New Product Ideas to Sell Online: Current Trends & How to Identify Them

17 min read

We rely on trends to tell us a lot about how to live our lives.

Whether it’s what show to watch, which brand to wear, or who to follow on social media, what’s “trending” helps us with our day to day.

So why not do the same for figuring out what kind of products to sell online?

If you want to open a store but are struggling to decide what to sell, trends can be a great tool. By analyzing search volume, market sizes, and global happenings, you can understand exactly which products to purvey — in 2023 and beyond.

Of course, all that involves a lot of effort — so we’ve done it for you! Below, we’ve rounded up our top six trending products to sell online. And to make sure you always discover innovative product ideas, we’ll explain the steps to identify in-demand products.

How to Identify Good Product Ideas

Ready-made lists featuring cool product ideas are great, but teach a person to fish, right? When determining a good product, you need to develop your skills in spotting potentially viral products. This will take you further than being told what to sell. After all, you can use this technique to find products to sell in 2023 and in the future.

Here are the steps you should take to find products that will sell like hotcakes:

Use Google Trends to analyze seasonality and relevance. This tool shows you whether or not a product is on the rise or decline, search volume-wise.
Use product research tools and websites that show you what products are currently selling the most. For example, Opportunity Finder by Jungle Scout, Erank, AMZScou, or Amazon product Research Tool by Helium 10.
Check out consumer trends reports. For instance, Google and Pinterest share insights based on what their users look for. You can find them in Pinterest Predicts and Consumer Insights by Think with Google.
Analyze what your competitors are selling and whether those products are popular with their customers.

Pinterest Predicts is a great way to explore what consumers are looking for

Of course, there are more ways to spot in-demand products, from checking B2B marketplaces to exploring ecommerce trend publications.

To learn even more on how to identify viral products before your competitors, read our article on how to find trending products to sell online. By learning how to identify trend potential, you’ll be able to find products that are not only relevant but also have a solid chance of trending in the future.

New Products Ideas to Sell Now

To give you a head start, we’ve compiled a list of products that are currently trending and have good potential to become best-sellers in the future.

Solar Panels

109ºF in Tampa. 99ºF in London. As dangerous levels of heat descend the globe, people are looking for ways to combat climate change.

In particular, people want to know what the sun can do for them — hint: it’s clean, renewable energy.

While solar panels are most well known for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere and expediting climate change, there are many other benefits. These include less of reliance on the grid, government rebates, and lower energy bills.

Yep — solar panels have a lot to offer.

According to Google Trends, people are starting to realize this en masse. On August 11th, 2022 — fueled, perhaps, by unusually high temperatures — the UK’s user search interest for solar panels soared to a score of 100. This is the first time it’s ever done so and represents an increase of over 100% from the average of the previous two months.

Searches for solar panels in the UK in the last five years (Google Trends)

What does this mean for you? Simply put, selling solar panels is a lucrative business. They cost thousands of dollars to purchase, install, and repair. This is a business that, especially with global green initiatives, will produce revenue for many years to come.

With coal and gas prices soaring and global catastrophes and military conflicts continuing to affect the economy, energy bills are hitting ever-increasing heights. Fossil fuels now represent not only an ethical concern for consumers but a monetary one, as well.

By selling solar panels, you can help satiate your local demand while becoming a part of (one photovoltaic cell at a time) the world’s transition to green energy. Boost both your bottom line and the planet’s prospects for a brighter future.

Selling solar panels can be a lucrative business

Vinyl Records

There’s something about vinyl records that feels wonderfully old-fashioned. Phonographs did, after all, come out in 1948 — predating CDs by 34 years, and the iPod by 53 years.

Old-fashioned, maybe. Out of fashion? Not a chance.

Vinyl records account for a $1.3-billion global market and offer ever-growing appeal to a new, increasingly discerning generation of listeners (and we don’t just mean hipsters). Last year, one in three albums sold were in physical vinyl form.

The best part about selling vinyl? People not only buy them for their own collections, but also as gifts for family and friends. Take a look at this Google Trends screenshot, for instance. It shows interest in the term “vinyl records” in the U.S. over the last five years:

Google Trends data for “vinyl records” in the U.S. over the last five years

Notice those spikes? Or, should we say, needles…

That’s the holiday season. Every winter, demand for vinyl records soars. This means that with some targeted marketing, a seasonal approach (and, let’s face it, an ear for good music), you can tap into that demand. You might just see your profits soar, too.

Customers often buy vinyl records as gifts

Shampoo

In business, there’s some demand you’ll always be able to rely on.

Real estate thrives because people will always need somewhere to live. Fast food has created a multi-billion-dollar industry because people always need something to eat, especially when they’re on the go.

Selling shampoo is one of those reliable products because people will always need to wash their hair.

Despite shampoo suffering slightly in 2020 (perhaps because people couldn’t get down to the store to buy it), the $94 billion haircare market is on the comeback. And despite its 2020 blip (who didn’t during the pandemic?) Google Trends attest to shampoo’s steady rise over the last half-decade.

Google Trends data for “shampoo” over the last five years in the U.S.

Selling shampoo, though, requires anticipating the future. As the surge in solar panel searches suggests, consumers are becoming more planet-conscious. So aligning your shampoo business with eco-friendly values will set you up for, well… Sustainable success!

So forget the parabens and palm oil. Ditch the plastic containers, and don’t go anywhere near products that have been tested on animals. Shampoo selling offers big opportunities and long-term prospects — but only if you do it right!

