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Finding Your Niche: How To Perform Amazon FBA Product Research [Guide]
“Focusing on a niche market makes it easier for the right customers to say, ‘This is for me.’”
Niches are how you stand out.
And on Amazon, that’s paramount. There are millions of other sellers bidding for attention.
With a good niche, you avoid being a tiny fish in a mammoth pond.
But what is a “niche” exactly? How do you spot one, and where do you start when it comes to Amazon product research?
In this guide to finding your Amazon selling niche:
Table of Contents
The best advice and insights for selling on Amazon this year
There’s a lot to know when it comes to selling on Amazon. In this guide, you’ll find expert tips and advice to make sure you start strong and stand out from the crowd.
Download our free guide
Let’s get started.
What Are Amazon Niche Products?
There are 9.7 million Amazon sellers.
In such a crowded market, you’ve got to stand out to succeed.
When you try to sell products from a broad category, competition is usually very high. There are already thousands of established sellers with loyal customers and shining reviews.
If you want to make a mark you’ll likely waste thousands in Amazon advertising.
The solution? Finding an *underserved *niche market.
A niche is a more specific type of product.
Rather than targeting the hugely competitive market of “books” right away, you might specialize in “pregnancy books”, for example.
Your competitor numbers could have dropped from the thousands to tens or hundreds.
You have focused your offering a little more. But you still have plenty of room for product scope.
5 benefits of selling niche Amazon products
1. There’s less competition
Sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. Saturated markets make it difficult to stand out.
2. It should take less money to get started
You’ll spend less on advertising when you sell products that are in high demand but not as competitive.
3. Buyers are unlikely to shop around
If you’re the best of very few options for something, you’re more likely to convert new customers.
4. You may be able to make more money
You can focus less on trying to beat your competitors’ prices in a small niche. When options are slim, product quality and customer experience matter more.
5. You can get to know your customers better (and expand your range)
A tighter product range will help you get to know your customers’ specific needs. And by better serving these needs, you’ll make more sales and be able to grow.
Amazon Niche Examples
Niches are not the same as categories.
They’re more specific than that.
When we search on Amazon for “diapers” it comes back with over 1,000 product results.
This is because “diapers” is not a very specific product category.
Further product research is required here. You might find that parents these days want eco-friendly diaper options and that there aren’t many out there.
Perhaps this is a good specialization.
When we search for “biodegradable diapers” the competition reduces drastically - only 132 results.
Successful product niches are highly sought after yet still specific.
Let’s see whether an Amazon seller has noticed this same niche.
The top-ranking non-sponsored product for this search is a pack of eco-friendly diapers by ECO BOOM.
And when we click through to their store, it’s easy to see why.
ECO BOOM has found its home in the super-specific world of plant-based diapers.
It has a beautiful landing page with easy navigation. Its specialized offering is easy to spot.
By nabbing a niche with few competitors that has potential to grow, they’ve created a promising, resilient business.
How To Find A Niche Product To Sell On Amazon
“Spending time on product research and selection at the beginning will help you make informed business decisions further down the road.”
Before you start your research, you need to know how to spot a promising product.
Below is a checklist for your end goal product. As you research for products to sell (which we’ll explore next), keep these criteria top of mind.
A checklist for finding niche Amazon products
1. Good demand
Look out for: Products that people are actively searching for.
Why it matters: If no one wants your product, you won’t sell it.
2. Low competition
Look out for: A niche without long-established, large competitors.
Why it matters: When you start out, you’ll have no reviews or reputation. Why would new customers trust you over the big players with years on their side?
3. Good profit margins
Look out for: Products that you’re able to sell at a competitive price with room for a profit margin. Ideally you want at least 20% margin.
Why it matters: You’re not in this purely for the fun of it, are you? Perhaps you are. But it’s more likely you want to make money and you can’t do that without a margin.
4. Fast and easy to ship
Look out for: Small and light products will be cheaper and quicker to ship.
Why it matters: Amazon customers want speed and convenience. The platform has become synonymous with both. But this costs you money, so you need to ensure you can cover this and still make profit.
5. Low seasonality
Look out for: Stock that should consistently sell throughout the year.
Why it matters: Look, it’s not a given. You could be very successful selling seasonal stock. But managing fluctuations in inventory and sales throughout the year can be challenging. Particularly if you don’t use the accrual method of accounting to keep track of costs.
If you’d rather keep things simple, avoid seasonal stock.
Bonus tip
Consider selling private label products on Amazon.
This involves putting your own mark on existing products.
You can create a brand around your niche and define yourself in the space. It’s also easier to develop a community of loyal customers if they like and buy into not just your products, but your brand identity too.
Now that you know what you’re looking for, let’s talk about how to find it.
How To Do Amazon FBA Product Research
“One of the easiest ways to define and target a niche is to layer various customer behaviors and interests.”
If you don’t have an idea of what you want to sell yet, choosing a category can feel a little overwhelming.
So start by mapping out the questions you want to find answers for.
Questions to think about when doing Amazon product research:
- What products are you interested in or experienced with?
- Do you know you can source them easily?
- What sort of customers would you like to serve?
These may not tell you everything you need to know, but they’re a start. And they’ll help define your priorities as you search.
You want to investigate two key things during this research stage:
-
What customers are looking for and talking about (to discover a potential product)
-
Where the gaps are in supply (to define a potential niche)
We’ll explore three methods here along with product research tools. It’s best to use a combination of these and to keep track of changes over time.
