What to Sell Online in 2019
In the last 15 years, the internet developed very quickly and various services were born. Services that we can’t imagine living without them today. Amongst the email, social media, forums and many more there is the one that changed our everyday life a little more. Created a whole new market and a lot of opportunities. Here, we are talking about the online market. In this article, we will show you how the online selling platforms work, how to sell on them, and finally, the most important: what to sell online this year. 1. Introduction
Buying and selling online changed the definition of shopping forever. With access to the internet and its rapid development, a new way to buy and sell something was born. However, there were some methods of “online shopping” before the internet, for example through Teletext in the early ’70s, but it was hard and not so popular. The first thing ever really sold through the internet (including payment) was the Sting CD. The buyer used an encrypted message to send his credit card data. In the same year (1994) the first food was sold over the internet. It was pizza from Pizza Hut, which launched their internet order system that year. So as we can see, for 25 years straight people are buying things and services over the internet. Nowadays we have hundreds of thousands of services that operate only in this particular market. But where it all began? Which service is the grandfather of them all? 2. History of online sales
Well, the answer to the question up here may be surprising, because it’s not one of the colossal services we know today. The first really secure transaction over the internet was done on the NetMarket, which was launched back in 1994. The transaction was the famous one with the Sting album that we mentioned earlier. Shortly after that, the market began to grow. In 1995 Amazon and eBay were launched and achieved a great success. This led these companies to become the world’s largest online selling services, and also embraced the others to open their own platforms.
With the growing access to the internet, the market has developed. Every country wanted to have their unique internet selling platform. In 2003 Alibaba launched TaoBao which led to the birth of today’s leader of internet sales from China – AliExpress.
History of online sales is not so long, but it is definitely one of the fastest-changing. Nowadays we have multiple online markets and similar services, working along with the predecessors of this type of sales.
As we now know a little about the history of online sales we can jump to the more recent information like types of services.
3. Online shopping services type
Online marketplaces: eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Bonanza, Newegg and more. The online marketplace is the most universal platform that provides services for both private sellers and shops. As we can see the biggest players are in this group.
Online advertisement boards: craigslist, Oodle, Gumtree, Locanto and more. Although these are universal advertisement services they’re mostly used by private users to buy/sell various stuff. These services provide a very simple and (in most cases) free usage, which is very praised by the users. However, they do not offer safe, encrypted payments and return policies, because they are not exactly selling platforms.
Online shops: nearly every shop/company. Built on their own system or pre-built ones, with various products or focused only on one category. Online shops quickly became a thing along with online marketplaces. Nowadays it’s very hard for a company to stay afloat without their own website. All of the bigger ones have not only websites but entire selling systems, which keep them independent from marketplaces like eBay.
4. Online shopping services types
As we talked about where to sell online, we can now cover the topic of the same level of importance: what to sell online. The answer is very simple: basically everything excluding weapons, dangerous objects, and drugs. There are lists of the restricted items for particular countries, so before you decide to hit the market in a particular country, check if your product isn’t restricted there. Besides restrictions, there are of course various niches and different market situations. In one country your product might gain popularity easy, while in others it can stay unrecognized for a long time.
There are a lot of factors that determine trends in internet sales. And they vary from country to country, but most of them are global. To achieve the success you need to know them and take action very quickly because the internet is changing every day. Something that is popular today, can be outdated in a week. To help you with this hard task we have created this list. We gathered the most stable and popular trends in internet sales in one text, so you can have all the knowledge in one take. So don’t wait any longer. Check out our list of popular products below.
5. Trending niches in internet sales for 2019
Because we said everything that can be said about these earlier we just dive right into the data. At the list of the most trending niches this year we have:
- Shapewear
- Travel accessories
- Healthy and beauty products
- Smartwatches
- Health Care
- Skin Care
- Hobbies and Craft
- Lamps and Shades
- Mobile Accessories
- Pet products
- Fine jewelry
- Sleepwear All of these niches are parts of bigger categories that we will talk about later. But now let’s focus on them. You can find this list important in the planning process, because some of these best selling products may fail if you try to sell them. That’s because if you won’t be fast enough then everyone will be selling them before you, and competition will be very strong. 6. Trending products to sell online in 2019
Below you will find a list of the most popular products to sell this year. It is divided by the biggest categories like apparel, food, etc. The order of categories and included products is accidental. We don’t review these items or anything, but we gathered information about their popularity charts and created an ultimate knowledge base for you, to help you save your money and time. Please, enjoy our work and dive into the sea of very useful information.
