New consumer data on buying behaviour suggests multiple trends emerging for this year. Many of these popular innovations complement previous years’ trends, but there are some new technologies and methods worth exploring. Let’s dive a little deeper to understand more about e-commerce trends and how to find the best products to sell online.
It’s not always easy to find the perfect product to sell. We understand. Whether you’re just starting out with E-commerce or looking to expand your business, you must first seek to understand your customers! However, there are some product trends that we’ve seen that many successful E-commerce stores possess. Let’s take a look at some of the traits of a great E-commerce strategy below.
Functional Website
Even if you’re just starting your company, you must have a website in place. Especially in 2023, a landing page, product catalog, and functional checkout process is necessary for a frictionless buying experience. To get your online sales pipeline in place, look into what your competition is doing. If you are a health and beauty vendor, for example, make sure that your website reflects your audience’s interests. Have a solid social media strategy, and make sure that you can engage potential customers at every step of the purchasing cycle.
Product Pricing
Widely accepted as the “sweet spot” for online shoppers, this price range is perfect for impulse buys and informed transactions alike. If your item is listed above the US$10-40 range, make sure to offer deals, sales, or competitive pricing to knock down any contenders. Surprisingly, a product priced above US$50 can motivate a potential customer to look elsewhere for a better deal. Take note: items in the US$1-10 range are generally not worth the shipping costs, leading consumers to purchase these items in-store. However, lower priced goods could bolster your add-on item strategy – if you have one in place.
Unique Products
If you have optimized your site and products, your customers should be viewing your store and repeating purchases because you sell the newest and most interesting products. If you do not carry products that excite your customers first, any further E-commerce marketing strategies will be fruitless. As with all things online, do your research to gain the upper-hand. Leverage your competition by examining their products, and offer enough of a variety to differentiate yourself – especially if you are selling to a niche market.
Low-Maintenance
When faced with the stress of expired goods, difficult storage requirements, and expensive shipping costs, your e-commerce budget could suffer. Your products should be non-perishable, non-fragile, easy-to-store and easy-to-ship. If you cannot sell all your merchandise before the shopping frenzy ceases, you could be left with a lot of backstock – which means increased storage stress. And steer clear of potentially fragile items. A bad shipping experience could damage customer loyalty.
Finally, a trusted dropshipping partner like Syncee or Importify can help you maintain your shipping and inventory needs. While there are many products out there, your primary focal points in your E-commerce products for reliable income and consistent business are items that are evergreen, require little storage resources, and are simple to fulfill.
Best Products to Sell Online in 2023
If you’re able to meet the above criteria and find many products that suit your needs, your online store is off to a great start! The next part is to discover what online products you might be able to capitalize on. With the now-ongoing epidemics over the past few years, there have been many changes to the marketplace, but many products have earned their rank in the top products for 2023. Let’s take a look at a few of them below.
Home Decor Items
With more people at home for longer periods of time, many online shoppers are turning their sights to decorating their home. In fact, home decorative materials are forecasted to increase 4.8% YOY all the way through 2026. Consumers want comfortable atmospheres to spend their day-to-day lives and get away from the chaos that the COVID pandemic has created. However, this isn’t the only reason, with real estate surging and showing no signs of slowing down. Here are a few Home Decor items slated to generate buzz in 2023.
- Carpets, tapestries, and blankets
- Beddings, pillows, and mattresses
- Household storage containers
- Towels, washcloths, and other bath linen
Health & Beauty Products
Health and beauty products are reliable sources of business for any e-commerce site. Now with stress levels rising, Zoom conference calls, and the need to find routine in daily life, people are focused on their internal well-being and physical appearance. In fact, WARC reports that the online share of sales made in the health and beauty sector is expected to increase 23.3% by 2025. As always, the focus does not need to be exclusively on women, as men are buying these products too! Here are some ideas for great health and beauty products for 2023.
- All-natural skincare
- Detox tea and juices
- Wigs and headscarves
- Nail extensions
Pet Products
Not surprisingly, pet ownership is one of the leading causes for E-commerce spending! In fact, the global pet care market is projected to surpass $270B by 2025. Pets are a central part of their owner’s household, not just an animal. Purchasing products for their pets is second-nature to buying food or other staples for the household. However, there are some factors that play into those who purchase products for their pets. Most buyers are motivated by three things: to maintain the health of their pets; to enjoy leisure time with their pets; and, to make sure they are comfortable in the home. Take a look at some of our recommended products below.
- Slow feeder bowls
- Pet selfie tools
- Electronic cat toys
- Pet beds
Technology Products
Technology has woven its way into the fabric of our everyday life, and tech products are now evergreen. However, there are plenty of items out there, so it can be difficult to narrow down what you should be selling. However, there are many target groups and niches to sell to. It’s worth looking into more to understand what your customers might like. Surveying your customers via email marketing could help you discover which products are worth carrying. Here are a few below.
