Guest post by Brian Dean from Backlinko
Tapping into a trending product category can be a goldmine for any eCommerce site. That’s because a trending product means less competition on Google. Fewer Facebook ads in that space. And you can usually charge more than you could for a product with 1000+ competitors. All of which can boost your margins.
The question is: how do you find products that are trending before your competitors do? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to cover in today’s post.
1. Amazon Suggest
If you run an eCommerce site, you probably already use Amazon to find product and category ideas.
But what you may not know is that Amazon’s search suggest feature is a great way to uncover trending product and category keywords. Often before they get a dedicated category on Amazon.
For example, let’s say that you sell dog treats. Well, you’d enter “dog treats” into Amazon’s search bar. And see what keywords they suggest. Those are trending searches that lots of shoppers are looking for. As a bonus, these are typically “long tail keywords” that are relatively low-competition in terms of SEO.
Pro Tip: You can apply this same approach to any eCommerce site with a robust search feature. So if you’re in the pet space, you could use this tactic on Chewy or PetSmart’s site.
2. Google Trends
If you’re considering adding a product to your eCommerce site, make sure to check that product’s search growth in Google Trends first. Even if a product has a lot of searches now, that doesn’t mean it will in 12-18 months.
So head over to Google Trends. Type in your product. And take a look at the trend line.
Obviously, if the trend is moving up, that’s a good sign. But you also want to analyze the trend line itself. A sharp upward trend can sometimes represent a fad. And by the time you source your product and add it to your site, the fad might be on its way out.
On the other hand, a slow-and-steady upward trend often means that the trend is here to stay over the medium to long term.
3. Customer Support Tickets
Customer support tickets (specifically, product requests) can uncover hidden demand that would be hard to find any other way.
For this approach to work, you do need to have an eCommerce site with some traction. But if you do, you should ask your customer service reps to bubble up product requests up to someone that handles products. That way, they can spot patterns.
And if they notice the same product (or product category) being requested over and over again, it might be a good idea to put that into production ASAP.
4. Exploding Topics
Exploding Topics is a curated list of thousands of different trending topics. And the tool has a section specifically dedicated to “Products”.
That said, you probably also want to check out trends in your industry. For example, if you’re in the supplement space, you can see trends under the “Health” section. And get an idea of the trends happening in that space.
Even if they aren’t product-focused terms, you can use these trends to get an idea of what’s about to become big in your specific niche.
5. The Facebook Ad Library
The Facebook ad library is an untapped source of new, emerging product ideas. Why?
Because most DTC brands with new products kick off their marketing with a Facebook ad campaign. And if you keep an eye on competing brands, you can see exactly what products they’re selling via their ads. (Not to mention their creatives and ad copy).
The only downside of this approach is that you have to already know the brand that you want to look for ahead of time. But once you have a brand in mind that tends to launch a lot of new products, you can make checking out their ads via the Facebook Ads Library part of your competitive research routine.
6. Shopify’s Trending Product List
Shopify maintains a regularly-updated list of trending products. On the surface, this list looks like just a blog post. But the benefit of checking out this list is that the data is based 100% on sales.
So while Google Trends and Amazon Suggest can help show you what products people are searching for, this list shows you what kinds of products people are actually buying along with data on how much sales are increasing.
7. Amazon Movers and Shakers
Amazon’s Movers and Shakers list can help you find products that have trended over the last few days. This means it’s not always the best way to find long-term trends. But it’s ideal if you’re a dropshipper. Or have the capacity to launch products quickly.
They even sort products by different categories (like electronics and beauty). That way, you can zero-in on trending products that relate directly to what you sell on your site.
8. Reddit Conversations
There’s definitely a lot of noise vs signal on Reddit. But if you’re willing to dig through long discussions, you can often uncover interesting products. The most straightforward approach is to browse a product-focused subreddit, like “Shut Up And Take My Money”. And there’s value there.
But perhaps the best way to squeeze value out of Reddit is to hang out on subreddits related to your niche. So if you sell vintage clothing on your eCommerce site, spend some time on fashion-related subreddits. And keep an eye out for patterns.
9. Pinterest Suggest
This works just like the Amazon search suggest tactic that we outlined earlier. But you can sometimes uncover hidden gems on Pinterest that won’t show up on Amazon for months.
10. YouTube Unboxing Videos
YouTube’s “unboxing” videos continue to be a mainstay on the platform. And for certain eCommerce niches (like fashion, beauty and electronics) these can be a goldmine for figuring out what products are seeing increased demand.
All you need to do is search on YouTube for terms like “unboxing” or “unboxing” + your product category. And take a look at some of the recent videos. Keep an eye out for relatively new videos (less than a week old) that have a high number of views. These videos can sometimes even throw fuel on the fire for a product that’s just starting to trend.
11. Etsy
With millions of sellers and tens of millions of products, Etsy is a great way to get your finger on the pulse of what’s selling well in your space.
The great thing about researching on Etsy is that most of these products tend to be homemade (or at least artisanally made). So products on Etsy sometimes trend well before a product becomes mass-produced and goes mainstream.
The only catch here is that researching products on Etsy is really only helpful in certain niches (like home, garden, fashion, toys and decor). So if you sell supplements, Etsy may not make sense for you.
Related: How to Sell on Etsy
Final Thoughts
That wraps up our list of strategies that you can use to find trending products to sell.
One thing to keep in mind as you go through this list is that any one strategy probably won’t be enough. To find those true hidden gems, you usually need to cast a wide net. Which means implementing a number of these techniques at the same time.
When you do, you’ll usually be able to uncover trending products that your competition doesn’t know about yet.
