Best-selling products and categories constantly change, and there is no surefire formula for success. However, the method for deciding what to sell on Amazon tends to be the same.
Finding a brand-new item to sell on Amazon can be challenging, especially for inexperienced sellers. Instead of top-selling products, you can find yourself with slow-moving items in your inventory.
For Amazon sellers, conducting product research and sourcing is important. Here are some product sourcing tips to reference while searching for profitable Amazon categories and top-selling products.
What Is the Amazon Best Sellers Page?
Amazon has a dedicated page for best-selling products that is updated hourly. The best sellers' section has all the frequently bought products or the trending products together with their ranking under each category.
On this best sellers' page, you will find all the top-selling products on Amazon under a specific product category. This allows you to determine the most suitable best-selling products to target. Not only is the Amazon Best Sellers Page unique for its hourly basis update, but also the numerical ranking system.
Aside from the Amazon Best Sellers page, Amazon FBA sellers can check other relevant pages for the biggest-selling product ideas. The pages highlighted above include New Releases, Movers and Shakers, Most Wished For, and Gift Ideas page.
What Are Amazon's Most Profitable Categories and Products?
Here are some of the top Amazon categories and products to give you an idea of the current market trends and demands.
1. Home & Kitchen
Since everyone uses some home or kitchen goods daily, it should be no surprise that this category is the most popular among sellers.
Top selling items include:
- Bedding
- Liquid Ant Baits
- Furniture
- Kitchen and dining products like the immersion blender
- Cleaning supplies
- Heating and cooling products
- Air purifiers
You should provide customers with various options without requiring them to forgo necessary home goods if you want to increase sales in this Amazon category.
2. Beauty & Personal Care
Most customers are now more open to grooming thanks to the global pandemic, which has increased demand for cosmetics and personal care products. Additionally, most customers' New Year's resolutions coincide with those for beauty and personal care items.
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Customers are continuously searching for new and appealing beauty products, particularly those that are chemical-free, natural, and organic. This is also a billion-dollar industry. Therefore, it is worthwhile for sellers to explore.
Top selling items include:
- Makeup
- Hydrating Facial Cleanser
- Foot and nail care
- Silk Hair Bonnet
- Fragrance
- Hand creams
- Hair dryers
- Bath and bathing accessories
To succeed in this product category, ensure the beauty products you want to sell on Amazon comply with all the state, federal, and local laws, Amazon policies, and product restrictions. In addition, also ensure your product detail page has specific notes and instructions from the manufacturer to ensure consumers are well-informed.
3. Toys and Games
This is another growing niche making a huge difference in the online industry, and since it's diverse, Amazon sellers can penetrate the market easily thanks to many unique niche products.
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Top-selling items on Amazon include:
- Card games like UNO and sequence
- Splash pad
- Bath time squirt toys
- Washable markers
- Foam pogo jumper
To succeed in this category, always check out the trending products in toys and games published yearly. You can take advantage of this Amazon best-seller list and also Amazon's best-selling products page to help streamline your options of products to sell. Using these methods, you will likely end up with top-selling Amazon products.
4. Electronics and Gadgets
For Amazon sellers, the electronics category is a must-consider category. Customers are always eager to buy the newest products from this category since electronic equipment and products are continually improving, and innovations are frequently introduced.
The electronic sector aims for a 10% rise in 2022 as the pandemic's effects gradually fade. For Amazon sellers, it would mean more wide inventory options, and for customers, it would offer more product options.
The top-selling items on Amazon include:
- Ink cartridges
- Streaming media player
- Surge protector power strip
- Screen protectors
- Kindle paperwhite
- Airpods
To succeed in this category, remember that the average profit margin of this product category is 20% making it a suitable category for sellers who want to make a significant profit. Hence, to boost sales here, ensure you optimize your product listings. Plus, you should add your own words to the product information given by the supplier as it will give potential buyers more ideas on the user experience of the electronic product.
5. Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry
The fast-selling and very lucrative clothing, shoes, and jewelry industry are another of the top searches. Millennials desire a simple, convenient way to get affordable, trendy, and stylish clothing.
