Product based business ideas

If you want to sell successfully online it makes a lot of difference if you have a product that actually benefits the customer. If you don’t have any good ideas for your webshop, it doesn’t mean you should postpone starting one. There are so many different industries, niches and products that there is always a market that can be interesting.

In this overview we do not only want to explain everything, we also want to give you dozens of ideas for webshops and webshop products right away. The most important lesson we have learned in recent years is the following:

If your webshop is in a popular, accessible and market you will encounter many times more competition than in boring, hard to reach, unknown markets.

To give an example: If you and your webshop produce trendy black printed shirts versus someone who sells sturdy doormats for factory floors, you will have much more trouble standing out. And thus to make a profit in the end. The seller of those sturdy doormats may well make a profit much faster than you in the black hip shirt business. Also, a lot of competition often results in lower margins. So pay close attention to that when you just dive into a trend! =)

What makes a good product?

Not all products are equally suitable for online sales. Some products are too big, think of beds for example. Other products are simply too expensive to send by mail, think of luxury jewelry for example. Although possibilities are being created to make this possible, we recommend that you start with a product that is better suited for online sales. Here are some aspects that are important in choosing a suitable product.

Trend: Up or down

In my opinion, what is most important when choosing a product to sell online is whether the trend is up or down. In other words, are more and more or fewer people purchasing the product. Here the example of the train is often cited. Do you want to stop on a train that is slowing down or on a train that is just starting to pick up speed? If you want to get somewhere it is more convenient to take the last train!

Google Trends is also an excellent tool to check whether it is interesting to sell a certain product. Here you can find exactly how often a certain product is searched for. Based on this search volume, you can determine whether the market is getting bigger or smaller.

Dimensions of the product

This one we have already mentioned and is therefore very important. Some products are simply too big to sell online. Think of a hot air balloon or an agricultural machine for example. Almost everything is sold online these days but it does have to fit through the door of course!

Easy to pack

The issue of size also comes into play when it comes to packaging products. Some products do not have a very convenient shape to send. Think of a broom or a staircase for example. With the regular PostNL it is not possible to send products longer than two meters. Think about this before you start creating your web store, you will not be the first to perish.

Price (not too expensive or too cheap)

We have already mentioned the example of jewelry. If we look at price, for example, it is not wise to send certain brands like Swarovski by mail. Although it can also have advantages to sell products with a high value, you have to consider if the products are not too pricey. This is not safe and also makes it a lot harder to sell.

Repeat Purchases

People who come back more often to buy a product are also called regular customers. Some products you just need more often than others. Some products, like food, are even needed on a daily basis. If you are selling online for the first time then I recommend you to choose a product that people need more often. However, food is also not ideal because you have to deal with an expiration date. I myself once started with the sale of LED lights. Both individuals and companies always need lamps. In addition, traditional lighting has a short lifespan so bulbs are needed more often. Read more about generating repeat purchases here.

Customization possible?

Personalization is a trend that is still on the rise. Companies are doing everything they can to approach customers personally. Large parties such as Coolblue and Bol.com, for example, are also very strong in this. Some products are very suitable for personalization. Think of clothing, gifts or flowers, for example. This additional trend is therefore enthusiastically taken up by the webshops in these sectors.