In today’s fast-paced, globalized ecommerce market, it’s never been more important for retailers to stay on top of product trends. This allows them to provide customers with items that they’ve seen among their peers and on social media, and to stay ahead of their competitors by being the first to bring these products to the shelf.
For retailers, this helps ensure that they remain competitive and can sustain business growth in an increasingly dynamic market landscape. A great way to do this is by identifying and incorporating trending products into inventories, capitalizing on these items to attract and retain customers, and regularly updating offerings to minimize stagnation and enhance brand perception.
In this article, we’ll discuss how retailers can utilize the tools available to them on Alibaba.com to do exactly that, helping you to avoid being shut out on what’s hot.
Table of Contents
Utilizing Alibaba.com’s product research tools
Analyzing product categories and filters
Monitoring industry trends and social media
Summary
Utilizing Alibaba.com’s product research tools
Upon first glance, Alibaba.com looks like most other ecommerce sites, but beyond the simple appearance, it has a host of useful tools that new users may not fully appreciate straight away. To really get the most out of Alibaba.com and discover trending products, you must first delve into its built-in product research tools.
An easy place to start is simply to check what others are searching via the “Frequently searched” selections underneath the search bar:
Even if these products don’t necessarily relate directly to your industry, they can provide inspiration for items you may want to explore. You could also use keyword filtering and image search to find what you are interested in quickly.
The next place to look is under the “Featured selections” tab. Simply hover over the text at the top of Alibaba.com to be presented with a drop-down menu, featuring “Top ranking,” “New arrivals,” and “Savings spotlight” sections.
These first two may be of particular use, collating products that other users are either sourcing or the most recent arrivals from suppliers. The beauty of digging deeper into these sections and exploring products is that Alibaba.com’s algorithm will slowly understand what type of products you’re looking for and begin to curate your browsing experience for you. This is one of the quickest ways to ensure that you’ll be presented with new and popular products in your field of interest every time you return to the site.
Another valuable tool is “Supplier showcases,” where top-performing suppliers showcase their trending products. By finding suitable suppliers and then reviewing their profiles, you can gain valuable information about the latest market trends and identify products with high demand.
Finally, our designated “Tips – Live” channel collates products introduced by suppliers themselves, helping you to better understand and explore the latest trends via videos and livestreams. Through livestreams, you could talk with the suppliers in real-time and view products up close. Simply click on the product, and watch away!
Analyzing product categories and filters
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to browse trending products quickly, it’s time to delve into Alibaba.com’s extensive product categories and apply relevant filters to narrow down your search. To do this, you’ll want to pay particular attention to products that are tagged with view counts as these often indicate items with a rising demand.
You can also utilize a huge range of filters (found on the left side of search results) such as “supplier features,” “store reviews,” “minimum order quantity,” and “price” to identify suppliers and products with positive buyer feedback and other suitable attributes.
It’s also worth considering exploring niche categories or emerging markets to discover unique and trending items, as consumers are naturally drawn to cutting-edge or in-vogue products. Alibaba.com’s “New products” section can therefore serve as a goldmine for innovative products entering the market, helping you to streamline your search and focus on products with the most potential for success.
Monitoring industry trends and social media
Last but not least, any retailer worth their salt must stay informed about industry trends and consumer preferences by monitoring social media platforms, industry publications, and online forums. Social listening tools such as Google Alerts can also help identify discussions around popular products and emerging gaps in the market.
No matter where you stand on social media, there is no question that it is one of the most powerful marketing devices available today. By keeping an eye on influencers and key opinion leaders within your industry, you can quickly gain valuable insights into trending products as well as pointers on how you might want to package them for your specific demographic.
The products available on Alibaba.com often reflect broader market trends. Therefore, by aligning your product search with what’s hot on social media and in industry discussions, you can discover products with the potential to become best-sellers. This dual approach of utilizing both Alibaba.com’s platform tools and external industry insights will put you on the right track to creating a comprehensive and informed trending product sourcing strategy.
Summary
In today’s highly competitive and lightning-fast ecommerce world, it’s never been more important to stay ahead of trends. Doing so is crucial in order to swiftly adapt to evolving consumer preferences, attract new customers, and maintain brand relevance. In addition, adapting to new trends ensures that you update your inventory to remain fresh and appealing, preventing overstocking and aligning your business with the dynamic demands of the market.
By using the host of tools provided by Alibaba.com and coupling them with clever monitoring of social media, there’s no reason why you should ever miss a trend again.
For more guides on how to get the most out of Alibaba.com or trends currently taking markets around the world by storm, head to Alibaba.com Reads.
