Which categories will make money on Amazon in 2023? These tracks are promising!

The eighth day of the first lunar month is a good start to business! I believe many sellers have already started their overseas journey in the new year.

In the past year, due to the repeated outbreaks of the epidemic and the economic downturn, cross-border people have not had a good life. In the new year, as domestic epidemic prevention is relaxed, some sellers predict that the outlook will definitely be better than in 2022. Some people even compare 2023 to a year of spring breeze and new life.

So, what is the new trend in the cross-border e-commerce industry this year? What products will be popular on the Amazon platform? This should be the most discussed issue among sellers since the beginning of the year.

Amazon in 2023

Which categories will be popular?

Anyone who has worked on Amazon knows a famous saying in the industry: 70% product selection and 30% operation. Especially at a time when platform policies are becoming increasingly stringent, product selection is becoming more and more important if you want to create a hit product.

At the beginning of the new year, many sellers have begun to plan their product lines. What new opportunities will Amazon have in 2023? What kind of products will be popular? Recently, a seller initiated a topic discussion on the forum. Let's take a look at how everyone views this issue.

Some sellers use the changes in the epidemic as an entry point and believe that there are two major consumer categories with good market prospects: 1. The big health industry will continue to heat up, and consumers will pay more attention to personal health, personal care, and environmental health; 2. After the global epidemic is completely lifted, population mobility will accelerate, which will drive the outdoor, tourism and other industries.

Based on this, the seller believes that the following categories will be popular on the Amazon platform this year:

1. Personal care and home products: eye, ear, mouth, nose and tongue care products 2. Medical equipment and instruments: respiratory products, health monitoring products 3. Outdoor sports products 4. Home electronic products

However, the above view soon attracted doubts from peers. "The epidemic situation abroad has long been relaxed, and the foreign health market has passed the window period; the same is true for the outdoor and tourism markets; and the home electronics market will be more or less affected by the foreign economic environment." A seller retorted.

At present, inflation is serious in Europe and the United States. Some sellers believe that this is also a breakthrough. They can choose some categories with high average prices , filter out the core needs of products, and make low-priced products with stable quality to enter the market , which has better market prospects. In addition, if sellers want to develop new categories, the recommended direction is to choose products with rigid demand and easy differentiation , so as to avoid price wars.

How to avoid failure when chasing the trend?

In the eyes of some industry veterans, there is no longer a saying of "which category sells better" on Amazon today, as all categories are approaching saturation. Amazon sellers' product selection must also be based on industry resources and financial strength . If they blindly follow the trend, the probability of failure is relatively high in the current industry environment.

Some sellers may question this, saying that they have sensed the trend and are not making money? They are just watching others’ orders explode. After all, one more product means one more opportunity.

Looking at the Amazon industry, if sellers want to chase the trend, there is a big premise: the trend appears in the category you have been deeply involved in and has a relative advantage. In this way, you can more easily grasp the trend and control the risk of new development within your control. At the same time, you also need to look at the market. If the feedback data is not good, you also need to be cautious. As the saying goes, it is better to do something old than to do something new, with less risk and a higher probability of success.

Of course, node products are also a consideration, but market insights must be made and plans must be made in advance.

Three new species going overseas are favored by experts

As the global economy has yet to recover, small and medium-sized sellers should not blindly expand new product categories this year. Before expanding into new markets, it is still very necessary to learn from the experience of industry giants and understand the overseas sub-sectors that the investment circle is paying attention to.

Not long ago, the domestic self-media "Shenran" discussed with several investors in the technology and consumer fields about the "long wind outlet" of this year's overseas track. Their core logic is "overflow of advantages", and they are optimistic about the replication of China's advantageous categories, tools, and models overseas. For the cross-border e-commerce industry in 2023, based on the views of investors, three new species of overseas expansion are summarized:

1. Smart home appliances and consumer robots

In fact, the overseas home appliance market has shown a trend of intelligence since 2021. "Since the second half of 2022, the outbreak of new consumer-grade robots and pet care markets (including automatic cat litter boxes, pet groomers , etc.) has verified this. This popularity will continue until 2023," an investor judged.

Under this trend, consumer robots are a more popular category. Judging from the investment and financing events in 2022, robots have extended from the floor to more diverse scenarios, such as mowing, pool cleaning, and home patrols .

2. Consumer-grade energy storage

Looking at the cross-border e-commerce market in 2022, consumer energy storage products are one of the hottest-selling products. EcoFlow, a well-known Chinese brand, launched a $399 energy storage product on August 30, 2022, with monthly sales reaching 1,298 units.

A consumer energy storage product from EcoFlow - screenshot of the Amazon website

It is reported that China is the world's largest producer of portable energy storage equipment, accounting for more than 90% of production and shipments. With the support of a strong domestic supply chain, this niche overseas market has produced well-known overseas brands such as Jackery, EcoFlow, and BLUETTI. Even the well-known listed and popular Anker Innovations has begun to enter the outdoor energy storage market, launching the first outdoor power supply product with a power of more than 500Wh last year - Anker 757.

3. E-bike

E-bike is an electric-assisted bicycle (not the "two-wheeled electric vehicle" that can be seen everywhere in China). In the post-epidemic era, the "short-distance + outdoor" life scenes of foreign consumers have soared, and the popularity of the E-bike market has risen. In the eyes of investors, E-bike has become a new outlet for Chinese sellers to go overseas. Recently, TENWAYS, a leading brand in the E-bike segment, completed a RMB 300 million Series A financing.

Customs data show that from January to November 2022, China's electric bicycle exports amounted to 33.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%. In the eyes of industry veterans, E-bike still has a lot of room for growth. It is reported that the penetration rate of E-bike in the United States in 2021 reached 4%, while in Europe it was 20%.

For small and medium-sized sellers, many products in the three major segments mentioned above have high customer unit prices and certain technical barriers, so it is not easy to enter these markets. However, small sellers also have their own ways of playing, such as modifying and optimizing existing products and making private models. Many sellers have made good profits and lived a comfortable life on this road.

The new cross-border trends in 2023 will definitely not stop here. As living environment and economic situation change, consumer demand is also changing, and new trends will emerge.

For sellers, to pursue new trends, they must base themselves on existing resources or categories with relatively certain advantages, and cultivate them in depth and intensively , so that they can "take off."