That way, you know your conclusions are sound and based on consistent evidence.
Google: Find out what people are searching for right now
Hopefully you have a rough idea of what you’d like to sell.
Going back to our example of “books”, you could begin here.
Don’t worry if there are a million results for your search - this is just the start of your research.
Begin by researching competitors in this industry.
Go through their websites and product pages, and read their reviews. Look for hints about customer preferences towards types of “books” - maybe genres and authors.
Are customers disappointed by the current selection of something?
Start making a list of possible niche product ideas to be further explored later on.
Another way to find more specific products is to use Google’s auto-complete and people also ask features.
Auto-complete and People also ask functions
Auto-complete can help to identify what customers are looking for and take you down a rabbit hole of related product ideas.
People also ask can help reveal some of the queries or problems those customers have which you could further investigate.
Google Trends
Google Trends is another great product research tool for Amazon sellers.
To use it, enter your category idea and then change your range from “Past 12 months” to “2004 – present”.
This will give a clear indication of whether the search volume for a potential niche is increasing or not over time.
This will also show whether products are seasonal (if they rise and fall frequently) or whether they’re stable all year round (if the line is relatively flat).
To summarize, you want a product that is consistently sought after and steadily increasing in popularity.
Bonus tip
You can also set up alerts in Google Trends to receive instant notifications about trending topics.
Keyword research
Once you’ve got a few ideas on paper, you can test their potential by performing some detailed keyword research.
There are many keyword research tools available to help you find a selling niche.
When you enter a broader topic keyword into one of these tools, you should get a bunch of suggestions for related searches.
Look for longer search phrases (long-tail keywords) that have a high amount of search traffic with minimal competition. That’s where you’ll find profitable niche ideas.
Social media: Find out what people are talking about (and what they’re saying)
Social media platforms provide an excellent insight into customer needs and allow you to see what the competition is focusing on right now.
You can use any social media channel for Amazon product research.
Here are a few examples:
There are several ways these platforms can be used to help in your research.
Join groups
One method is to explore online communities such as Facebook Groups and Reddit forums.
You can search for keywords in these places to discover new niche ideas and see what the audience is talking about.
Becoming an active member of these communities can also line you up to begin developing a community once your store is open.
Search hashtags
Hashtags are another way to spot potential product opportunities.
Search for hashtags on sites like Instagram and Twitter to see what’s trending.
You’re looking for product ideas with moderate hashtag popularity - roughly 50,000–500,000 related posts.
Amazon: Find out what’s already on the platform
Amazon itself offers plenty of useful ways to research niche products.
One place to start is with the Amazon Bestseller lists: Bestsellers, Movers & Shakers, Most Wished For, and Gift Ideas.
Dig deep into the sub-categories to find popular niche products with less competition.
The product search feature on Amazon can also help with niche research.
63% of consumers regularly use Amazon to search for products – 15% more than those using Google.
This means that finding a product keyword with lots of search volume and not a lot of listings on Amazon can open up the opportunity for a highly profitable niche.
Finally, you can use Amazon to learn about competitors and consumers.
Learn exactly how many competitor stores are in a certain niche just by searching for it. You need to know what you’re up against.
Here are some signs that a niche product has great potential for profit:
- Most competitors have low-quality listings.
- You’re able to source, store, and ship at a much lower price than they’re currently selling for.
- Competitor stores have under 500 reviews, many of which are negative.
- There are several brands selling at consistently high volumes each month. You can figure this out by checking how quickly reviews grow.
Remember: The trick is to use multiple resources for performing product research. A combination of Google, social media, and Amazon will provide more information than focusing solely on one of them.
Amazon Product Research Tools
There are hundreds of different product research tools available for ecommerce sellers.
Here is a shortlist of Amazon product research tools to help you:
Helium 10 is a comprehensive platform for Amazon FBA sellers that includes multiple product research and keyword research tools.
Seller App offers multiple data-driven Amazon tools for sellers, including product research, product ideas, and a profitability checker.
From finding niche opportunities and product tracking to complete inventory management, you’ll find plenty of useful tools for selling on JungleScout’s website.
Although it is designed more for buyers than sellers, Camelcamelcamel can still be used as a free Amazon product research tool as well.
Test And Grow Your Amazon Niche
Finding a lucrative Amazon product niche is only the first step towards becoming a successful seller.
Once you’ve got the ball rolling, it’s time to start looking for growth opportunities.
Continually test your selling niche by going back to the research techniques mentioned in this guide.
If the products you’re selling are no longer profitable or popular, or they now have high competition it may be time to look at expanding your product range.
Selling On Amazon In 2022
Finding your niche and researching the best products to sell on Amazon will get your seller’s journey started off on the right foot.
But there’s so much more to learn if you want to give your store the best chance at success.
In the Complete Guide To Selling On Amazon In 2022, you’ll find everything you need to grow your store into a highly profitable business.
Inside, you’ll learn all about:
- What’s new on Amazon in 2022.
- Amazon store business models that work.
- How to attract and retain customers.
- Selling fees.
- Fulfillment options for Amazon sellers.
- And so much more!
Download your copy of this free guide right now using this link.
The best advice and insights for selling on Amazon this year
There’s a lot to know when it comes to selling on Amazon. In this guide, you’ll find expert tips and advice to make sure you start strong and stand out from the crowd.
Download our free guide