6.1 Electronics
Electronics and tech are everywhere now. We are using it every day for various purposes: work, school, entertainment. For this moment we can’t imagine living without it. Fast communication and access to the information are “daily drivers” for nearly everyone.
The lightning-fast development of technology caused the great growth of this market. New trends and freshness shows up in this category every week. Even if the technology is more about usability than fashion. Let’s take a look at some of niches and products here.
6.1.1 Portable Audio Devices (Bluetooth speakers and headphones)
A small device that you can take with you on a field trip or travel that will make the quality of your entertainment better. Wireless speakers and headphones may not be as fresh as we expecting, but they’re definitely trending now, and it’s because people hate being limited by wires. Bluetooth speakers popularity has several spikes throughout the years and for this moment they’re trending again.
6.1.2 Wearables (smartwatches and smart glasses)
People want their lives easier. Smarter and faster. That’s why they’re deciding to use wearable devices such as smartwatches and smart glasses. These small units provide them with another level of connectivity and allow them to use their devices with a full set of features. There were few peaks of smartwatch sales in earlier months, and now we can see them on top trends.
6.1.3 Smartphone
With the premiere of the first iPhone which revolutionized the smartphone industry in 2007, the market has expanded a few more times. Nowadays a lot of people cannot imagine life without a smartphone. In 2019 the most visible trends in the smartphone market are bezel-less display, multiple camera lenses and curved screens. The market is working all the time, because of average device lifespan, estimated at 2-3 years.
6.1.4 Drones (for amateur and professional purposes)
Drones are on the market for several years now, and their sales began to peak now due to prices drop. They became cheaper and more available for more people and this is the main reason for this trend. Among professionals who use more advanced drones to create content, for example, the sales are mostly on the same level, with no peaks now.
6.1.5 Movie Making equipment (for entertainment creators)
With the growing popularity of youtube, this field began to develop quickly like never before. Content creators want to deliver the best quality they can, and that’s why this market has several peaks now. We talk about the equipment group as a whole (DSLR, Cameras, lenses, microphones, etc.). So there is no rocket science: YouTube became popular – people want to create content – market niche respond to the needs – sale growth is happening.
6.1.6 Gaming equipment
A gamer is a specific group with a huge variety of needs. Someone need a backlit keyboard, someone needs noise-canceling headphones, someone need display with the high refresh rate. The gaming equipment market was here since the first video games paved the way. But it wasn’t that popular as it is now. The gaming community has grown way bigger than anyone expected, and the age spectrum of gamers is very huge – everyone can find something for themselves. Manufacturers of this type of equipment try to make gamers experience as strong as possible with their innovations and ideas. And because the gaming worldwide family is still growing the peaks in sales are happening (especially on holiday seasons) and are expected to happen in the future.
6.1.7 Small Electric Vehicles (electric scooters, skateboards, hoverboards)
Scientist and engineers try to find an alternative to traditional fuels for a long time. One of them is electricity. In the last few years, we can observe the peak in sales of small electric vehicles. They are a very efficient, ecological and economical way of transportation, which is now available for everyone.
As we can see most of the trending tech now is small, handy equipment. Not only because of IoT and miniaturization process that affected the size of our devices but because as was said earlier we use this tech every day. There are also trends in bigger electronic devices like PC, Consoles and more, but there are not this much of movement and freshness this year like with the small tech now.
6.2 Apparel
The apparel sector is changing very fast, just like electronics these days, or even faster. Maybe it is because when we buy a device we probably want to use it as long as it lasts and work, but with clothes the story is different. The trends are changing every month and season so if you want to stick to fashion you will need to keep your attention on this market.
What is trending in the apparel sector in 2019? Here we have a list for you:
6.2.1 Beanies and caps
Hats and other headcovers never fell out of fashion. But we have to point that through the years their form and style changed a lot. For 2019 the most trending is beanies (a type of warmer cap for autumn/winter) which are promoted as fashionable by brands now.
