Product research is crucial for selling, whether it’s for online or offline sales. Analyzing data and researching different markets will help determine a product’s potential success and consumer interest.
To find the right product for your brand, you need to determine the product criteria to focus on. These criteria include the selling price, perishability, complexity, size, weight, and more.
For online sales, it’s important to factor in shipping costs and inventory storage.
Ideas and opportunities may lead to a great product, but finding them usually requires time and effort.
It is helpful to start searching for product ideas within your own interests and hobbies, as your passion for these subjects can be infectious.
However, it’s important to also research what’s trending and popular to potentially stay ahead of the curve.
In-person research, such as attending trade shows, can be invaluable in discovering new techniques, materials, and innovations.
Wondering where to start your search for your next big product? The good news is that there are loads of amazing – and free! – resources dedicated to this, so get out your phone and start the investigation right here and now.
As a first port of call, check out Think with Google’s Rising Retail Categories, an interactive tool that can help you understand the fast-rising retail categories in Google Search, as well as search queries associated with them and the locations around the world where they’re performing well.
Other great resources include Kickstarter’s Trending Products, which allows you to filter different projects based on categories like food, comics, games, technology and so on, helping you to see what people are interested in.
TrendHunter’s Pro Consumer Insights report also makes for very interesting reading for anyone looking for new products to bring to market, featuring 390,000 ideas, 8,800 insights, 18 megatrends and six patterns… so it’s likely you’ll find something in there that proves to be the inspiration you’ve been searching for.
Once you’ve finished researching and have identified a couple of product ideas you think could be worth developing, you then need to evaluate the markets themselves to work out what kind of success levels you could expect to see.
Take into account competition, demand, seasonality and profitability when choosing your final products to take to market. It could also be worth thinking about whether your products could be developed further, whether you’re able to turn them into product lines or even brands in their own right – throwing even more opportunities into your path, look to having Tech Pack created.
Are you looking for PLM consulting services at the moment? Get in touch with the team here at Bombyx today.