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How to Find Trending Products to Sell Online

Chapter 32 by Nicole Martins Ferreira

Finding trending products is an important part of running an online store. You need to know what items will be popular before they peak. By ‘catching the wave’ you’ll be able to make money from growing sales rather than from the product’s decline. Every niche has its own trends. In 2020, we’re seeing the continued rise in athleisure, shapewear, posture corrector products, smart devices, and more. In fashion, there are new trends each season for apparel, accessories, and shoes. When it comes to choosing niches in 2020, you’ll want an evergreen niche with ever-changing trends so you can build a long-term business that generates a ton of sales from winning products. It’s not about making the trend the niche.

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Missguided has a shop by trend section on their website which allows you to see the season’s hottest fashion trends. Since it’s currently spring, you can see their spring trends which include florals, frills, embroidered clothing, and more. Since they regularly update their trends each season, you can continue to check in to see what other trends you’ll need to jump on.

find trending products missguided

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Suzy Shier is a great example of a brand who divides their products into trends. On their store’s top navigation, a trends section is visible. Want work wear? Florals? Vacation shop? Whatever is the hottest trend within the fashion industry at that moment will be found on that section of their online store. Customers who love a certain pattern or style will likely find products with a consistent look which can help improve the user experience.

To find trending products, you’ll want to look at the product order volume on the Oberlo marketplace. If you notice a product has over 1,000 orders, it’s possible that it’s a trending product. You can then cross-check with a tool like Google Trends to determine if the product is trending upwards or downwards. If there isn’t enough data it could be because it’s a new product or because there isn’t enough search volume. When choosing trending products for your store, you should check a few sources to ensure it’s the best fit.

Not all products trend the same way. For example, a seasonal product may have spikes during a certain time of year while a new product might not show dips and only an upward growth. When choosing products you’ll want to ensure that if there are seasonal dips that you have other seasonal products that’ll drive your store’s growth during that time.

When looking at lists of the best things to sell look at the date. If the article was written over 6 months ago with no updates, it’s likely not 100% reliable. You’d need to investigate whether the products in those lists are still accurate. At Oberlo, we’re constantly updating our trending products lists to ensure you always have the best information on product sourcing.

Choose niches that regularly have new trends. If you choose to base your niche around a singular product you risk losing momentum within the niche. However, having an evergreen niche that constantly changes trends allows you to capitalize on new trends while still ensuring your business lasts over the long term.

If mainstream media is talking about a trend like what happened with fidget spinners a couple years ago, it’s already too late. You’re now going to see the rapid decline of the product. The goal is to find the trend before everyone else starts talking about it. The goal is to start selling online a trend as it’s gaining momentum but before it reaches its peak. 

Google Trends is the most popular tool for finding trends. You can browse their Featured Insights which give you a look at what’s trending in the world right now. If you’re trying to figure out if a product or a niche is worth tapping into, you can search the exact keywords to find out if the niche is trending upwards. You can look up data from as far back as 2004 to show you the patterns over the years. If you see a cyclical pattern, it’s likely that the product is seasonal especially if it always peaks and dips around the same time each year. If the product has been trending upwards it’s likely worth adding to your store and start selling. If you look at data from the past 12 months, you might not be able to see whether or not the product is trending upwards as it can often be pretty flat. Aim to look at historical data from the past 5 years or from 2004 to really get a picture into whether it’s a trending product or not. You might want to check this article, where I share all my best Google Trends hacks to skyrocket your business.

find trending products with google trends

Ecomhunt is a popular product curation website. They’re in the know about the latest trending products. And considering they cater to the ecommerce community, they definitely know which products will sell. This website is a must for any online retailer looking to add the best-selling products to their store. So if you’re looking to find trending products, you might want to check out this list.

EcomHunt

Trend Hunter is a popular website that lists trends for various niches. You’ll find trends for sub niches within fashion, jewelry, gadgets, home and more. If you browse through a few of the articles while cross checking with AliExpress or Google Trends, you’ll find quite a few products you can add to your store. Some of the trends are general ideas while others are more product focused.

Instant Product Evaluator Tool is a tool to help you evaluate whether or not you’re planning to sell a good product. You list your product idea and answer a series of questions about your product which helps guide you in whether or not its the right product to sell. It asks questions that’ll require you to do your research. Questions like ‘What is the potential selling price of your product?’ are asked in the short survey. After you finish answering the questions, you’ll receive an answer via email.


next: Chapter 33

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