hobbies and crafts. Check out this list of trending products to sell in 2023!
Here are a few trending products you can sell online:
18. Dog Toys
We’ve already mentioned pet care products as a top seller. But specifically the niche of dog toys is a trending product you can sell in an online store.
The pet toy market is valued at $8.1 billion! And it is already growing in 2023.
19. Wall plates and Covers
Our next top trending item is in the home decor market. You can purchase decorative wall plates and covers for electrical outlets and light switches.
These covers have designs and colors, allowing a pop of interest in what is normally plain, white and boring.
Google searches for these products are way up, making this a possible best selling ecommerce product to choose.
20. Cabinet Knobs and Handles
In a similar home decor vein, decorative cabinet knobs and handles are trending in searches and demand.
People are looking for new handles for the kitchen, bathroom and furniture cabinets. The cabinet hardware market is expected to be worth about $18.2 billion by the year 2032.
This means this is definitely a high demand online product you should consider selling!
21. Tumblers
We’ve already mentioned water bottles in our list but another drink holder is a trending product which is tumblers.
Did you know the keyword tumblers is searched on Google around 5 million times a month? Talk about high demand! And, the average profit margin on tumblers is 50%.
There are many different types of tumblers you can sell, research the options and pricing on each and decide what is best for you.
Related reading: How to Double $10K Quickly
what to Sell online: How to Find the Best PRoducts
Below is a guide to help guide you choose the top selling products for your eCommerce business!
Product Profitability
You should definitely understand the profit margin on a product before you launch an online store. If the cost of goods you will have in something vs. the price you can sell it for only leaves a few cents of profit it won’t be worth your time.
As a first-time online retailer, you may feel that you want to sell a product you personally love or use. But you should approach everything from a smart business sense. Don’t just choose something that you love for the sake of that alone.
Choose a product that you are going to make several dollars on each time you sell it! Ideally, you can find a product you feel passionate about that also has a good potential profit margin.
Make it worth your while, and increase your chances of strong revenue and success. Review what wholesalers are selling products for vs. what you can charge consumers.
Find an item that has an inherently good margin so that you can pocket the most profit possible on each sale.
Do your research to find the most profitable products to sell.
Popularity: What Products are in High Demand?
One of the best things to sell online is anything that is popular. Obviously the more popular an item is, the more you will be able to sell it.
Do some research on products to sell online before you choose one. Figure out what is popular so that you can sell a product with built-in demand.
There is a list below of some of the most popular products to sell online which we have compiled for you. But you can also do some of your own in-depth research on hot products.
Online sites to help research product popularity
You should also use google to research popular products and trending products to sell. Once you have a list of potential product options, run them through Google Trends.
Google trends data will show you how many people are searching for that product! Figuring out what products are in high demand will help set your business up for success.
You can plug in your favorite potential products to sell online into Google trends and compare the search volume for each to get an idea of the available market and potential sales volume. Check out this in-depth article on how to calculate market demand.
One thing to keep in mind when researching products is customer pain points. If you can sell a product that solves a problem for your customer’s it will have some inherent value and popularity.
If you are really stuck even coming up with product ideas for your own ecommerce store in the first place, read this article on 17 places to look for product ideas from Shopify.
Size and Weight
This is an easy factor to overlook when choosing a product to sell, but an important one. The size of the product you are selling will affect your shipping costs, and your cost of goods.
Which in turn can affect your profit! Not to mention it also determines how much space you need to accommodate your supply stock. And that affects your warehouse, or rent costs. (Unless you are choosing a drop shipping business!)
It is ideal to offer customers free shipping. Most of your competitors will likely be doing that, and it creates more incentive for people to purchase from you. It has actually become a key factor in driving purchase with consumers today.
So choosing an item that is lightweight, will make free shipping easier to offer, and less of a price point issue.
Competition for product sales
So this factor can kind of be at odds with the popularity factor. Because, if a product is really in demand, there may already be a lot of competitors out there selling it and doing well.
If one of your product ideas has a huge number of competitors already out there, and some heavy hitters that already have a lion’s share of the market, it may not be a good choice.
Breaking into an already saturated market can be challenging to say the least. Unless you have a ton of money for heavy advertising which you likely don’t when first starting out.
This can be another reason to choose a niche market. With smaller niches, there may not be as much competition. Which will leave more potential sales for you.
For any product you choose to sell, there’s likely already competition. But find one that doesn’t have quite as much competition.
And one that doesn’t have competitors with an already established, huge market share for that product.
Tips for Choosing products to sell Online
If you aren’t sure where, or how to start choosing something to sell online, here are a few important first steps you can take.
Brainstorm product ideas
Just write down a list of ideas of products to sell online! The first step in choosing something to sell online is knowing what the options are.
Brainstorming a list of ideas can give you a good starting point.
Research Products
Once you have written down a list of ideas, the next and probably most important step is to do your research.
You should be researching all the factors listed above as it relates to your list of possible products to sell. So popularity, profit margin, and shipping costs to name a few.
You can also look at other online stores. Find trending products online with Google trends and other research tools.
Doing the proper research ahead of time can directly affect the success of your eCommerce business.
Evaluate the Market
Really this is still part of the research phase. Evaluating the market is crucial for choosing what product to sell.
You need to know how much competition there is, how much potential volume of online sales, and what type of buyer would want your products.
Understand supply options
Once you have chosen a product you think you want to sell, you need to understand where you can get that product!
Is it something you can make yourself? Or will you need a product supplier? If you need a supplier, research the possible product manufacturers out there. You can even get product samples from relevant companies.
There are many product suppliers to choose from, but here are a couple of the more well-known options:
If you decide you want a dropshipping business, you may need to specifically look for a list of dropshipping business suppliers like this one.
Once you have established some success selling your product, you can even look at product line extensions to expand your business.
Tips for Selling PRoducts Online
If you are going to start an ecommerce business selling products, here are a few tips to keep in mind!
Choose profitable and popular products to sell as your first step! IF you can sell something with consistently high profit margins you will increase your revenue and success.
Think about things like shipping costs and delivery time.
Make sure you have super high quality product images, hire a professional photographer to help. Create a website that is visually appealing and easy to navigate to help with selling your items.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Popular Products to Sell Online in 2023?
Shapewear, digital downloads, subscription boxes, tumblers, fitness products, pet care products, beauty products, smart phone accessories and home decor items are popular products to sell.
What are the Best Products to Sell Online?
The best products to sell are going to be those that are both profitable and popular. You want built in demand and a healthy profit margin.
Here are some of the best products:
- Shapewear
- T-shirts
- Jewelry
- Smartphone accessories
- Subscription boxes
- Digital downloads
- Tumblers
What are the Most PRofitable Products to Sell Online?
Here are some products with high profit margins to consider selling:
- Tumblers
- Candles
- Pet Care
- Beauty products
- Kid’s toys
- Sunglasses
- Baby products
Start selling Your own Products from Home
Once you’ve finally figured out what you want to sell, you have to create your store to sell products online!
I highly recommend this guide from Shopify on How to Build, Launch and Grow A Profitable Online Store to help with launching your eCommerce business.
Or, if you are ready to skip to straight to opening your Shopify store follow these steps!
Starting your own online business is an exciting venture! Take the time to research products for all of the key points above like profitability and popularity to make sure you are laying the groundwork for success.
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