Product Research: How To Discover Great Product Ideas in 2025

Launching a new product is exciting, but success depends on more than just having a great idea. Without proper research, you risk losing potential customers’ attention and trust before you even begin.

That’s why product research is so important. It helps you validate your product idea and confirm there’s real demand in your niche market. While it takes time and effort, this research is crucial for your business’s future success. 

This guide will show you how to conduct effective product research and find the best products to sell.

What is product research?

Product research helps you evaluate if your product idea can succeed in the market. This process involves gathering and analyzing data about customer demand, market trends, and competition to ensure your product meets your target audience’s needs.

Effective product research helps you:

• Find and solve customer pain points
• Validate market demand for your product.
• Spot gaps your competitors aren’t filling
• Get feedback to improve your product features and packaging
• Set prices that are competitive and profitable
• Stand out from similar products in your market
• Make sure your product continues meeting customer needs
• Use data to improve your product development and marketing

Regular product research keeps you ahead of market changes, helps you create products customers want, and builds a sustainable business.

How to do product research

Product research focuses on two main areas: market-based criteria and product-based criteria. Let’s look at the market factors first.

Market-based criteria

Market research helps you understand: 

• Your potential market size
• Who your competitors are
• Who your target customers are
• How easily customers can find your product locally
• Whether your product category is growing or stable

Market size: Market size shows how many potential customers exist for your product. While large markets offer bigger opportunities, smaller niche markets can be easier and more cost-effective to enter. 

Take Daneson, for example. Instead of competing in the broad health and hygiene market, it carved out a specific niche by selling luxury toothpicks. 

To estimate your market size, look at:

• Public data from city and state development offices
• Industry research reports
• Digital tools like Google Trends and Meta’s Ad Manager
• Customer surveys and focus groups

Competitive landscape: Understanding your competition helps you find opportunities in the market. You might be:

• First to market with a new product
• Entering a market with a few competitors
• Joining a crowded market

Being first means you’ll need strong market research to prove market demand. A crowded market shows proven demand but requires you to stand out from competitors.

Use tools like Google Search and Similarweb to find existing competitors. SEO tools like Ahrefs show you how many people search for products like yours each month.

“Doing keyword research with a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush helps get a realistic view of search demand,” says Shane Pollard, CTO at Be Media. “It also helps with opportunity mapping: If the difficulty is high, I can look for longer-tail results. The long-tail approach is best for entering new markets.”

Product category outlook:

• A fad: short-lived popularity that quickly fades. Think of Geiger counters, which saw huge demand after the 2011 Japan earthquake but quickly returned to low sales.
• A trend: Longer-lasting growth that may eventually slow. Gluten-free foods fit this pattern—they’ve grown steadily but may plateau as the market matures.
• Stable: Consistent demand over time with minimal ups and downs. Kitchen sinks are a classic example—they’re always needed but rarely see major market shifts.
• Growing: Steady, long-term growth driven by lasting market changes. Yoga products show this pattern, as yoga has evolved from a niche activity to a mainstream fitness choice.

Use Google Trends to spot whether interest in your product is growing steadily or shows sudden spikes that might indicate a passing fad.

Local product availability: Products that are hard to find locally often do better online. For example, Ellusionist sells specialty card decks for magicians that you won’t find in local stores.

To check local availability, search Google for “[your product] + [city name]” in major cities near you.

Target customer: While you won’t need detailed customer personas yet, consider whether your target customers can and will buy online. For example:

• Teens might lack credit cards for online purchases
• Older customers might prefer shopping in stores
• Some locations might have specific shopping habits

Pollard recommends using Google Analytics to learn about your audience:

• Demographics reports show age and gender
• Geolocation data reveals regional differences
• Top pages shows which products attract the most interest

Product-based criteria

When evaluating a product, look closely at factors like pricing, seasonality, and scalability. Here are the key factors to consider:

• Product markup
• Pricing strategy
• Size and weight
• Product durability
• Seasonality
• Product pain points
• Product turnover
• Product type
• Product perishability
• Product restrictions and regulations
• Product scalability

Product markup: Strong initial markup gives you room to handle unexpected costs. Let’s look at a real example using a pet pedometer that sells for $24.99 and costs $2 to purchase on Alibaba.

