Home » Blog » The Best Shopify Niches Of 2019 (And Products In Each Niche!)

We’re almost halfway into 2019 and so far we’ve survived the last season of Game of Thrones, ever, as well as the Shopify & MailChimp breakup.

We’ve also experienced the first wave of trends associated with each monumental moment that’s passed, so it feels like no better timing than ever to update our list of…

Best Shopify Niches of 2019 – accompanied by products that YOU can start selling within each niche!

Instead of giving you that bland ol’ list without any explanation as to why these niches and products rank high, this time I’ll go through:

• Which types of products to always steer clear of
• Which types of products to always choose
• How to brainstorm niche and product ideas
• Niches, and products within the niche

Yes, I combed through all of AliExpress to find the best selling products within the best selling niches of 2019.

Each product listed, with the exception of 2, have over 1000 orders. So my findings are backed by the numbers.

So, without further pitter-pattering, let’s get to it.

The Types of Products To Stay Away From

Although there are millions of products, product categories, and price tags on AliExpress, it doesn’t mean that they’re all qualified products to sell to your customers.

You guys are selling to impulse buyers, the people scrolling through their social feeds who don’t need much thought or consideration to hand over their money.

There’s a specific set of product types that you never want to consider.

Commodities

Don’t sell something to your customers that they can easily grab at the CVS up the street.

Shipping times take too long and these types of products have an immediate need.

Commodities include items such as power banks, spatulas (unless they’re really flippin cool), and general essentials.

Now, if you are in a specific niche that’s mostly composed of essentials such as kitchen or sports, basic essentials are ok to choose as long as they have a unique selling angle.

An infused water bottle, for example, would definitely be something that piques someone’s interest – it’s not an immediate necessity, and it’s unique.

As a rule of thumb: avoid general items, unless they have a unique selling point.

High-Ticket Products

Do not get shiny object syndrome.

It’s easy to, and we’ve all been there, and regrets are always made.

Obviously, you’d think it’s a no brainer to choose a high ticket item and mark it up 40%.

After all, you’d get to quit your day job only making 4 sales a month.

Once again, you’re targeting impulse buyers.

There’s no way in heck anyone is pulling out a credit card for a $500 purchase on a whim.

There are special circumstances for selling high ticket items, and if you’re interested, you can check out our article on it.

However, it’s a completely different playing field and only recommended for seasoned dropshippers.

Large or Heavy Products

Usually large and heavy products are high-ticket products.

But occasionally, you’ll find a low ticket item that you think would be great to sell, however, shipping fees raise the price of the product astronomically.

So be mindful of the dimensions of your products, avoid anything too big and bulky that weighs as much as a medium-sized dog.

Trademarked Items

For those of you who have been following our blog for some time now, this isn’t a personal attack, it’s just an extremely important topic worth noting any chance I get.

Don’t sell anything that may be trademarked.

A trademarked item is an item associated with a well-known brand:

• Disney
• Marvel
• Nike
• Celebrities
• Sports Teams
• Brutus, my dog (not really but he should be)

Recently I’ve been asked if trademarked items are the same as patented items – and I feel like now would be a good time to clear the air.

IP laws are confusing, I’ll be the first to admit it.

Especially in the dropshipping game.

There’s just too much information you’re expected to take in, all the time.

So let me help you.

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.

A trademark, or trade-mark, is a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others.

So as you can see in the definitions above, a patent is protection against mimicking the process of making a product.

A trademark is a label of sorts that is protected by law.

You can sell trademarked items, only if you’re licensed to do so.

I’m not totally sure of the process to get a license, and I’m sure it’s dependent on the individual company in question, so it’s best to just steer clear.

Products You Should Search For

Just as there’s a list of product types to avoid, there’s a list of product types that, as long as they meet one of the following requirements, will be safe to sell on your store.

Solves a Pain Point

If you see an item that would make someone’s everyday life just a little bit easier – then it will most likely sell.

A salad spinner, for example, not only tosses a perfectly dressed salad within 3 seconds, but kitchen messes and outfit crises are averted.

Another example: Squirtable baby feeding spoons.

Sounds creepy, I know, but everyone knows that new mothers need all the life hacks they can get – so an easy to feed baby on the go is something only new mothers dream about.

Passion Products

By nature, we humans have hobbies and items that we connect with, a sense of community is formed around these… passions… if you will.

Animals, for most people, are huge passions.

Every December 16th, there is a Boston Terrier meet-up at my local dog park, wryly denoted the Boston Tea Party.

Every Boston Parent in the city is there.

This goes to show, people, love their pets.

So feed into those types of passions.

Boston Terrier t-shirts, mugs, pins, pens, whatever… if their dog breed is on it, they will buy it, trust me.

Passions aren’t limited to pets.

Hobbies, such as sewing allowed our infamous handheld sewing machine scale to $300 a day.

