Business is one way leading to wealth, but as a new merchant, which products to sell is an incredibly difficult issue. In this article, we will help you answer that question by suggesting some best places to find product ideas. Check it below!
Begin With What You Have
Before doing some research on the Internet, let’s take a moment to think about what you are having currently. Maybe it’s an idea you’ve had for a long time. Maybe it’s a craft product you used to sell at the school fair when you were young. No matter what it is, it’s still worth careful consideration. Who knows, maybe it will help you gain huge profit in the future?
Take Lisa Kalberer and Allison Hottinger for example. Being passionate about family tradition and realizing that their friends were interested in these values too, those sisters started a product called The Giving Manger. Now it’s a nationwide hit, best sold both in stores and online.
Look Around Your Locality
Brick and mortar businesses have been for years, and the reason for that lasting existence is that they know what trends are developing currently. Look around your locality and find what concepts are talked about or what products are sold most, then adapt them to your e-commerce business. It’ll be the ticket for a unique and successful business.
Do Research On Trend Discovery Sites
Trend discovery sites can inspire a lot of ideas for businessmen. Those sites usually focus on one particular market area, like Uncrate is for men’s products while AHAlife is all about luxury items.
There are many other popular blogs to discover, such as Bless This Stuff, Cool Material, GearMoose, Werd, HiConsumption, Firebox, and so on… Check them and you will come up with business ideas soon.
Visit Online Consumer Marketplaces
What better way to look for ideas than finding them from your future competitors? You can visit some online consumer marketplaces and begin your search with the most popular product categories. Some popular marketplaces you can visit are eBay (check eBay Market Research), Amazon (check Amazon Best Sellers), Kickstarter (check Kickstarter Discover), Etsy, Jet, and AliExpress (check AliExpress Popular).
Browse Social Forum Communities
Social forum communities like Reddit or Quora can be a good source of ideas as long as you know how to use them. If you aim at a particular industry, find subreddits or Quora topics that are related to it, join the community and become an active member. You will soon find products that people prefer over other things.
Once you get familiar with these two forums, you’ll come across some topics that are useful for your e-commerce business. For example, there are topics on Quora about the best gift you’ve received, a favorite personal item of yours, or things you buy most on Amazon. Reddit also has some similar interesting posts like this one below:
Carry Out An Audience Survey
This is the best way to find out what your customers are really keen on. There will be three steps in general: ask audiences which products they like, provide them with a list of multiple choices, and then use the answers to brainstorm your business ideas.
You can also utilize some tools to make the process easier, such as SurveyMonkey, Google Surveys, Zoho Survey, SurveyGizmo, and Typeform.
