5 min read. April 14, 2021

Top Ecommerce Business Ideas To Try in 2021

Like many other entrepreneurs, you also dream of relaxing on the couch and running a profitable online business just like a pro. There’s really one thing that worries many people when it comes to running an ecommerce business. And it’s the answer to that single question. What idea to pursue? What product to sell?

You can’t actualise that dream of running a successful ecommerce business without a viable and productive ecommerce idea. It’s really not about the numerous churn and burns ecommerce business models you’ve listened to in the past.

But here is the main truth. You won’t find a one size fits all approach idea. Just like you, every individual has different skills, interests, and strengths. What’s the best way to navigate this? Find the business idea that’s best for you. How do you discover this?

It lies in the power of researching your business ideas. Similarly, you also need to take your time to study business models. This will help determine the niche you’ll venture into. Starting an ecommerce business doesn’t necessarily require that you have a specific product. But, you must validate your business plan and monetisation strategies. The specific products, offers, or services to sell can then come later.

From drop shipping to private label marketing, affiliate marketing, and all, there are many ways to make money by selling ecommerce products.

There are a plethora of ecommerce business ideas out there. Here, we’ll be revealing the business ideas to try out in 2021 as the year 2020 brought unprecedented global economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We have analysed varying niches and markets based on the current trends, success rates, and disruptiveness. We’ve collected the best ecommerce business that has proven outstanding success in the current online market. 

Let’s get started:

Skin Care Products for Women

Organic skincare is gaining widespread traction currently. People are abandoning chemical-filled skincare products. This is because they are getting more enlightened about the adverse effects of these chemical components on the skin and their surrounding environment. Many women now prefer to purchase skincare products that are manufactured with natural ingredients.

Surprisingly, this is one of the products with great margin and stats in the ecommerce industry. According to research, the organic skincare industry is projected to exceed $22 billion by 2024. This is because it was observed that the market has continued to gain a steady yearly growth rate of 10%

Some of the most popular products in the organic skincare markets include body scrubs, facial cleansers, facial oil, mineral sunscreen, and more. And here is one thing you won't want to resist. It’s the fact that they can be sold for a long term.

Women are more attracted to beauty products. And they are gaining more interest in the natural ones. However, this doesn’t imply that you’ll make more sales as you venture into the ecommerce business world. You need to create a unique selling proposition. This helps to easily attract your audience in the market.


Online Educational Courses

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a radical change in the learning delivery system. After the COVID-19 lockdowns, the demand for e-learning courses has continued to be on the high side. Whether it is schools, colleges, professional and corporate settings, everyone has continued to turn their face to the beauties of online learning over traditional learning. That’s why selling online courses or training people over the web will be a great niche business to venture into as we delve into the second quarter of 2021.

Confused as to how to go about it?

You only need to build an online that organizes and facilitates course creation, uploads and sales. There are several digital learning niches, fields, and vocations, but you can’t provide them all since you aren’t a jack of all trades. Focus on a niche that you are most familiar with. Explore the golden chance to provide people with educational content that they can’t come by anywhere else.


Print-On-Demand Lifestyle Apparel

When it comes to print-on-demand lifestyle apparel, you won’t think of anything else than t-shirts. You’ll observe that t-shirts have almost gone into extinction, with a variety of design-printed shirts dominating everywhere.

Of course, the t-shirts market is highly saturated, and the chances of making sales increased, especially if you are focusing on a specific target market. And one of those promising target markets is lifestyle products. With print-on-demand lifestyle apparel, your chances of making significant sales on a community or trend that already exists become skyrocketed.

From pets, music, fitness, food to animals, and maps, you can explore an endless list of broad category niches. For instance, you can offer apparel designs for nurses who CrossFit or highly detailed city maps on shirts for travelers and voyagers. You can always work your ecommerce idea around several products and categories. All you need is a passionate target audience. And you are good to go!


Online Foods and Grocery

Online grocery and food delivery have also attracted widespread patronage, especially during the global COVID-19 lockdown. However, the profitability of this business depends largely on the relentless urge to increase the customer base. 

While there are many products coupled with an increasingly huge target market, the food and grocery delivery industry will continue to remain an excellent ecommerce business idea in the coming years.

Of course, this kind of business also depends on local sourcing, but it’ll turn out to become an excellent benefit for you and your local vendors. And more importantly, it’s a business you can start small. As you gain increased profits, you can then leverage that to scale up. That’s a surefire way to make it the most profitable ecommerce business for yourself.


DropShip Handmade Jewelry to Women

When you sell unique products, you’ll be able to stay ahead of the competition. Unique products you can sell include handmade, custom, and antique jewelry for females.

