The pandemic that is currently affecting the entire world is certainly influencing our spending habits. Luckily for Amazon sellers, due to the circumstances, people are actually currently spending more money shopping online. However, that doesn’t mean that if you try and sell anything online, you are more likely to be successful than if the pandemic wasn’t happening. There are many things in our everyday lives that we are not able to perform in the same way as before and our shopping habits reflect that.
If you were looking for the perfect product to sell on Amazon, you would certainly have to take the effects of the pandemic into consideration. With that in mind, let’s explore some trends that have shown increased demand since the start of the pandemic that we have confirmed using AMZScout data. The best way to do this is by taking a look at some niches that are good examples of the overall trends:
1. Home Bread Making Kits
One of the most immediate effects of people being stuck at home was the fact that they started cooking more. You probably noticed your friends and family posting their latest home cooked culinary projects all over social media. It’s hard to purchase fresh bread when you’re stuck at home, so people have taken to baking their own. Amazon sellers in this niche have been making dough since the pandemic started.
2. Jump Rope
Gyms have been closed during the pandemic. Also, that running outside has not been an option in some areas due to a more strict lockdown or curfew. Because of this, people have found jump ropes to be a very inexpensive piece of home exercise equipment that can give you a sweat inducing cardio workout in a very short period of time.
Photo by AMZScout
As we can see the sales volume in this niche has skyrocketed and has even settled now on a very high sales average.
3. Air Purifiers
One of the effects of the pandemic is that people have gotten more health conscious. The fact that this virus is attacking our respiratory system has prompted many people into thinking about the quality of the air that they breathe. Because of this, air purifiers have had a noticeable spike in demand.
4. Barbeques and Barbeque Equipment
This niche is a great example of 2 emerging trends coming together. We’ve mentioned the fact that people have gotten used to cooking more at home due to the pandemic. Another noticeable trend is that people are shopping for items that make their gardens and yards a more enjoyable place. This is due to the fact that it’s the only outdoor space that you can inhabit safely during a pandemic. Combine those two trends and you see higher sales for barbeques and all things barbeque related.
5. Toys
Toys are a category that has always been very attractive to private label sellers on Amazon. This niche has so much variety and you can often manufacture products using inexpensive materials. Needless to say, the fact that you have to keep your children indoors and are not able to take them to the park, vacation or on a playdate with other children has left parents looking at toy shopping as one of the only ways to keep their little ones happy. Sales of all types of toys have skyrocketed exactly because of this reason.
Of course, it’s not all good news in online sales. There are categories that have seen quite the decline in demand due to the pandemic and there are trends moving downwards.
1. Eyeliner
Selling makeup is one of the most coveted industries for entrepreneurs. There are rarely any other types of items that can sell at such high margins. It’s often the case that 90% of the selling price of any makeup item is just profit. However, during a pandemic people aren’t going out much. Since we aren’t seeing people outside the home, we don’t have to put that much effort into looking pretty as we usually do. Sales for all types of makeup have been steadily declining throughout the pandemic.
2. Dress shoes
Similar to makeup, just as we don’t have as many opportunities to show off our beauty during a pandemic, we also have less opportunity to get dressed up. Because of this, footwear manufacturers have taken a hit, even more so if they are making trendy or more high end shoes.
3. Luggage
Unsurprisingly, since traveling is largely non existent during the pandemic, people haven’t really had a need to buy any new luggage. Some companies have reported sales going down by 90%. You can see by the example of this single luggage listing on Amazon how low the sales have been, even during the months of the year when sales should normally be peaking:
Photo by AMZScout
However, we can expect this trend to recover since fairly certain that people will be traveling again as soon as they are able to.
4. Wrist Watches
Wrist watches are one of those categories that Amazon was hoping to develop more, which is why it has one of the lowest referral fee rates. However, wrist watches, as well as a lot of luxury goods, have seen a decline in sales during the pandemic. This could be due to the fact that people don’t get out enough to show off their bling. It could also be because they are avoiding luxury purchases due to the economic uncertainty of the whole situation. Either way, wrist watches are not the items you would want to be selling online right now.
5. Party Supplies
Parties are unfortunately not a common occurrence during a pandemic, and are certainly not recommended. It makes sense that people would not be buying party supplies for parties they can’t hold. Party kits are usually a very good product to sell as they are made from inexpensive materials. They also usually get used up by a single party, so satisfied customers can easily become return customers. However, the current state of things for party supplies can be best described with the sales history of one such listing:
Photo by AMZScout
In conclusion, the pandemic has made people turn to shopping online more now than ever before. This presents a great opportunity for anyone to get into the online selling space or to expand and invest more into their existing business. What you need to keep in mind is the state of the world as it is today and make sure that whatever you intend to sell is something that people are able to properly utilize and enjoy under the current circumstances.
