Looking for something new to sell for 2018?
Whether you're interested in affiliate marketing, dropshipping, or even traditional online retail (where you buy inventory rather than dropshipping from manufacturers), there's tons of potential out there.
What's poised to sell well over the course of the coming year?
While we've yet to see this year's big fad project like 2017's fidget spinner, Google Trends and other resources point to the rising popularity of several potentially lucrative product categories.
While these are things that should keep selling well throughout 2018, they should last into the future as well.
Despite a recent spike in popularity, these product categories are still relatively evergreen, and shouldn't abruptly go out of style anytime soon.
Phone accessories — like cases and repair kits — are a big one.
There's also been a spike in searches and sales for less obvious things like flame lamps and minimalist watches.
Here are some of the most promising kinds of products smart entrepreneurs are getting into for 2018 and beyond.
1. Phone Accessories
The phone accessories industry has been growing for years. By 2022, it should reach $107.3 billion in market cap.
Phone cases, grips, screen protectors, repair kits, chargers, and earphones have proven to be consistently popular.
Dropshipping, using the Oberlo app, is one of the most efficient way to start a business in this niche. Since there are so many products you could sell, it allows you to offer a wide variety of product types without having to buy inventory upfront.
You only pay for goods when customers purchase from your store. Phone accessories have proven to be a product line with reliable and growing demand, with strong signals towards being an evergreen niche like fashion, home decor, and fitness.
Phone accessories like cases and grips work well on visual platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Running ads and being active on these platforms is a great way to make your first sale.
If you’re selling screen protectors, repair kits, or chargers, these products are more search based which will require a deliberate keyword strategy or use of Google Adwords to monetize.
However, if SEO isn’t your strong suit, the easiest way to monetize search-based products is by offering them as upsells for your phone cases. For example, if someone purchased an iPhone case, you could upsell an iPhone charger. When creating ads, you can target people based on their device.
For example, if a person has a Samsung phone, you might create an ad that says ‘Samsung phone cases for only $19.99’ to entice the person into clicking your ad.
2. Flame lamps
At Oberlo, we’ve noticed a strong sales growth for flame lamps. While few stores are selling this product, they’re selling much higher than average quantities.
If you’re looking for a product trend to jump on before everyone else catches on, this may be it. Note: this particular trending product doesn’t work well as a standalone store.
However, it’s a great fit for a general store, home decor store, or lighting store. You can complement flame lamps sales with LED candle lights.
While lamps are typically search based products, flame lamps work well as an impulse buy. They’re different than other lamps on the market which can entice a person to buy one when they see it.
This product would likely work well with Facebook ads. But you shouldn’t dismiss search, as there’s been a growing search volume for these products according to Google Trends. Optimizing your website for search can help you increase visibility. If you’re driving sales with Facebook ads, you can grow your ranking organically in search as it shows Google that your page is popular.
3. Minimalist watches
Around 1.2 billion watches are sold globally each year. And the number keeps rising.
While minimalist watches are trending upward, the reality is there’s a diverse range of watches that are also selling well. Men’s watches, women’s watches, and smartwatches are also showing increasing search volume over time.
December tends to be the peak month for watch sales. While you can sustain year round sales with a watch store, it would be wise to include a relevant summer accessory to ensure higher profits.
Facebook and Instagram tend to be the most popular channels for growing a watch store. Many retailers have influencers take lifestyle shots from where they are in the world, with the typically outdoorsy and luxurious images being perfect for use on social media.
Many top watch brands emulate this style which performs well in terms of engagement. Using these photos from influencers, you can create captivating ads.
4. Portable LED Projectors
The portable projector industry is expected to be worth $3.44 billion USD by 2022.
Some mini projectors can be attached to your phone making them convenient to carry around for salespeople and other business professionals. If you plan on creating a projector store you have the option to sell mini projectors, handheld projectors, lighting effect/laser projectors, and more.
However, this trending product also works well in a general store within the electronics, home, or outdoor niches. The best thing about the portable projector is that margins tend to be high.
You can dropship a projector from Oberlo for between $30-$50 and retail it at around $90-$150.
Portable projectors are search-based products which means they’ll likely perform best with search engine optimization and Google Adwords.
You’ll want to optimize your collection pages and product pages based on the popular keywords for this niche in Keyword Planner. To entice an impulse buy, you’d likely want to have a video created to show how the projector works so people can visualize their need for it.
In your video, you’ll want to address who this product is perfect for like business professionals, salespeople, teachers, or families, depending on the type of projector you’re promoting.
You can find six more hot new product categories to try in the full post from Shopify.
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