So, how do you know if a given product will be right for your Shopify or Shopify Plus web store? Many people have product ideas or niches that they would like to start a Shopify or Shopify Plus web store around, but they are not sure if their product idea is viable or not. There are some great ways to evaluate product ideas in the eCommerce marketplace and determine whether you should make a time and monetary investment in starting a Shopify or Shopify Plus web store around them. Here are four ways that you can evaluate products specifically for the Shopify platform or for an eCommerce business in general.
- Are you the person to market this product?
This is the first question that you should ask yourself within the product selection process because with your Shopify or Shopify Plus web store specifically you are competing in a targeted niche and the way that you’re going to make your business grow is by becoming an expert in that niche. If you are selling products that you know nothing about and that you are not willing to learn about, then those products are not right for Shopify or any other e-commerce store that you are considering.
- Do people want the product?
The next thing that you are going to have to figure out is whether the people that will frequent your web store online want the product. This can be performed in a few different ways. Obviously, you could do market research, or you could have a company do the market research for you, which is usually prohibitively expensive. A much better way to do market research before you buy a product is to create listings for them and then make them ‘out of stock’. Then, you can try to get people interested in your “out of stock” products to see whether they would be viable for your Shopify or Shopify Plus web store.
- Can you Compete?
Another thing you must decide is whether you can compete in this niche within the marketplace online for this product type. Large ecommerce corporations frequently dominate the biggest markets out there, however there are also some solid companies that are dominating the smaller markets too. You need to look at the competition online for this product type, and determine whether or not you can rank for any of the keywords that you’ll need to get people onto your Shopify site as well as whether or not you can sell products at a low enough price to compete with these big-name companies that are likely able to get wholesale prices that are better than yours. If not, then you should perhaps choose a different product or product type for your Shopify store.
- What is your supply chain for this product?
The final and potentially most important factor in your product selection process for your Shopify and Shopify Plus store is the supply chain that is behind your product. Will you yourself be manufacturing the product? Will you be drop shipping the product from overseas? What software solution will you be utilizing to manage the returns and customer service exchanges? What will you be utilizing for your ERP / bookkeeping systems? How will you be managing the inventory and warehouse management for this item? These are the vital considerations that you must ask yourself once you have established the marketplace demand for the product(s) you have selected to sell on your Shopify or Shopify Plus web store.
With dozens of Shopify and Shopify Plus web store implementations under our belts, along with our expertise in drop shipping and logistics systems for the Shopify platform, the Seibert Consulting Group has a long history of working with our eCommerce Clients on product selection and fulfillment. We can show you how to source and list products from your Shopify or Shopify Plus web store, or how to provide your own brand’s DTC products in a customized theme for Shopify or Shopify Plus that is reflective of your company’s story and values.
To find out more about Shopify or Shopify Plus solutions for your business, find out more about the Private Shopify & Shopify Plus Apps offered by the Seibert Consulting Group like Dropified, Celigo, Optimize Upsell, or to set up a free demo of the Shopify or Shopify Plus eCommerce platform, please contact the Seibert Consulting Group at 760-205-5251 or email the SCG team at hello@seibertconsulting.com.