Holiday-Related Products

If you live in America, you know there’s a new holiday almost every darn day.

National Siblings day?

Sure thing.

National Pizza day?

No one forgets it.

Mothers day?

One of the biggest moneymaking holidays for all eCommerce stores.

Use these daily opportunities to find products that people can gift, wear, or use on these holidays.

Profession-Centric Products

My parents were those types of parents who sent their children, aka me, to school with gifts for teachers on holidays and their birthdays.

Embarrassingly until I was 14.

But my teachers LOVED the presents and in turn, me, so I think my parents had ulterior motives.

But just like teachers – doctors, nurses, marketers, delivery drivers, and I’m sure even scuba instructors are proud of, and love, their profession.

Why not fill the endless void of work with products and gifts that will make someone’s day a little brighter, and boisterous.

Where to Find Niche & Product Ideas

Once you decide to open a store, one of the first hurdles to overcome is deciding on which niche you will choose.

Regardless of what you choose, you also need to find products to sell as well.

Store owners get stuck in the same spiral of doubts time and time again but honestly, there are a few ways that you can ease the burden of decision making.

Choose a Niche You’re Passionate About

We’re back to that word passion.

But it’s true, what easier way to open a Shopify store than to open one dedicated to something you’re passionate about.

You already know the pain points others in your niche feel.

You know which products people will buy because you would buy them for yourself.

And you would know how and who to target in your ads.

Choose a Niche That Others Are Passionate About

If you don’t have a die-hard passion, that’s cool too.

There are no restrictive borders when you get into eCommerce.

You have unconstrained access to people all over the world, and most of them do have passions.

Worried you won’t know what their passionate about, or the types of products they would like to see more of in the market place?

I’ll let you in on a secret tool – Discussions Button for Google Search.

This chrome extension allows you to type a niche into the search field and automatically populate search results of online discussion boards centered around that niche.

It’s amazing.

You get to legally “spy” on your target audience.

These discussion forums are filled with complaints and pain points, what products people want to buy the most, and how they talk when it comes to that niche – which is an ad copy gold mine. 

You’re welcome.

Google Trends

As you will soon see, you can use Google trends to search for a product or niche to make sure it’s something people are actively searching for.

It won’t lead you to your winning product, but it will give you a good idea if you should try to sell it or not.

If there’s an upward trend – it’s safe.

Plataeud trend – it’s safe and not a fad, meaning it will stick around for a while.

If there’s a downward trend – scrap the idea and find something else.

Blogs, Magazines, & Influencers Within Your Niche

This will probably be the best and easiest way to stay on top of trends within your niche.

Yes, it does add a little more work on your end, but when it comes to maintaining a successful business, its integral.

Bloggers throw out gift guides, almost constantly, filled with products your customers will be wanting and they adopt the voice and tone for your audience because they’re writing for your audience – which means you will learn how to talk to them as well.

Magazines will come in handy when you need to stay on top of fast-changing trends within your niche.

Are you in the fashion or jewelry niche? Hello, Vogue.

Gadgets and Tech? Wired, of course.

Influencers are a literal gold mine.

Not only do they have a presence on every social platform, with comments from your target audience on each and every post but they’re always recommending products and there’s also the opportunity to get your products promoted.

I must mention that there are loosely termed ‘influencers’ out there that will run you for your money.

So unless you’re familiar with influencer marketing, don’t rush to find one that will sell your products the second you finish reading this article.

Educate yourself on the topic first.

Niches & Their Products

We’ve come to the part that was promised in our headline.

Here’s the list of products and niches that have sold over 1000 orders on AliExpress 🙂

Oh also, each image is linked straight to the AliExpress product page, so you can just hop on over and check them out yourself!

NICHE: Pet Supplies

As I mentioned earlier, animals and pets are a passion for most people.

And as you can see from the Google Trend graph, this niche has a pretty stable interest over time, so this will be a niche that stays at the eCom forefront for a while.

Believe it or not, there is a sub-population of cats who only prefer drinking from running faucets.

My moms’ cat is one of them, and she’s a pain in so many other ways.

Not enough evidence for you?

Meet Pizza Party, the Mainecoon cat that also only drinks from running water out of the exact same watering bowl from above.

There’s a market out there people.

A market full of pet parents just like Pizza’s and Mia’s who are sick and tired of leaving faucets running to quench a short-lived thirst.

Help them out.

I don’t really have a personal story behind this one but, but I do own three animals and brushing them can take up as much time and effort as baking a quiche.

This de-shedder isn’t as exhausting as running a comb through their hair and the clean up is easy

Humans want their animals to be as comfortable as possible, and they show that through purchasing plush beds.

So why not make them chic compared to the standard eye sores we usually pass for animal beds.

This pet bed has over 1500 orders and also ships from the U.S. so your customers dogs, pigs, cats or pigeons don’t have to have too many sleepless nights on cold, hard floors.