Top-selling items on Amazon include:
- Crocs
- Shorts for men and women
- T-shirts
- Socks
- Undergarments and swimwear
To succeed in this category, note that keywords are necessary to maximize profits, reach more potential customers, and boost sales. In addition, keyword research is important for your business because it allows your products to rank well during product searches. Lastly, consider using Amazon FBA to fulfill your orders and ensure you put in place a clear returns policy.
6. Pet Supplies
Since pet ownership has increased in past years, particularly during the pandemic, Pet Supplies will be a successful Amazon category with an average profit margin of 23%. This is hardly surprising considering that more than 80 million families only own pets in the United States.
Some of the top-selling products include:
- Cat treats
- Dog's poop bags
- Cat litter
- Dog's and puppy's pads
To succeed in this category and increase your profit or boost your seller's rank, you should focus on the two most popular pets: cats and dogs. Also, you can try focusing on top-selling products relevant to cat and dog owners, including clothing, food, and accessories.
7. Exercise and Fitness
The most logical action for consumers over the holiday season is to exercise after all the gatherings, meals, and buffets. Likewise, one of the most popular consumer New Year's objectives is to lose weight or start exercising.
Given these goals, customers highly value exercise and fitness gear. Therefore, you can add many things to your inventory under the "Exercise & Fitness" category.
Top Selling Items on Amazon include:
- Dumbbells
- Resistance Loop Exercise Bands
- Leggings
- Waist trainer belt
To succeed in this category, besides uploading photos and products when selling, shoppers want to see the functionality and how the product works. By including videos of your product demonstrating its appropriate use and distinctive qualities, you can improve the visibility of your item under this category.
The product video on Amazon is a relatively recent addition to the marketing resources available to vendors.
8. Handmade
The concept of selling homemade products on Amazon is popular among Amazon Seller Central members. However, handmade items aren't always seen as an inventory that will end up among Amazon's best sellers by many. Others think that Shopify and comparable platforms are the right places for handmade goods.
When selling things on Amazon, the Handmade category is beneficial to join. According to a recent survey, the average profit margin for the handmade product category is 26%. And when compared to other categories on Amazon, this is relatively high.
Some of the top-selling items on Amazon include:
- Cats' and dogs' ID tags
- Adult one-layer mask
- Kid's face masks
When selling handmade products on Amazon, ensure you use high-quality photos and emphasize any special and unique details of your products. Also, use the right imagery tools to showcase the uniqueness of your products.
What Are the Differences Among Amazon Product Categories?
1. Profitability
Profit margins can vary greatly depending on how much it costs to source products and how much you can sell them. Fortunately, depending on the category, average profit margins for most Amazon sellers range from 15 to 26%.
However, some categories may collect larger profit margins. For example, handmade products may be costly in terms of time, materials, and high or consistent demand for products such as appliances, computers, and instruments.
Notably, although some categories may be more profitable, each category has sub-categories that vary in terms of profit.
2. Sales
The typical monthly sales for Amazon sellers in almost every category vary from $1,000 to $25,000. However, books, handmade goods, and cell phone accessories have considerably smaller monthly sales (under $1,000). On the other hand, computers, Industrial & Scientific, and Musical Instruments have substantially greater monthly sales ($50,000+).
3. Selling Experience
Some of the top-selling categories on Amazon need a high experience level. These include musical instruments, tools, home improvement, automotive parts and accessories, apps, and games.
Also, some product categories need the least experience, including video games, appliances, electronics, books, toys, and games.
4. Fulfillment Method
There are two popular fulfillment methods: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM). Amazon FBA is popular for almost all categories, while FBM is more popular for Handmade products, Apps and Games, Cellphone and Accessories, Computers, CDs, and Vinyl.