A 1,200% markup looks promising at first, but small fees can impact your margins:

• Packaging and processing costs
• Shipping fees
• Marketing and advertising expenses
• Platform fees
• Payment processing charges

After accounting for these costs, that 1,200% markup might shrink to less than 100%. While you can reduce some costs by handling fulfillment yourself or optimizing advertising, knowing these costs upfront helps you determine if a product is worth pursuing. 

Pricing strategy: Your product’s price point affects everything from profit margins to customer service needs:

• Low-priced products ($25 or less) need high sales volume and often mean more customer service.
• High-priced products ($150 or more) have longer sales cycles and more demanding customers.
• Sweet spot: $75 to $150 provides good margins while keeping sales cycles manageable.

Let’s compare two scenarios:

1. A $25 pet pedometer yields $12.95 profit (42% margin) after costs
2. A similar product at $100 yields $76.75 profit (73% margin) after costs

Because of the higher pricing, the second product maintains better margins—73% versus 42%—and the profit per unit increases dramatically, from $12.95 to $76.75.

Size and weight: Product size and weight significantly impact your bottom line. Many customers now expect free shipping, and simply including shipping costs in your prices isn’t always viable. These costs often cut into your margins, and if you pass shipping costs to customers, high fees can hurt your conversion rate.

If you’re not dropshipping, also consider: 

• Costs of shipping products from manufacturers
• Warehouse storage fees
• International shipping expenses

For example, a popular yoga mat company sells oversized workout mats for $99. However, shipping costs $40 to Canada and $100 internationally—making the total cost 40% to 100% higher for many customers.

Product durability: How durable is your product? Fragile items invite complications:

• Higher packaging costs
• Increased shipping expenses
• More returns and exchanges
• Need for special handling

Seasonality: Businesses with seasonal demand often face inconsistent cash flow. While some seasonality is acceptable, ideal products maintain relatively consistent sales year-round.

If you choose a seasonal product, consider strategies to overcome slow periods:

• Marketing to different countries during off-seasons
• Diversify your product line
• Plan inventory carefully

Use Google Trends to check seasonal patterns. For example, US searches for “picnic baskets” spike every summer and drop in colder months, but you could balance this by targeting southern hemisphere countries during the US winter.

Product pain points: Selling products that serve a passion or solve a problem gives you an advantage. These products often have lower marketing costs since customers actively seek solutions rather than needing to be convinced through heavy marketing.

Take Decem, for example. It sells low-ABV gins to people who love gin and tonic but want to reduce their alcohol consumption—addressing a specific customer need. 

Product turnover: Products that need frequent updates or refreshes carry extra risk. You might not sell through your inventory before it becomes outdated. Before choosing such products, carefully plan your turnover schedule.

Consider smartphone cases: while it’s a popular market, creating new designs requires significant upfront investment in design, prototyping, and minimum orders. The challenge is gaining enough sales momentum before the next phone model launches. Slow sales could leave you with obsolete inventory.

Stringberry manages this challenge by using a print-to-order model for its phone cases, updating their catalog when new phone models release.

Product type: Consumable or disposable products naturally encourage repeat purchases by having a limited lifespan. This gives customers a clear reason to return to your store.

Harry’s takes advantage of this model by selling items like razors, shaving cream, and deodorant—products customers need to replenish regularly.

Product perishability: Perishable products present unique challenges for online businesses. They often require:

• Rapid delivery with costly shipping
• Special storage conditions
• Careful inventory management
• Protection against spoilage

Even products with longer shelf lives need special consideration for inventory and shipping. For example, Augason Farms focuses on dried and freeze-dried foods to extend shelf life and simplify storage. 

Product restrictions and regulations: Regulatory restrictions can range from minor inconveniences to major obstacles. Before proceeding with your product idea, research potential restrictions on:

• Importing your goods
• Shipping to different countries
• Specific product categories (like chemicals, food, or cosmetics)

Contact relevant authorities like customs services, warehouse providers, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to understand requirements for your product type.

Product scalability: While launching your business might be your current focus, build scalability into your business model from the start. Consider:

• How you’ll handle manufacturing as you grow
• Whether you can maintain quality at higher volumes
• If you’ll need to increase staff proportionally with orders
• Availability of materials or components
• Options for outsourcing production

This is especially important for handmade products or those using rare materials—think through how you’ll maintain quality while meeting higher demand.

