Tips for “Niche” Ecommerce
Ecommerce, as a phenomenon, has allowed many more people to become entrepreneurs than ever before. The reason is simply enough – all you require, in theory, is an internet connection to start reaching customers far and wide. As many people have taken this opportunity, the technology has developed to help support ecommerce too.
It is now easier than ever to purchase items and have them delivered with a few taps on a laptop or – as is now actually more common in some ecommerce areas – a smartphone, Shopping really has always been about convenience, and consumers have always gravitated towards whatever commercial innovation offers most of it – ecommerce has been the biggest step forward yet where that is concerned.
But the advantages of shopping online are all fairly common. What isn’t talked about so much are the disadvantages. Taking the perspective of the ecommerce companies, the great democratization of retail that has occurred has led to a level of market reach unheard of before. But this also makes it hard to stand out.
A good way to stand out is to find a niche. This is old business advice but it’s old advice that has perhaps become more important than ever. Think about it this way: if you’re competing for the custom of a massive potential customer base, the only way to whittle down that mass to the people who would purchase from you is to offer something that those exact people would want and can’t find elsewhere. That is a niche.
Market Niche Defined
When we talk about a niche in ecommerce though, we could be referring to two different, though related, things. We could be talking about selling so-called niche products; products with only a limited (though dedicated) number of potential customers. Products can be niche for all sorts of reasons but to offer what isn’t widely offered (because it isn’t widely popular) is a good way to build a solid customer base.
When we talk about a market niche, we could also be talking about the customers themselves; do they form an identifiable group with similar interests, including the types of products you sell? If the answer is yes, then those customers make up your niche market.
To take an example, Plurawl are a clothing line out of New York that produces culture-themed Hispanic clothing. The market niche is the Latinx community, and the clothing themselves are therefore niche products. Such a company stands out online because it is aimed specifically at a niche market.
Of course, reaching that niche is another matter, and this requires expert marketing, the kind which appeals to the interests of the niche group and actually reaches the internet users who are part of it.
Niche Ideas
Perhaps the only thing left to do in our introduction to market niches is to give a few examples. If you’re at the outset of your ecommerce enterprise, they might also give you ideas about what to sell.
Organic Skincare Products
Especially if you include a private label associated with your brand, this is a great niche idea. Organic skincare is a rising trend in ecommerce but getting in on it right now is exploiting what is still a niche. Finding the niches that are set to explode in popularity is a winning business strategy.
Handmade Treats for Pets
What’s great about anything handmade is that it is likely to be a niche. This is simply because mass-produced handmade objects are an oxymoronic impossibility! And pet treats are another growing market to get exploit now.
There really is no greater challenge in ecommerce than standing out. Niches can help with that.