While you can find it challenging to guess the prices of handmade jewelry, setting a reasonable price will give you an edge over your competitors. Quick one; you should sell on your own ecommerce store. Why? This is because you’ll be able to gain a much larger control compared to when you sell on popular marketplaces.

Getting supplies for these handmade jewelry shouldn’t be as difficult as you think. Don’t use popular ecommerce sites like AliExpress. This is due to the fierce competition, and there are tons of other sellers on that platform.

Explore craft maker’s websites. Request to know if there is an avenue to retail their products. If they get to know that you are dropshipping their products, you might get a discount since you’ll bring them more sales while also showcasing their products to a broader audience.

Apart from handmade jewelry, there are several other crafts you can dropship. You only need to discover them through comprehensive research.


Home-Based Catering

You’ve got a knack for cooking? Home-based catering is one of the lucrative and highly profitable businesses that can guarantee you a decent income. Your initial investment plays a significant role in determining the kind of setup you would want it to be. For instance, if you want to start by handling smaller parties, celebrations, and events that you can manage on your own, chances are that you won't require huge capital to start.

Starting your home-based catering service isn’t highly challenging. You only need to create a website and begin to experiment with local food markets. Similarly, you can also join other platforms that allow cooking experts to generate profits as they render their culinary skills.


Smart Home Products

Undeniably, smart home is gradually becoming a trend in recent times. This is because people have continued to enjoy a much greater convenience that smart home presents. While it deals with the interconnection of the entire ecosystem, including water quality, power consumption, and more, it also fosters an integrated approach to various homes and their interactions with the inhabitants. Of course, everything about a smart home is easy and hassle-free, especially when it comes to use and installation. But you’ll be selling that convenience.

As reported by Market Source data, the smart home market is still ripe, and many households seem to be unfamiliar with smart home technologies and devices. While it continues to gain widespread adoption, you can position your ecommerce business as the perfect go-to store for smart home devices.

For instance, P.C. Richard & Son has been around for over a century, focusing on the sales of home appliances. However, they’ve recently navigated into including smart home devices as parts of their offerings. From smart home detections, robotic vacuums to Wi-Fi thermostats, and smart lighting, they dominate the market and sell it all.


Smart Watches

The growth recorded by the wearables market over the past three years has been highly unprecedented. In 2019, the market size of smart watches industry was estimated to have been $32 billion, and while it was also predicted to exceed a 16% growth trend 2020-2027

Similar to smart home devices, smart watches are also excellent when it comes to convenience. You are only required to connect them with your mobile devices, providing easy and seamless access to answering messages, phone calls, alarms, and switching between important tasks. Of course, the most popular names brands that dominate the market are names like Samsung Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch. You can also stock up on budget-friendly smart watches from less popular brands. This is indeed another profitable business idea that you explore to make some money in 2021.


Kids Toys

This is yet an ecommerce business idea that’s increasingly becoming popular in 2021. Interestingly, it’s an important aspect of everyone’s life. As more people continue to tie the knot, the chances of having kids increases. The more there are newly born kids growing up in this world, the more the demand for toys increases.

Selling kids toys is similar to the food and grocery market. It’ll continue to attract millions of sales on a daily basis. While the demands keep increasing, the chances of earning big also increase sporadically. As long as you venture into the right niche with an optimized ecommerce store, there is no how you won’t be bombarded with sales.


Sales of Face Masks

As mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about numerous unprecedented challenges to the entire human race. Everyone now wears face or nose masks. In fact, countries have continued to enact laws establishing stiff penalties for people without face coverings in the public space. This is a huge opportunity for sales as many companies have continued to venture into large-scale production of face masks.

Face masks are available in a variety of materials and designs. This allows many brands and businesses to focus on creativity to become unique among the competition. People are now interested in the purchase of face masks that perfectly matches their clothing to enhance their outward physical appearance. More so, companies are now placing orders for customized face masks for different purposes.

Face mask production is highly lucrative. And the market will continue in its vibrancy even post-pandemic as many hospitals continue to use them significantly. Pivoting your clothing business to include the sales of face masks is also another ecommerce business that presents an opportunity to earn it big in 2021.

There you have it! Perhaps the top ecommerce business ideas that present an opportunity to earn in big in 2021. Other ecommerce businesses you can venture into include electronic devices, ideology-based products, content writing, digital marketing, healthcare products, and more.

While the ecommerce space has continued to attract unparalleled growth, setting up your store isn’t enough. There’s a need to research and get the appropriate business model, including the products or services your customers would be interested in.

Planning to open an online store? Incorporate some of these business ideas and market your products directly to your target audience. You’d be surprised at the handsome profits you’ll make!


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