Want more tips on how to make your online store more sustainable? Our detailed guide contains everything you need to know.

Shampoo bars help reduce the use of plastic packaging

Learn more: 15 Hot Eco-Friendly Product Ideas to Sell Online

Measuring Cups and Spoons

The voracious demand for flour and sourdough starter kits may have vanished as soon as stay-at-home orders ended. But that pandemic-induced love of baking seems to have stuck around.

Exhibit A? The resurgence of measuring cups and spoons.

According to the Wordstream keyword tool, the term “measuring cups” draws over 110,000 searches per month. Similarly, “measuring cups and spoons” pulls in 5,400 monthly searches, while 4,400 internet users are digging for “dry measuring cups” every month.

All this means that measuring cups and spoons are one of the top trending products to sell online. Not just in 2023, either, but going forward: the kitchen utensils market is set to grow by $2.27 billion between 2020 and 2025, so there’s plenty to cook forward to.

Enter the kitchen utensils market by selling measuring cups and spoons

Back Cushions

When it comes to selecting a trending product to sell, sometimes you have to look back to move forward (literally).

During the pandemic — when our dens, all of a sudden, became our offices — a scramble for adequate work-from-home equipment ensued.

Among them? Back cushions.

Yet despite the tide of the pandemic having largely receded, consumer demand for back cushions remains like the product — as firm as ever.

There is a demand for back cushions not only for office chairs, but for home offices too

Google Trends indicates that in 2022, searches for back cushions reached heights of almost double their 2019 levels and continue to hold steady. With the ongoing transition to hybrid working — and the widespread employer recognition now that flexible working policies are important — back cushions will only keep flying off the shelves.

Google Trends data for “back cushions” for the last five years in the U.S.

Matcha Tea

In 2015, matcha tea exploded in popularity. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow took to Instagram to declare her matcha latte a “dreamy new discovery.” After that, people could not get enough of the drink.

Much like back cushions, however, matcha tea outlived the initial expectations around its popularity. Today, matcha-flavored drinks have seen a growth of 202% in the U.S. and 114% in the UK. Often marketed as a healthier alternative to coffee, matcha might just be coffee’s long-term successor — and you want to be in at the ground level.

Need some convincing around matcha’s rising popularity? Take a look at Google Trends:

Google Trends data for “matcha” for the last five years in the U.S.

All this means, of course, that selling matcha offers plenty of opportunities. Of course, you can’t wind back the clock to when Gwyneth first professed her fondness for the drink, but to paraphrase an old Chinese proverb:

“The best time to start selling matcha was seven years ago. The second best time is today.”

You can also sell tools for making matcha tea at home

To Trend or Not to Trend?

From solar panels and shampoo to measuring spoons and vinyl records, trending products offer big opportunities. You are, after all, trying to find products with a proven demand. But you also want one that typically has good long-term prospects.

That said, don’t get too suckered in by “what’s hot now”. A healthy respect for the trends is best when blended with what you’re passionate about.

What do you want to sell? What product or service gets you out of bed in the morning? If you enjoy a particular line of work, it’ll keep you going — even when the going gets tough. Make sure to recognize and pursue work that you want to do.

What’s Next?

Now that you know what products to sell and how to find products that will become popular, it’s time to start building your ecommerce business. Use the tips from this article, do your research, and create a store that sells products people want to buy.

To give you some direction, here’s what you can do after you find a new product idea to sell:

How to Patent an Idea or Product

Researching consumer trends can actually inspire you with a product idea of your own. To patent a new product, you’ll need to do a bit of research for the patent application process.

The patent application process might differ from country to country, so it’s best to consult with a lawyer specializing in intellectual property.

If you want to learn more about how to patent your product idea, listen to our podcast with an Ecwid merchant who successfully invented and patented a product herself: Inventing, Patenting, Manufacturing and Ecommerce.

How to Turn an Idea Into a Product

If you have a new product idea to sell but don’t know how to turn it into an actual physical product, there are a few ways you can do that. You can either produce the products yourself or look for manufacturers and suppliers who can help you with that.

It won’t hurt to create a product prototype since that will help you not only validate the product idea but also make sure manufacturers can actually produce your products.

If you want to learn more about how to take an idea and turn it into a product, check out our article on how to create a product prototype.

How to Get a Product Idea to Market

Whether you decide to create trending products yourself or source them from suppliers, you need to get them to market. If you’re not sure how to go about that, our articles on how to start an ecommerce business will give you all the info you need to get started.

Check out the Preparing to Launch section on the blog to learn everything you need to know for a smooth launch, from registering your store to choosing a brand name and writing product descriptions.

Find a Platform That’s Right For You

Now that you’ve decided which product to sell, you’ll need to sort out somewhere to sell it. This probably means building a website. To do this, you’ll need to find an appropriate web host, and then design, market, and grow your online store in a way that will resonate with your customers.

There’s still a long way to go until you’re selling your favorite (and ideally trending) product.

The good news? With some time, effort, and hard work (and some luck), you can make your burgeoning business a brilliant success.

Continue to regularly explore current consumer trends to make sure you’re always up-to-date on what products are popular with your target audience. Pay attention to seasonal trends as well, so you can take advantage of holiday shopping periods.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to find and sell products that are in demand now and continue to be popular into the future.

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Product Ideas

Sep 1, 2022

About the author

Rob Binns is a freelance copywriter and editor based in Melbourne, Australia. When not penning content about ecommerce and digital security, he’s playing (or watching!) football, or relaxing in the sun with a book and a cold beer.