How to do product research for ecommerce?
Introduction
You’ve got an idea for an ecommerce business and you’re ready to take the next step: launching your store. But before you do, there’s one thing every successful entrepreneur must do: figure out what products they should sell.
This is where product research comes in. It’s essential for any kind of business, but especially for ecommerce because it’s so easy to get distracted by all the new ideas out there. To ensure that your time and money are spent wisely, we’ll show you how to conduct effective product research in just four steps!
Steps for e-commerce product research
- Start with a broad idea of the product you want to sell.
- Research the market for your product.
- Research your competitors.
- Research the quality of your product and that of your competitors’ products.
- Research your target customers and where they are located geographically so you can be sure to offer them a good customer experience as well as one that’s culturally relevant (including language, customs, etc.).
Target customers
As you begin to gather information, it’s important to remember that you’re not just gathering data for the sake of having data. You’re doing it so that you can make a product that people actually want and need. To do this, it’s important to know who your target customers are so that they can be involved in the process of creating solutions. This is where defining the problem comes in handy: if you don’t know what problem needs solving before starting on a solution, then chances are good that one won’t be created.
Once you’ve defined your problem and set some goals (which we’ll talk about more below) then it’s time to start researching!
Product research tools
If you’re looking to get started with product research, there are a number of tools that will help. Here are some of the best ones:
- Google Keyword Planner – This tool is essential if you want to know what shoppers are searching for online. You can use it to find keywords related to your products and see how popular they are. It also gives you ideas for other keywords that could be useful in your marketing campaigns.
- Google Trends – Trending products is another great way to figure out what’s selling right now. This tool shows which products have been searched the most over the past few years and provides information on why people might be searching for those items (for example, whether they’re looking for prices or reviews).
- Google Analytics – A lot of ecommerce sites use this analytics platform so it’s worth taking advantage of their resources too! If you haven’t yet set up an account on GA yet I’d recommend doing so as soon as possible because then we’ll start seeing reports about traffic sources coming straight from our site instead of going through Shopify first.”
Competitor analysis
- Competitor analysis is a key step in the product research process. Competitor analysis helps you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, so that you can improve your own product offering, or create a unique selling proposition (USP).
- It’s important to conduct competitor analysis early on in the process because it helps you find gaps in the market where there’s room for new products or services. You should look at competitors’ websites, reviews and other publications they’ve created; this will give you an idea of how they perceive themselves as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
Quality analysis
When you’re looking for products to sell, it’s important to do some quality analysis. This means checking the quality of the product, the brand, and customer service.
- Quality of the product: Look into how well-made it is. If you’re selling a product that needs assembly or has an unboxing process (like an appliance), make sure that there aren’t any broken parts or missing pieces. You should also check to see if there are any reviews from previous buyers who have used this product before. If there are lots of negative reviews about broken parts or missing pieces, then it might be a sign that this particular model isn’t well made enough for ecommerce sales yet especially since consumers will expect their purchases at home in perfect condition when they receive them via mail order rather than having seen them first hand at a retail store counter where employees may have helped them assemble machines themselves so as not leave customers feeling overwhelmed by doing everything on their own themselves–which could cause problems with return rates later down
Find a product that your target customers will relate to and buy from you
- Find a product that your target customers will relate to and buy from you.
- Find a product that will sell.
- Find a product that you can sell at a profit.
- Find a product that will be easy to manufacture.
- Find a product that is easy to ship (especially if you’re not going to be happy with the shipping cost for each order).
- See if there is enough demand for the product in your market, so it won’t take too long before all items are sold out after the launch of your store!
Conclusion
We hope you now have a better understanding of the product research process for your ecommerce store. The key takeaway is to make sure that you’re making the best decisions possible with all the information available from multiple sources. This will help ensure that when someone buys your product, they are getting something they love and will want more of!