5. Business Model
a). Private Label
It creates your products or label for selling on Amazon, which is popular across every product category. Private-label products are the least popular in books and video games and most popular in handmade goods and home & kitchen categories.
b). Retail Arbitrage
Retail Arbitrage allows you to find low-cost or discounted goods in a brick-and-mortar retail store for re-selling online. The best-selling products for this business model are Apps & Games, while the least popular are Home & Kitchen and Industrial & Scientific.
c). Online Arbitrage
It is a method to find an affordable or discounted product on one website or an online marketplace to sell on another marketplace. The most popular product category is Video Games and Apps & Games, while the least popular category is Sports & Outdoors and Home & Kitchen.
d). Wholesale
This is buying low-cost or discounted goods in bulk to sell as individual units in a retail market. The most popular category is Grocery & Gourmet Food and Musical Instruments while the least is Books, CDs & Vinyl.
e). Dropshipping
This model is where an Amazon seller doesn't keep his product inventory but transfers the customer orders directly to the supplier or manufacturer. The most popular category for this model is Electronics, Computes, Collectibles & Fine Art, while the least popular are Grocery & Gourmet Food and Luggage & Travel Gear.
f). Handmade
This model is meant for people who create their products to sell on the Amazon marketplace. The most popular categories are Handmade/Handcrafted Products, Collectibles & Fine Art, while the least are Beauty & Personal Care and Pet Supplies.
What to Sell on Amazon FBA
When looking for the top sellers to sell on Amazon FBA, it's important to remember that the marketplace is price-driven, meaning most buyers visit the website to find the best deals. So, when selling products on Amazon, they must be attractive to your target audience and in a specific price range.
The product criteria you should follow include the following:
- Avoid popular selling categories or designer-branded products since most buyers like decent products at great prices.
- List products under your brand name and offer something extra, like low shipping costs, to put you ahead of your competitors.
- Choose uncomplicated products to avoid potential customer problems.
- Choose small and lightweight products to save extra storage fees for slow-selling products on Amazon.
- Some items, such as batteries, foods, beauty products, and toys, may need paperwork or certifications, which can be challenging to get.
How to Find Profitable Products to Sell on Amazon FBA
For most Amazon sellers, choosing the right inventory products is the first step toward success in the Amazon marketplace. Here are some factors to consider if you want a solid starting point while looking for top-selling items on Amazon.
1. Follow the Trends
Follow the Amazon trends to prevent slow-moving products. The demand for trending products is always high. Thus, Amazon sellers can take advantage of these items for increased sales.
2. Avoid Seasonal Products
Inventory products with a high degree of seasonality should be avoided if you are still new to Amazon FBA and want to see growth in your store.
Products like Christmas decorations will probably draw shoppers just around Q4. The best investments are expected to be in high demand all year long.
3. Use Product Research Tools
Use the top product research tools to find popular products or profitable Amazon categories quickly.
These kinds of Amazon seller tools can give you data analytics for enhanced decision-making in addition to a list of products that are trending or in demand.
4. Opt for Small, Light, and Durable Items
Look for compact, light, and exceptionally durable products to keep a strong profit margin. In addition, small and light items result in lower transportation costs, especially when importing from overseas.
The item's durability will ensure that goods arrive at the Amazon FBA facility intact. Additionally, this will assist avoid complaints from customers who may experience product damage.
5. Check the Amazon Best Sellers Rank
Another reliable way to determine how well a specific product is doing on Amazon is to look at its Best Sellers Rank (BSR). The better it sells in a certain Amazon category, the lower the Amazon BSR.
As a result, it shouldn't be interpreted as a general ranking but rather as a measure of how well the product sold in a particular category.
Does the Amazon Category You Target Matter?
From the above selling categories, you can tell there are profitable sellers in every category. Finding a market or category with low competition is not easy, but it will be worth it. You will need to observe the following:
- The category you need to sell in depends on the results of your product research, the demand for the product, and the competitiveness.
- Let data and demand determine the best category to venture into, meaning you shouldn't sell a product with low demand and high competition.
- For maximum profits, ensure you do proper product research and high-quality source products, negotiate the price, run profitable PPC campaigns and create an optimized listing, among other tasks.
Conclusion on the Most Searched Items on Amazon
Selling Amazon products is about finding what your target audience has been purchasing over the years. The product searches allow you to know if the customer base is happy with the current products or if they could use some improvement.
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