6 tips for effective product research

Whether you’re researching your first product or your fifth, use these strategies to find promising ideas:

1. Follow consumer trend publications
2. Find bestsellers on Amazon
3. Browse social curation sites
4. Evaluate B2B wholesale marketplaces
5. Observe niche forums
6. Ask your own customers

1. Follow consumer trend publications

Stay current with emerging products and industries through trend publications. These resources help you spot new product opportunities and stay competitive.

Try Trend Hunter, a free platform with more than 200,000 community members tracking trends in beauty, fashion, culture, luxury, and more. For example, if “vegan milk initiatives” are trending, you might focus your research on vegan dairy alternatives. Another trend platform to check out is PSFK, which offers premium reports on retail and customer experience trends.

Inkkas shows how trend research can lead to success—they spotted growing interest in Peruvian textiles and built a shoe business working with local artisans.

2. Find bestsellers on Amazon

Amazon’s massive marketplace offers countless product ideas. Start with its bestsellers list to find profitable products across categories. The list updates hourly based on sales, so you’ll never run out of product ideas for your business.

For deeper insights, consider tools like Jungle Scout, which lets you: 

• Search through 475 million Amazon products
• Filter by keyword or category
• Evaluate product ideas using their Chrome extension

When researching Amazon products, look at:

3. Browse social curation sites

Visual platforms can help gauge market demand through likes and trending images. Try:

4. Evaluate B2B wholesale marketplaces

Wholesale marketplaces connect you directly with manufacturers and their products. Key platforms include:

“The trick is looking at the various marketplaces to see what’s trending, then cross-referencing it with Alibaba to see if you can spin it in a unique way,” says Jeremy Sonne, Founder of Decibel. 

5. Observe niche forums

Industry and niche forums help you discover new products to sell and connect with potential customers over shared interests.

Some niches, like gaming, have particularly active online communities. Head to websites like GameFAQs or NeoGAF to see what gamers are discussing.

Reddit—the forum of all forums—has more than 3.4 million subreddits (communities) covering every topic imaginable, from tech to culture to environment.

Can’t find forums for your niche? Try Google: search for “[your niche] + forum” to discover relevant communities.

6. Ask your own customers

Your existing customers, whether five or 500, are one of your best sources for product ideas. Send them an email asking for feedback on potential new products.

Take Planted Detroit’s approach— they offer customers 20% off their next order for completing a survey in a recent post on X.

You use this feedback to guide your product development process, whether you’re reaching out personally or through your support team.

7 of the best product research tools

The right tools can provide vital insights into market trends, customer behavior, and competitor performance. Here are seven tools to help with your product research:

1. PureSpectrum

Best for: Data collection

PureSpectrum helps you gather insights about your target market through:

• Survey creation
• Customer and market segmentation
• Data visualization
• A/B testing
• Brand tracking

Use it to test new product ideas and track consumer sentiment to guide your product decisions.

2. Tableau

Best for: Data visualization

Tableau turns raw data into interactive visual dashboards. Its drag-and-drop interface helps you:

• Create custom reports without technical skills
• Analyze sales data and customer behavior 
• Visualize trends over time
• Spot patterns in your market

3. Byzzer 

Best for: Small business market insights

Byzzer makes NielsenIQ’s market data accessible to small businesses at an affordable cost. Use it to:

• Track category trends
• Understand competitive positioning
• Monitor sales performance
• identify growth opportunities

4. Niche Scraper

Best for: Product discovery

Essential for ecommerce and dropshipping businesses, Niche Scraper helps you:

• Find trending products
• Analyze popular items in your niche
• Spot market opportunities

5. SimilarWeb

Best for: Competitor analysis

SimilarWeb provides insights into competitor websites, showing you:

• Traffic sources
• Audience demographics
• Customer engagement
• Product performance

6. Radarly

Best for: Social listening

Use Radarly to monitor conversations across social media and forums to:

• Track brand mentions
• Analyze customer sentiment
• Discover emerging trends
• Adapt to real-time feedback

7. Think with Google

Best for: Consumer insights

This free resource includes several valuable tools:

• Google Trends for tracking search volume
• Insights Finder for discovering customer segments
• Market Finder for identifying global opportunities

Find your next best-selling product

Choosing the right product and niche is crucial to ecommerce business success. Use these tools along with the criteria we’ve discussed to find low-competition, high-demand products that can drive your business forward.