6.2.2 Branded apparel
People love branded things. No difference with the apparel sector. With the entire streetwear boom, the branded apparel just enlarged the scale of popularity. Nowadays brands like Supreme are super popular, even if their prices can be quite high. That’s because of fashion and the „luxury effect”.
6.2.3 Denim & Jeans
Denim & Jeans return on the podium in the last few months. More styles, more colors, more look ideas, return of 70’s-80’s vibe in trends. These factors are the cause of why these are so popular in 2019.
6.2.4 Colorful underwear (socks mostly)
Crazy underwear is also a thing now. A few years ago people with their socks visible or with colorful ones were „weirdos”. Now the trend changed and a lot of people are looking at socks as another form of self-explanation with clothes.
6.2.5 Sport shoes
Being a part of sports equipment doesn’t mean that it can’t be a piece of fashion. Since 80’s and 90’s sportswear began to be everyday wear style for masses. For this particular year, the most trending from the entire field is sports shoes. The peak in sales is caused by re-editions of vintage and classic models and reintroducing them to the public.
6.2.6 Kigurumi
Comfy wear, pajamas, funny piece of suit… kigurumi is very universal as we can see. It gained more popularity because of increased availability. Earlier you have to import them from far Asian countries, but now most of the chain stores all over the world have their iteration of kigurumi.
6.2.7 Leggins
Also called yoga pants. They were popular earlier, but mostly as sportswear. Nowadays they belong to everyday fashion, just like sports shoes. Comfortable, universal, nice looking – that’s how they gained their popularity right now.
There are of course more than just these few types of apparel. And a lot more factors that determine trends like colors, patterns, shape, style and many many more. But based on the data gathered from various sources, this list up here contains the most popular apparel sold online this year.
6.3 Food
Theoretically, we can just write about food delivery and call it a day. But it will not be true about this market. Online food product sales are growing super fast now, not only because of the e-shop systems implemented by the majority of shops but also because of the availability of products and fast logistics. There are a ton of food supplies that we can order through the internet now, and every day more people convince themselves to give it a try. Mostly these products are dry, with a long expiration date like spices, noodles, candy, tea, coffee, beverages and more. What makes this market even better, it creates a great number of opportunities to try new tastes, from all countries in the world. Competition is hard and based mostly on import/export system but we can say it is definitely worth giving a try.
Here is some trending products in 2019 in food online sales:
6.3.1 Spices
Spices were always popular, especially exotic ones. With the help of the internet, you can now order them from nearly every place in the world and discover new tastes. Sales of spices peaking in warmer seasons of the year mostly, and it happens every year, not only in 2019.
6.3.2 Noodle
The popularity of noodles is built by a simple factor: a variety of tastes and forms, easy to prepare, long expiration date, universality. Most trending now are the ones imported from far Asia, with high-quality ingredients and original tastes.
6.4 Art Supplies
Nothing lasts forever, and even your favorite sketchbook has to come to an end. Before the internet, we were so limited to art. We have no access to smaller artists works, but the rise of social media changed everything. Today, young and creative artists all over the world can show their arts to the public within seconds. With this fact, the availability and development of this branch have rushed immediately and it doesn’t look like it will slow down in the near future. More artists-more beautiful arts-more inventions-more materials and supplies. This is how it works now. If we add digital art to this, then we have an even bigger market and opportunities
Trending in art supplies online sales in 2019
6.4.1 Sketchbooks
More mobile than canvas, easier to carry, with different types of paper. Sketchbooks were always in peak because a lot of people every day start their artistic way. And there is no difference now, and because of the power of the internet, the sales of them are even better today.
6.4.2 ProMarkers/BrushMarkers
Refillable markers with the huge color palette and huge opportunities of use. An ultimate tool for a lot of artists who create traditional arts. With two different tips and high quality, there is no surprise they’re so popular in online sales now.
6.4.3 Professional painting brushes
High-quality brushes were never this available as they’re now. Of course, you have an option to buy them but they were very expensive and hard to find. Now you can even order custom brushes through the internet without leaving your house. But this is not the main reason why they’re trending in online sales. Artist love to experiment and try new things, and with the growing number of them, there is a growing need for this type of equipment.
6.4.4 Oil/Acrylic paints and canvas
The same story as with the brushes. More people give arts a try – more equipment is needed on the market.
