Are you thinking of setting up a new online store, but not sure what product to put on? When opening a new online store, most owners are concerned about the number of sales. In fact, products that sell well in store do not always apply to online stores. Products that are easily sold online are actually different from those you sell in physical stores. Having 20000 retail customers as our members, Etoile Kaito has supported many retailers to build their stores from physical to digital. In this article, we will be explaining products that are suitable for online selling and the measure of ordering inventory based on our profound experiences. Hope you will find it useful if you are considering purchase inventory for your online stores. Common factors of best-selling online products Products that are easily sold online have the following three factors in common. Its features are easy to transmit to customers. It is easy to imagine using the product. The product is in stocks Let’s look into each point and see how it could be implemented. 1. Its features are easy to transmit to customers It is essential to convey the features of the products in a simple way when selling product online. Yet, this only applies on visual features. Since online stores only have photos and descriptions to depict the products, information such as the products’ texture and flavours are difficult to transmit to customers. Take cashmere sweater for example. Cashmere sweater is known for a pleasantly soft texture. Customers can feel its softness by touching the sweater if they are at physical stores. However, when it comes to online shopping, it will be tough to describe that texture solely through photos and words. That is, even if the products are popular at the physical stores because of its pleasant texture, it might be hard to sell them online because the customers could not understand its pleasant texture through webstore’s descriptions. If the products have visible features, the excellence of the products can be properly told on online stores. When selecting the products for online store, it is important to keep in mind to choose products with features that are describable through photos. As for the way of showing features that are not visible, we will be discussing it on how to properly describe them later. 2. It is easy to imagine using the product. The second point is whether the customers can imagine themselves using the products or not. At the physical stores, customers can hold the products in their hands, and find the attractiveness of the products. However, on online stores, customers are already looking for “something”. If the customers cannot imagine how they can utilise the products, it will discourage the customers from purchasing. Imagining that you are selling a pottery piggy bank online. If the coin slot is not shown on the product photos, the customers might think it is just a pig ornament. In this case, the product will not be able to reach to those looking for a coin bank, while those looking for an ornament will find the coin slot unnecessary. Selling products online needs product names and information, without a doubt; but the most important factor is the photo, which usually catches people’s attention first. Make sure to provide clear product photos that tell the product is a piggy bank for people who are looking for piggy banks. 3. The product is in stocks The last point is that products selling online must always be in stocks. Yes, this sounds like nothing to emphasize on because obviously products out of stock cannot be sold. Nevertheless, if the customers are at the physical stores, it is still possible to recommend similar products, or backorder for them. The buying and selling here happens because the customers ask for the stocks. On the other hand, most customers who found the products out of stocks online, are more likely to leave the store instantly. Especially because they cannot obtain the answer immediately, most people would choose to not to ask for the availability of the products. Online stores work 24/7, so the products could be sold at any time. Therefore, without a certain amount of stocking, it is also difficult to define best-selling products. If online stores do not always have stocks for products, the customers will no longer stay, leading to lost sale. Presenting the products Adding up to the common three points of best-selling products discussed previously, the way of presenting products that helps sales is the next thing to consider. 1. Telling its specialty When selling products online, even if their specialties are difficult to show, it is vital to describe them in a simple and understandable statement. For example, if you’re selling clothing, in order to tell what the texture looks like, it is recommended to upload some close-up photos of the fabric. You can either try to strengthen the fabric to show its texture or use the wrinkles to describe the fabric’s lustre and softness. If the product is stretchy, explaining it by stretching the product could also be a good idea. When the product looks better on a model, make sure to provide photos with the model wearing the product. This can help showing the contour of the product, which is difficult to tell only with photos of the product itself. 