Niche: Outdoor Recreation

We’re currently transitioning into summer, which means we’re about to have an excessive amount of people loitering ponds, lakes, beaches, community centers and just about any outdoor space you can think of.

Right now is the time everyone is shopping around to restock items for their outdoor adventures.

There’s only so much one can say about fishing lures, but these guys have just shy of 5000 orders on AliExpress, so it seems like a few people love them.

There’s also not much to say about the glamour of hiking boots because for the most part, they’re lacking.

However, they’re a very basic necessity for one of the most common outdoor activities.

Nobody wants to end a 4-hour hike with blistered feet or thorns stuck to their ankles.

This hammock has almost 4000 orders and I can personally attest that most of the people at my neighborhood park have probably ordered half of them.

Seriously, I see more hammocks than trees. Which isn’t saying much, and doesn’t seem physically possible, but true nonetheless.

Niche: Swimwear

This is a time when those blogs, magazines, and influencers will come in handy.

Pay attention to what people are deeming ‘trendy’ and search for similar products to sell.

There’s only so many variations of a bikini I can give you guys but here’s one that has more than 1000 orders.

Almost as important as the bathing suit are the accessories that make the whole beach excursion worth it.

When I first moved to Florida, I was going to Walmart and buying bed sheets to bring to the beach to have a big enough ‘towel’ for my friends and me to lay on.

This wasn’t uncommon for locals to do.

So, companies noticed an obvious gap in the market and here we are a few years later with towel behemoths like the one shown above. And it’s waterproof 😉

Nothing compliments an outfit, or swimsuit, more than a hot pair of shades.

These glasses, for instance, have flown off the metaphorical shelves at 10,000 orders.

Niche: Cycling

I’ve seen 3 soul cycles open up in close proximity to my house.

T H R E E.

Is it excessive or are people seriously going to small air-conditioned rooms to sweat into a different pant size?

Actually, I would choose the latter over heat stroke too.

Cycling has become the new ‘it’ workout.

Yoga, pilates, and CrossFit beware.

This isn’t the most flattering product on this list, but man are they necessary.

Anyone who has spent more than a minute on a bike knows the pain that comes along with the standard bike seat.

Actually, according to the order amount, approximately 7,000 people are too familiar with that pain.

Nothing is grosser than sweating all over some handles that you are obligated to hold on to.

Working out doesn’t have to be completely miserable, the extra padding adds a nice touch too.

What complements a stationary bicycle as much as a handcrafted infused lemon water?

Well, other than some padded bike shorts and gloves?

This infusible waterbottle!

Your customers will be the talk of Hip-Hop Friday’s.

Niche: Costume Jewelry

Recent eCommerce brands such as Luv AJ and Frasier Sterling Jewelry have put affordable, yet expensive-looking costume jewelry back on the map.

It doesn’t hurt that high profile celebrities and influencers are doting their jewelry all over their Instagram accounts either.

One of the alluring features for these brands is that some of their products are handmade.

So a lot of the shipping times usually take over 5-7 business days.

If you are dropshipping from China, no one will bat an eye at the longer-than-usual shipping times your products require.

Recently, gold has made a hard comeback.

More recently, hoops have made a harder comeback.

Who woulda thought …  types the girl wearing gold hoop earrings.

And it’s not just my preference, this product alone is backed by almost 3000 orders.

Did you know a person’s favorite word is their name?

Well, I guess for most people.

So it’s no wonder that when people have the option to personalize something, they jump RIGHT on it.

Which is exactly why this necklace has over 18,000 orders.

Aside from hoops and earrings and necklaces and gold, minimalistic jewelry has also made an impact in this niche.

Plus, they’re personalizable as well, so duh.

This List Wouldn’t Be Complete Without…

Ok, so the easy work is finding these products and importing them over…

…What’s not so easy is writing the copy that will sell these items.

Luckily for you, we have a free downloadable PDF guide that will teach you and show you exactly how to write killer copy for product descriptions, for every type of product!

I introduce to you, SMART Apps exclusive Copywriting Bible.

In a quick 10 minute read, you will come out on the other side writing descriptions that will sell your products for you.

The PDF will also teach you how to find your brands voice and tone.

The issues with simply importing the descriptions from AliExpress are:

• You don’t set yourself apart with your messaging
• There are frequent spelling and grammatical errors which will give your visitors a negative perception of your brand
• They are weak sales materials that won’t generate you sales.

So get free access to our Copywriting Bible and lower your risk of missing a sale.

Your Next Steps

Now that you’ve learned:

• Which types of products to always steer clear of
• Which types of products to always choose
• How to brainstorm niche and product ideas
• Niches, and products within the niche

Make sure to download our Copywriting Bible and start making sales!

And if you want to know the exact methods and tools I used to find our list of profitable niches and products within them, check out our article on how to find profitable products.

As always, make sure to leave your comments and let us know your industry secrets for finding proven-to-sell, winning products below!