The best ecommerce niches

by Kirsty Bisset. If you want your ecommerce store to attract the right customers, you need to choose and understand your niche. To illustrate this, let’s examine some of the most lucrative niches for ecommerce store owners in the USA, and then let your mind mull over the possibilities for South Africa.

Meal subscriptions

A surge in the popularity of meal kit delivery services is a result of the increase in home cooking and consumers’ desire to avoid shopping as much as possible. Approximately USD 20 billion in revenue will be generated in this industry by 2027. Despite the tough competition in the meal delivery area, there is never a better time to start one of these businesses if you have experience in food and marketing. This is one way restaurants and food producers can enter the ecommerce market during difficult economic times.

Alcohol

COVID-19 has seen the establishment of many ecommerce brands by pubs, bars, distilleries, and breweries, along with a boom in the sale of at-home cocktail-making equipment and ingredients. In order to sell alcohol online, make sure you obtain the proper licenses and follow any liquor retailing laws in your city, state, or country.

Tech/home office equipment

As a result of COVID-19 and accompanying stay-at-home orders, our work style has changed dramatically. According to data released by Upwork, 41% of Americans work from home full-time, and 61% work part-time. There is no sign that remote work is going anywhere anytime soon. Nearly 74% of companies intend to retain at least part of their workforce remote after the pandemic is over, according to a recent Gartner survey. You might choose to focus on technology such as laptops, keyboards, mice, and monitors. Another possibility is to concentrate on non-technological home office necessities, such as ergonomic office chairs and standing desks.

Home gym/fitness gear

Many fitness enthusiasts still feel that attending the gym in person poses too much of a health risk. In additions, people have realised that they don’t need to belong to a gym every month in order to stay fit. With all of this in mind, working out at home has never been more popular. You could focus on traditional home gym equipment such as treadmills, ellipticals, dumbbells or even on nutritional supplements. Fitness is also heading in a new direction. In a few years, Mirror, which sells a large LCD that looks like a mirror that people can use for training, will be worth a billion dollars. A slice of the fitness market is yours to grab if you stay ahead of the curve on what will be trending.

Home entertainment

It has been a record year for video game spending and associated hardware in the US. COVID-19 quarantines have further boosted board game sales in recent years. Monopoly and Cluedo sales soared by 240% in the UK alone. Arts and crafts are not only popular pastimes but proven to aid in stress reduction. They are always popular and never more so than during the pandemic.

DIY/home improvement

Over 1,000 Americans were surveyed by Bank of America, and 70% reported starting or planning home improvement projects during the COVID-19 shutdown. Most planned to continue the projects into 2021. Younger buyers are moving out of cities, buying older homes they can afford, and renovating them over time. Another popular pastime linked to home improvement is gardening. As a result of an ACI Worldwide analysis, the online sales of gardening essentials increased by 163% at US-based seed supplier W Atlee Burpee & Co.

Kitchen equipment and ingredients

The amount of food purchased online has increased from 3-4% to 10-15% in the US, according to Bain & Company research. With more time spent at home, restaurant closings, and concerns about family budgets, home cooking is on the rise. A good ecommerce business can offer something for everyone, whether it be specialty kitchen appliances such as pasta makers and bread machines, hard-to-find ingredients, pantry staples, or supplies for home bakers.

Think about what you care about when choosing your niche. Your passions and interests must be paramount to your ability to sell a product. Then, take into account market demand, profitability potential, and product availability.

Main image credit: Pixabay.com.

Kirsty Bisset is Managing Director of HaveYouHeard Durban.

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