By the year 2021, worldwide retail eCommerce sales will reach $4.9 trillion. Nasdaq found that by the year 2040, as much as 95% of shopping will be facilitated by eCommerce. Think about it, eCommerce has grown into one of the most profitable online business ventures, which can make starting an eCommerce store enticing.
With over 1,000,000 eCommerce store in 175 different countries created by Shopify alone the competition in the eCommerce space is fierce. The best place to start is finding a niche that works for you and working on being a key player.
Finding a good eCommerce business idea and niche can help you to get started on the right foot. You don’t want to start an eCommerce business in a niche that’s too crowded or hard to break into the market. Simultaneously, if you choose an eCommerce business idea with little to no market, you’ll end up selling to no one.
Instead of searching the interest for the best eCommerce business ideas, we did the work for you. We’re going to show you eight amazing eCommerce business ideas you can start today!
1. Niched Beauty and Make-up Products
The beauty and make-up industry is highly competitive, but despite it, all indie beauty brands still stand out against expensive rivals with creativity that highlights product quality. Small and niched eCommerce brands have the chance to be found and heard by their newfound consumers.
Statista found that today’s consumers no longer have to frequent brick-and-mortar stores for beauty and make-up advice, but instead, expand their beauty horizons from home.
Use Customer Reviews When Starting a Beauty or Makeup eCommerce Business Idea
Customer reviews are essential for any eCommerce niche, but they’re far more valuable when it comes to beauty and make-up reviews than you’d think.
Since make-up or beauty provides a product that a customer will have to use or apply on their skin before knowing if the product is worth the investment.
Unlike products that you can hold or look at in-person, make-up is something that has to be applied before the product can be judged.
So when you start your eCommerce business, be sure to add customer reviews to your marketing strategy to increase your stores’ customer reviews or show them off on your eCommerce site. Remember, around 80% of consumers have changed their minds about purchases based on NEGATIVE information they have found online.
2. Smart Home Products
Selling smart home gadgets can be one of the smartest yet hardest ways to make a profit, off or online.
The percentage of people with smart products in their house is growing substantially with 47% of millennials already owning some devices while 70% who already own one product are planning to buy another one.
With so many brands and new products coming into the industry, people are always looking for the next best thing to own, and unlike most industries, you don’t have to sell brand new products because there is a market for refurbished or used products.
Use Optimized Product Pages for Your Smart Home Products eCommerce Business Idea
When selecting products like tech, it’s important to invest in tools to optimize your product page to increase the conversion rate for your eCommerce business. As complicated as it may seem it’s as simple as adding the following features:
*Adding a zoom-in feature on your product page. *Adding high-quality images and various angles of your product. *Adding detailed product descriptions such as size, color, and variations. *Size guides and virtual fitting room for products.
3. Online Educational Courses
As recent data finds, the global e-learning market is going to reach $325 billion by 2025. Over 6 million Americans are pursuing online education. People are no longer looking for physical institutions but going straight to the source by learning from the experts themselves. Online course platforms like Udemy and Coursera have grown in online users as people seek a cheaper alternative to traditional educational methods.
Use Video to Promote Your Online Educational Course eCommerce Business Idea
When promoting your online course, video marketing seems to be one of the best methods. After all, 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video.
You can promote or outline your content in a video and publish it on an evergreen social media platform like YouTube or IGTV. This allows you to increase your eCommerce business’s brand and grab your ideal target audience’s attention.
Even if your course doesn’t include video, you can still highlight your course’s best features or reviews with video marketing. For more on how to promote your online educational course for your eCommerce Business, check out the video below:
4. Eco-Friendly Products/Clothes
Today millennials are leading the way for more eco-friendly products and companies. So much so that sustainability is now trending. Nielsen found that 50% of consumers who desire sustainable fashion would be more likely to buy clothes from companies they know are committed to sustainability.
