Amazon FBA Product Research: What It Is & Why It's Important
Amazon FBA product research is essential to any FBA business. Doing great product research helps businesses understand the best products to sell on Amazon FBA and helps predict which trends are worth focusing on in the future. It’s a process of analyzing market trends and choosing items that will sell best. However, selling on Amazon is more complex than simply offering desirable products since with high demand comes increased competition.
A saturated market may be challenging to succeed in, especially as a new Amazon FBA seller competing against more established brands. Taking time to perform product research will provide you with data points to make informed decisions rather than chasing market trends without clear direction.
To start conducting Amazon FBA product research and making the most of it, here are a few tips to follow.
Use a Product Tracker Tool
Are you wondering how to find products to sell on Amazon? An Amazon product research tool or product tracker tool can help you source products in high demand. There are several to choose from, such as Jungle Scout and SellerApp. Each tool provides different types of data and capabilities, and nearly all allow you to filter best-selling products. A product tracker tool also shows you historical sales volumes, so you can see how sales fluctuate from season to season.
Some e-commerce businesses choose products that are in demand year-round, while others rely on a certain season (think: summer, Christmastime) to rake in the majority of their sales. These tools also allow you to track your products against your competitor’s to refresh your inventory and pricing accordingly.
Review Your Sales Data
As an Amazon FBA business, it’s important to review your inventory, and monthly sales volume reports regularly to see which items sell best and which may need to be discontinued. Also, keeping stale inventory can be costly.
Amazon provides several reports to help Amazon sellers optimize their product listings and maximize sales. A few key reports to review include:
- Daily Inventory. A snapshot of your inventory, including quantity and location. This report can be received daily or monthly.
- Recommended Removal. This report shows you which inventory is at risk for being charged long-term storage fees. It provides a picture of which products may no longer be selling well and should be removed from your listings.
- Amazon Fulfilled Shipments. An overview of completed customer orders with product-level details to show you which items are selling best.
These are a few of the many reports Amazon provides that can help guide your product research. Generally speaking, it’s also recommended to source items with low seasonality or low competition that are lightweight and small. These are more likely to bring in more sales due to year-round availability and lower shipping costs.
Generate New Product Ideas
Amazon displays all of its best-selling items by product category on its Best Sellers page and updates them on an hourly basis. When starting your list of potential products to sell (or discontinue), look at which items make it into the top 10 or top 20 list of products on a regular basis. Using the Amazon Best Sellers page can also help you narrow down your offerings to a specific niche that’s less competitive.
Perform Keyword Research
In addition to using product tracking tools and reviewing Amazon’s best-selling products, perform keyword research through Google and Amazon. The higher the search volume, the more in-demand a product typically is. Keyword research is also helpful when updating product descriptions to match the searches people are looking for most.
You should also note any ‘fad risk’ associated with product sales. For example, in December 2016, there was a surge in sales for fidget spinners just in time for the Christmas season. This trend only lasted a short six months before fading away. While tracking trends is helpful, the best bet is to diversify your product offerings to include items the majority of people will need and use every day.
Avoid Certain Product Categories
Lastly, when performing Amazon FBA product research, it’s important to know which product categories to avoid. Amazon provides information about FBA product eligibility, requirements, and restrictions. Prohibited products include alcoholic beverages, vehicle tires, gift cards, and products with unauthorized marketing materials. Additionally, Amazon FBA will not accept loose packaged batteries or damaged and defective units. These are a few examples of an extensive list of products to avoid selling.
Establishing a successful Amazon FBA business requires an ongoing analysis of shifts in market demand and to ensure your customers are consistently receiving high quality products. Amazon FBA product research provides the data necessary to make informed decisions and limit your chances of making costly mistakes.
Grow Your Amazon FBA Business
At some point, you may want to sell your business and pursue a new venture or cash out your profits. At Forum Brands, we look for Amazon FBA sellers who have grown strong brands selling everyday products in categories that will be in demand for years to come. Our criteria also include a majority of sales conducted through Amazon FBA with a proven track record of financial success, with at least $200K in net profit in the past year.
Once you’ve reached a point where you’re in a position to sell, we are here to offer passionate sellers a chance to cash out years of profits in one day based on the e-commerce valuation of the brand. As Amazon experts ourselves, we understand the hard work and dedication required to build a business and want to provide a payout that’s fast, efficient, and worthy of your success.
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