Picking the best products to sell is the next big challenge after deciding to start your eCommerce venture.
There are millions of products to choose from, and all of them have had success.
This is why picking products can be extremely difficult which can lead to products being picked on a whim, with little consideration which ends in poor performance.
In this chapter, our goal is to provide a roadmap for brainstorming product ideas, so we can later filter out the ones that aren’t worth testing.
1. Brainstorm
You never start with a blank page. Your head is already full of good ideas: your hobbies, products you like, trends, exciting products that you have heard of.
Write everything down that comes to mind. It doesn’t matter if you think the product will be a bestseller or not. Trust me — write it down.
2. Browse Other Shops
When you browse other stores, look at their offerings, best-selling lists, and promoted products. Many stores have a tremendous amount of data and employ entire departments to organize their sales and pick their products. Use that information to your benefit.
Browse a lot.
Browse frequently.
Here is a link list that is worth spending time researching:
▸ AliExpress Most Popular Products (Weekly)
▸ LightInTheBox Top Sellers List
3. Browse Social Shopping Sites
There are over 100 million products on Polyvore and 30 million on Wanelo. Add in Fancy and Pinterest, and you now have an infinite number of products from around the world that can be sorted by popularity, trends, categories, and more. People often overlook these sites in their research, but they are very valuable for deciding what things to sell.
Setup an account at each one, and subscribe to different categories and lists.
Follow what people like the most and add it to your list.
4. Ask Friends
The next time you have coffee with friends, ask their thoughts on trends.
Don’t limit yourself — talk with friends of all ages and backgrounds to get a wide variety of ideas.
5 Look Around
Look around your house, your work, your life. Are there any products you can’t live without? What products would make your life easier? Is there anything that is hard to find in the supermarket or department store? Howard Schultz came up with his coffee shop idea on a trip to Italy and later called it Starbucks. The founder of Inkkas brought his idea from Peru, where he saw great shoes he thought that people in the US would like. Stay
Howard Schultz came up with his coffee shop idea on a trip to Italy and later called it Starbucks. The founder of Inkkas brought his idea from Peru, where he saw great shoes he thought that people in the US would like.
Stay alerted and spot opportunities. You see hundreds of products and ideas each day.
Be observant, carry a notebook, and remember to write everything down.
Chapter’s Action Item
Write Down a List of 50 Product Ideas
Use the tricks mentioned above and spend some time browsing the web and writing down your ideas. Add them to an Excel spreadsheet so it’s easier to evaluate them later.
Remember – don’t get hung up on the details. All ideas will require a test. Your goal is just to come up with as many ideas as possible. In the second chapter, you will narrow down your idea list so it contains only the very best ideas.
