Selling products online has the potential to be highly profitable. The main problem, however, is figuring out which are the best products that offer the highest possible return on the investment of time and money. Finding products to sell on the internet can be a difficult process, especially if it’s your first time in the world of e-commerce and you don’t have a large initial budget to invest. First and foremost, it is very important to identify the best products to sell: you need to find a product or series of products that you are sure a good number of people will want to buy and/or discover a niche of consumers that has not already been targeted by other retailers that represent strong competition.

To give you the initial momentum, we’ve compiled a list with 12 ideas on what to sell online in 2021. 

In this article we explain what you need to sell online: from a valid strategy to choose the products to propose on the internet, to the mistakes to avoid. 

The first question when considering going into e-commerce is: 

What does it take to sell online? 

First and foremost, a strategy for choosing the best products to sell on the internet: to figure out which items are the most popular of the moment, consult resources like Kickstarter, Wish, and Google Trends and take note of the products you think might fit your inventory. It’s important, however, that you don’t pick the trend of the month: while it’s a great idea to sell a product that’s part of the zeitgeist and has just risen to popularity, you should be careful not to rely on a trend that might fade away too soon.

Rely on your own experience. While it is perfectly acceptable to jump into selling a product with which you are unfamiliar, whenever possible, you should use your previous experience and expertise.

Ask yourself:

• Is there an industry or market that I am particularly familiar with?
• Is there a particular demographic group that I belong to or have an understanding of?
• Is there a type of product I’ve worked with before that might be a suitable choice? 

Like all businesses, e-commerce has its risks, and one of the biggest is choosing the best product or service to offer online. 

Three mistakes to avoid when deciding what to sell online:

1. Propose a product without having studied the market. To sell online is not enough to set up an e-commerce site, upload any products and wait for them to sell. The first thing to do is to study the market, make a preventive analysis and design a sales strategy. 

2. Compete with the big giants without having the adequate means. Proposing in your e-commerce products easily available in other online stores is not a winning choice. We advise you to avoid over-saturated market segments and to focus initially on a narrow niche, and then expand your offer (if you want to) at a later stage. 

3. Don’t be patient and expect great results right away. As much as you may have chosen the perfect product to sell online, don’t expect an immediate boom in sales. Shape your corporate identity and spread it on the internet, make your product known, build customer loyalty: if you find the right product and offer it in the best way, with time the results will come!

Now let’s move on to the most promising eCommerce product trends in 2021:

1. Solar panels and chargers. The increasing convenience and reliability of solar technology means that installations of all sizes – from phone chargers to rooftop power supplies – are becoming increasingly popular.

2. Smartwatch. Millions of searches related to watches and smartwatches are conducted on Google every month. These digital watches, available in different colors, shapes and sizes, are able to connect to your smartphone and record a variety of parameters such as physical activity, steps, heart rate, hours of sleep, etc. They turn out to be very trendy among men, women and kids and show a constantly growing trend.

3. Eco-friendly products. In recent times, given the evolution of the health of our planet, the number of people looking for biodegradable products to protect the environment is growing. What to sell? Creams, cosmetics, household cleaning products. In this case, in order to distinguish your e-commerce from the competition, it is important that all the products offered are really eco-friendly.

4. Baby and childcare. As long as people continue to have children, baby care products will continue to be in demand. So products like: baby thermometers, car back seats, baby nail clippers, baby carriers.

5. Pet Care. With the Covid-19 pandemic, more people have adopted an animal into their homes and are therefore also willing to spend money on their pets. Products such as pet beds, personalized pet bowls, training collars, toys, can be a novel and profitable idea

6. Travel Accessories. Another thing that the pandemic has limited and that many of us are looking forward to doing again is traveling. Travel is always one of the best markets for online sales as it guarantees a constant audience of vacationers looking for specific products to take with them. Products such as backpacks for hiking or camping, or comfortable neck pillows to cope with hours in the air, will always find demands to be met. 

7. Jewelry and fashion accessories. Whether it’s the minimalist, simple and refined design, which in the last couple of years has replaced the past big and flashy trend, or new and colorful hair clips the inspirations launched from the fashion runways always have a huge following and market.

8. Health and Beauty.  These types of products straddle the line between what consumers want and what they need. It’s a very trend-sensitive market and as a result you have to be very flexible to change. Oils, body creams, customizable shampoos, and even portable guns for muscle massages in full autonomy at home.

9. Thermal steel water bottles. Climate change and pollution caused by waste are some of the most important challenges of our time. In Europe, the use of disposable plastics will be banned starting this year and in Italy, customers of all age groups tend to prefer eco-sustainable and reusable products. Thermal steel water bottles could be a great idea, they have become very popular and are now part of our kit for leaving the house. 

10. Home Office Products. To limit the spread of COVID-19 contagions, working from home has become the new normal during the 2020s, and we believe this trend is set to last forever. To cope with this new trend, professionals around the world need home office products more than ever: whether it’s desks, chairs, organizers or laptop stands, you’ll find your niche in this sector with great potential now and in the future.

NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? COLLECT YOUR IDEAS IS YOUR MOMENT! RELY ON OUR ONLINE SALES PROFESSIONALS: CONTACT US AND START SELLING!