6.4.5 Digital tablets
Digitalization is a thing since the first computers. Art digitalization, however, is a little different. Devices that allow us to create drawings and painting on the computer were around for quite a while, and that’s a fact. But they were used mostly by professionals because of their prices and hardness in use. With the “tech jump” in the last 20 years, this market evolved and now you can buy a huge variety of digital art tablets and devices. Also every year more devices like iPad gain popularity amongst artists which create another niche in this market.
6.4.6 Art software
Nearly the same story as digital tablets. A huge variety of products available from easy to use Autodesk Sketchbook for beginners to ProCreate or Adobe Photoshop for more advanced users.
6.5 Decor
This is not a surprise on our list. Decor supplies and equipment are very popular, not only now, but they were popular for years. Only trending products change. For this moment custom lighting like LED and RGB is the most trending product, along with various wallpapers and posters. A lot of people now looks towards a more simple, modern look of their house, so the simple furniture is also living a second life today. As for the colors, the pastel ones are the top of the fashion now.
What we have to add that with the eco-boom that is happening right now the sales of home plants are rushing up which is also a good sign for the market.
There is a thing you have to remember about this particular market. Even if they have trends and fashion, these factors are less important than in tech or apparel. Decor articles are more universal because it’s more personal, and you have to take it to the consideration. Here are some trending products in decor supplies online sales in 2019:
6.5.1 Colorful wallpapers Wallpapers have been around for quite a long time. What is more important in this field is not technology, which stays almost the same since the invention of wallpapers, but patterns they’re sold with. Through all of them, the most trending now is solid colors (because of modern style trend), and multi-colored ones. There were some peaks of sales of wallpapers, mostly in the warmer seasons, when a lot of people decide to build their house or refurbish/refresh their spaces.
6.5.2 LED lighting (bulbs, strips, and LED systems) From the beginning of electricity, people tried to improve everyday use devices to be more energy efficient. Nowadays a lot of electronics are designed to save as much energy as possible to help our environment. And that’s why LED systems are trending. Of course, this trend reached lighting systems too. Now on the market, we have a huge variety of bulbs and light systems equipped with LEDs, which happened to be very energy efficient and more durable than other light devices. There are also other advantages of LEDs: flexibility of factors. You can choose the power of the bulb, color warmth, light stream power and more. There are also multicolor ones which you can change color with remote control, and even smart ones that you can pair with your smartphone and operate a variety of bulb factors from it.
6.5.3 Home assistant systems (like FIBARO or Philips ones)
With the era of smartphones and IoT, people want to can control everything on the go. Do you want to turn on the lights in your house before your arrival? Sure, no problem, want to cut the energy in particular space of your house? Here you go, make your house safer with intelligent flood/fire sensors? The market has it.
That’s why a new market was created. The market for electrical home assistance is smaller than the others, but it’s growing fast. A huge amount of room for innovations and creativity makes this market very friendly to newcomers.
7. Summary
We have so many online stores and marketplaces that we can’t count them easily now. With various sizes and various target groups, the online shopping is still evolving now, for example with the invention of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The new security systems are born, new payment methods are prepared for users. Internet shopping changed the way we think about buying and selling. We don’t have to drive to a shop or warehouse to buy something. We can order it through the web, with just a few clicks, without wasting time in stationery shops. The only disadvantage of online shopping is the delivery. You not only have to wait for something you paid for, but there is a risk that it can be destroyed or lost in the transportation process. Companies are trying to make it faster and more secure, but for this moment we only have ideas and concepts.
There are many ways to start selling things online. But if you want to begin with your own business in this field you need to create a product… or order it from someone else. But where you should look for the goods to sell? Well, getting in touch with Datantify is a good idea, to begin with. Here, in Datantify we will prepare a personalized database, just for you. Our data are fresh and up to date, which will save you a great amount of time and nerves when you try to contact with other companies. Don’t delay, get in touch with us today.
We hope that this article will help you and embrace you to develop your company. Thank you for your time and attention and see you in the next one.
Sources:
https://www.cloudways.com/blog/trending-products-to-sell/
https://www.withintheflow.com/trending-products-to-sell-online/
https://www.oberlo.com/ebooks/best-products-to-sell
https://www.shopify.com/blog/topics/how-to-sell-online