- Car phone holders
- Wireless charging station
- Wearable devices
- USB Port Extensions
Cases & Skins
Similarly, all technology needs protection. Device cases and skins can buffer your precious device from drops, or offer further customizations. Consumers like to Smartphone accessories are a practical necessity for any owner, but buyer behaviors are motivated by personalizability. Think of how excited your potential customers might be when they can purchase a phone case, with a matching laptop cover. If you also possess lots of designs, work with a print-on-demand company! You’ll only need to stock one style of phone case, and can scale as necessary for new products. You’ll just have to change the design. You’ll hold their attention, keep them coming back for more purchases, and drive up their cart spend.
- Phone Cases
- Laptop Cases
- Laptop Skins
- PopSockets
Sports Products
As people adopt an increasingly healthy lifestyle, buyers are searching for comfortable clothing to wear either around the house or for stepping out from the home.
Following in the footsteps of athleisure, activewear is also emerging as one of 2023’s hottest buys. Changing lifestyles around the globe have increased consumer investment in fitness and related accessories. As the sports and fitness industry grows rapidly, so will athleisure trends. Look at platforms like Pinterest or Instagram for help deciding which styles to stock, and consider partnering with an Instagram influencer or running Pinterest ads to stand out in the crowd. While there are plenty of activewear products for men, women’s athleisure trends are higher in the marketplace overall.
- High-waisted leggings
- Customized activewear
- Hoodies
- Higher fashion activewear
E-commerce Trends for 2023 (Infographic)
Chatbots
As AI becomes more refined, brands will start to use AI and Machine Learning to upgrade the client experience. Reducing your costs for staffing or support, chatbots or other machine learning programs can communicate with customers by means of a live talk interface. Depending on your customers’ needs, chatbots offer finely-tuned assistance for questions and answers, and actually help create more leads for your business, by directing customers to relevant pages and keeping them engaged with your business.
Voice & Conversational Shopping Integrations
In 2023, voice E-commerce sales are predicted to reach as high as $19.4B. By bringing voice and conversational shopping technology into your business, you can engage with your customers in a more straightforward and real-time way. Chat apps like Facebook Messenger, and voice apps like Siri or Alexa can help your customers check out faster and even get product recommendations.
Changing Payment Methods
Customers like to see their preferred payment method available upon checkout. Online stores that boast a wide variety of payment methods (as opposed to those who only offer one or two methods) build better trust, reduce abandoned carts, and encourage customers to spend more. If you really want to offer a streamlined experience for your customers, consider looking into buy-now-pay-later financing options, as well as one-click payment options. Combined with your online store, all of these changes will help you retain, or even gain, more customers in 2023.
Video Marketing
In the world of online shopping, video is still king! Videos can attract new customers or help a customer finalize their purchasing decision. Use video across your website and your social media pages in order to maximize your exposure. Ask your customers if they’d provide user-generated content, in the form of video testimonials or product reviews, in order to get you more organic exposure and trust across your industry.
Offline Retail, Online
Augmented Reality can help shape the online shopping process by giving customers a physical store experience in the comfort of their own homes. Giving customers more digital options for “trying out” your products can help delight and entertain them, as well as encourage more conversions.
Loyalty Programs & Subscriptions
If your products aren’t subscription-worthy, you might want to consider re-evaluating your stock in order to create more subscription-based products! With subscriptions, you can continue to bill customers for products or services, and combined with dropshipping this can be a very lucrative business model. Additionally, loyalty programs that reward your frequent buyers can bring them back to spend more money on your store.
Mobile E-Commerce
Between now and 2025, mobile commerce sales are expected to double. To capitalize on these trends, your business must have an engaging experience for mobile shoppers. Look into emerging technologies like push notifications, SMS, mobile content, a mobile E-commerce app, and a mobile-optimized site.
Social Commerce
Similarly, social commerce is now the norm for anyone purchasing products online. Customers expect you to have a storefront on all major social media platforms. In fact, social commerce sales are forecasted to reach $79.6B by 2025! It’s important to build out a social strategy for your social commerce storefront, as well as learning how to leverage paid advertising in order to get your products in front of your audience.
Personalization
With apps like Netflix capitalizing on recommendation engines, it’s evident that over 80% of consumers want more personalization. Your E-commerce business should tailor its strategy to all shoppers depending upon their stage in your funnel. Some technologies include: personalized pop-ups, product recommendations, follow up emails, and custom marketing.
Concluding Remarks
Before selling trending items, ask yourself these questions: Which items in my e-commerce store are performing best? Is a large percentage of my customer-base purchasing from a specific category of my online store? How do 2023’s trending items complement my site’s buyer-behavior?
Though following online trends may be tempting, it is important to maintain a consistent supply of evergreen products–items that consistently sell. Why? You do not want to be seen by your customers as “trying too hard”, nor do you want to have non purchased goods taking up valuable inventory space.
Additionally, you can watch trends on suppliers’ websites, as well as peruse consumer blogs. Our best advice? Find trending products that piggyback on the merchandise your shoppers already love.
After finding an on-trend item that elevates your current catalog, then target a subset of customers to learn more about how 2023’s trending products might motivate your buyers to make purchasing decisions.