2. Showing the functions of the products through living scenes When describing products’ functions, the most important thing is to let the customers understand the size of the products easily. Products such as bags and zakka are hard to tell its size only through the product photos. Take bags for instance, by posting photos with A4 size clear file folders inside the bags, the customers can easily relate the bags being used at business occasions. Other props such as bottled beverages and smartphones can also act the roles for size comparison. In addition, putting different products together to create the combination, and presenting them in a living scene is effective. Showing the products, such as tableware and zakka in the same product line, in a living scene, helps the customers to understand how these products can be utilised in their lives. It is the same for clothing. Posting photos with examples of outfit allows the customers to imagine themselves wearing those clothes. The customers can also think about the outfit combinations with what they possessed already. It is similar to the samples placing at physical stores. The purpose of presenting products in living scenes is to show the customers how to use the products, and what it will look like when using the products. As a result, preparing some props for the product photos are important. Etoile Kaito sells wrapping supplies and artificial flowers as well, so you can find the props for the photos here when visiting. 3. Preparing enough stocks The best-selling size and colour are usually unbalanced for product that have SKU. Due to the limited space at the physical stores, you might only be able to display M and L size. However, on the Internet, S, XL size are surprisingly selling well. That is because the customers search for the available sizes and purchase them at the online stores that have stocks. Even the basic-coloured items sell well at physical stores, products come in accent colours should be included at online stores as well. This helps the products stand out from another, making the display page more photogenic and appealing. Only posting items in same colour palette sometimes leads to no differentiation between products. Therefore, it is necessary to consider selling products in size and colours that are unavailable at your physical stores when operating online store business. Finding the inventory Channels of inventory order include Visiting wholesale stores Ordering through online wholesale websites Attending manufacturers’ exhibitions Having online stores does not mean you can sell your product as soon as you order the inventory. The first thing is to make an online product page. As a result, rather than attending manufacturers’ exhibitions to place order, visiting wholesale stores or using online wholesale website is more practical since you can order the inventory in a smaller amount. Next, we will discuss the points to note when purchasing at physical wholesale stores and online wholesale websites. 1. Visiting wholesale stores Visiting the wholesale stores allows you to understand the features of products better since you can touch and feel it in person. The next step is to think how to transmit these features to customers through photos and product descriptions. It is important to let the customers know the features of the products through photos when selling them online. In addition to photos, features that are difficult to show through images must be depicted in understandable sentences. Thinking how to present the products online while picking up the products will help you create product pages without confusing. One of the advantages of visiting physical stores is that there are staffs with professional knowledges, and you can always ask them about the features of the products. Finally, depending on the types of products, sometimes it is better to add some warning notes so that the customers will not be confused. 2. Ordering through online wholesale websites Online wholesales websites provide many examples of online product presentations. You can check photogenic products that are suitable for online stores and see how others present the products for your online stores design reference. As browsing through online stores, you will eventually find the products that surely sell well online. More importantly, it is convenient to add ordering through online websites. Etoile Kaito’s online store ETONET provides real-time stocks information, making the customers easier to consider the way of selling while purchasing products. Products with abundant stocks should be placed on a relatively visible location online to urge their sales. This is the advantage of online stores; unlike physical stores, moving and changing product displays only takes a few simple steps when it comes to online stores. Finally, while ordering, always keep in mind on how you will present the products online. If you are interested in ordering through our online wholesales store ETONET, you can register through here. 3. Browsing online, then checking at stores Etoile Kaito has both physical wholesales stores and an online wholesales website. Customers can browse the products online first, then check the product in person at our physical stores. In this way, online product presenting methods become more precisive because the products’ features and things to note are likely to be further explained. Feel free to ask any question about the products. Our professional staffs will answer your concerns. Additionally, our online store can keep your inventory for at most seven days before sending out to you. When ordering inventory, you only need to purchase one for photo shooting, and the rest of the stocks can be waited until you start to sell them online. As a result, your storage place will not be taken up by products have not been posted online. There are products sell better online There are products sell better online. Thus, posting every product at your physical stores on online stores is not practical. Following with the best-selling online products’ factors mentioned in the beginning of the article, and you are sure to find products fit your online stores the best. Finally, products that are planning to put on online stores should be distinguished from those at the physical stores. It is probably better to order products for online stores and physical stores separately. Consulting service of setting up online stores Etoile Kaito provides consulting service of opening online stores for retail customer members who own a physical store. You can register as a member through various ways including online, mail, FAX or visit our office in person. Please check here for member registration information.