But it doesn’t stop there around 32% of consumers would pay more for a product from a brand that they believe is committed to sustainability—proving that eco-friendly and sustainable eCommerce business ideas a hot topic amongst investors and entrepreneurs.
Use Storytelling to Push Sales for your Eco-Friendly eCommerce Business Idea
Storytelling seems like an intangible feature when it comes to marketing and sales. However, it’s one of the hardest things to master, yet once a brand has, it becomes a driving factor between you and your competitors.
It helps to know what your brand story is NOT. Your brand story is NOT the facts about your company, your founding date, or a few perfunctory paragraphs on your “About Us” page.
Check out how Warby Parker uses storytelling to share how they focus on their values when creating products.
What brand storytelling is using narrative to forge a genuine connection with your audience and consumers. Today – with so many messages thrown at consumers every second, from every direction – knowing how to craft one that resonates with them is an invaluable skill.
If you’re still unsure what brand storytelling is & how to do it, here are some examples of brand storytelling to help you understand.
5. Fitness Programs & Products
The health and wellness industry tripled in its size since 2015 and has a global economic growth (3.6%). Fitness and health have become a permanent way of life among millennials and younger generations.
In the United States alone, digital fitness climbed to $3.46 billion in revenue in 2018. Shopify Plus reports that these figures will climb 4.3% annually to reach $4.1 billion by 2022.
Use Fitness Influencers When Starting a Fitness eCommerce Business Idea
Starting an eCommerce business in fitness is a profitable opportunity, but it’s also a heavily competitive industry. The fitness industry has always been a hot topic or trending merchandise to sell to consumers. To get an edge, you’ll have to tap into the market with influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing acts as a bridge between the consumer and the brand. Influencer marketing allows you to put a human face at the forefront of your eCommerce fitness brand. For example, Gymshark includes meet-and-greets with famous fitness experts and influencers to build credibility and increase online and offline purchases.
Businesses are making $5.20 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing, proving that it’s a worthy investment for brands. On the other hand, Convince & Convert found out that nearly early two out of every three consumers say that they trust influencer messages about a brand more than a company’s advertising about their brand.
6. Video Games & Tools
As of 2020, there are 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, plus the global gaming market could be worth $159.3 billion by the end of 2020. Video games and gear are a big deal worldwide. The best part is that there are always new video games and gear introduced every year.
Video games and gear also come with niches, and sub-categories are equipped with their ready to buy fanbase making this industry a profitable eCommerce business idea.
Offer Free Shipping to Boost When Starting a Video Game & Tools eCommerce Business Idea
According to FedEx, 73% of consumers want to see free shipping in checkout. There’s something about free shipping that makes consumers quick to fill their carts and check out. Ecommerce orders can improve by as much as 90% with free shipping.
Still, need more reasons to add free shipping to your marketing strategy? Here are the Reasons Why a Free Shipping Threshold Gets You More Sales.
7. Skincare Products
Next to beauty and fitness, skincare is the next best timeless eCommerce business idea you could start today!
The cosmetic market value is estimated to reach a whopping $805.61 billion by 2023 for both large and small businesses globally.
Skincare is the second-largest branch of the beauty industry, with more than 23% of its revenue. There’s so much money to be made with cosmetics because, for many people, makeup isn’t just a product anymore, it’s a daily essential.
Use Giveaways & Contest to Push Sales When Starting a Skincare eCommerce Business Idea
Brands like Glossier and SuperGoop have been skincare underdogs that have dominated the marketing with the help of social media marketing and giveaways.
Across all industries, eCommerce and beauty contests have the highest conversions and contest entries. In 2018, the global cosmetic market grew to an estimated 5.5% in comparison to the previous year.
Skincare and beauty contests have ten times more conversions and engagement when compared to other industries.
Summary
Once you’ve found your eCommerce business idea, it’s time to start investing in tools that will help you to generate sales and loyal customers successfully.
Read more: The Future of Ecommerce Fashion Isn’t Style … It’s Tech