The eCommerce industry may have proven to be resilient even in less prosperous times but 2023 could be a challenge for all businesses with rising global inflation and a cloudy consumer sentiment. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities, however. Don’t give up on your rice bowl yet, as cheaper products tend to perform better in a recession. Think of products that you can easily source, store, and market to your community as things that add comfort to their home life.
Here are top 10 recession-proof items that you can sell on eCommerce:
1. Dried, canned, or frozen food
Food is a basic need and nutrition source. Opportunity lies in our Southeast Asian cuisine filled with endless herbs and spices. Think of traditional Chinese dried herbs in sets for specific soups or desserts, Thai green curry powder, Indonesian rendang paste, and meat seasonings such as Filipino Chicken Adobo in handy packets.
Dried seafood is also an excellent option with ikan bilis (dried anchovies) showing an uptrend.
Be inspired by The Fisherman, a family business with a legacy of three generations led by two young sisters aged just 23 and 19 respectively that has found great success in Lazada selling ikan bilis, dried prawns, and other dried seafood.
2. Fashionable clothing, bags, and shoes
Do you have an eye for fashion and love observing and hunting for the latest trends? Then fashion can be your trade. Even in an economic downturn, people replace their essentials often and the cheaper it may be, the easier it is for them.
Be inspired by super seller Kahasil Lazada Indonesia with a stunning number of over 80,000 followers and 96% positive seller ratings. Kahasil focuses on affordable and desirable bags and wallets in an array of designs.
Some modern fashion trends among students and adults alike are skirts, wrap dresses or tops, square neck dresses or blouses, straight-leg jeans, flowery summer dresses, white sneakers, and cropped tops.
3. Maternity and Baby
If you are in your twenties or thirties, your social media pages have probably been filled with pictures of engagements, small weddings, and firstborn babies.
Maternity clothing is a must for first-time mums and come the baby stage, the range of items with a long shelf life that you can sell is vast.
Here are some:
- Hands-free breastfeeding pumps and lactation cookies.
- Baby equipment. You can offer a staircase baby gate fixing service or sell strollers worth around US $75 each. Double strollers for siblings can be sold on a pre-order basis.
- Baby food such as milk powder, rice crackers, and bottled food.
- Baby clothing for different sizes and ages.
4. Pet supplies
No matter what happens in the economic situation, pets need care. Many who bought a pet during the lockdown genuinely love and take responsibility over them.
- Pet Living: luxurious pet beds, drinking fountains, harnesses, food bowls, and toys.
- Pet Nutrition: Kibbles, treats, dehydrated meat, dental health chewables, and pet probiotics.
5. Automotive Accessories
Economic downturns mean that it is less attractive to buy a new car. It becomes more attractive to maintain and upkeep existing cars. Check out Broz Car for inspiration on how to do this.
6. Kitchen Appliances and Home Tools
Cleaning, cooking, marinating meat, and having a plethora of utensils – every home needs these for decent living. Think of attractive-looking home equipment such as shiny knife sets.
Some popular kitchen utensils that fall within the affordable and useful luxury category are:
- Non-stick pots and pans. People favor less oily styles of cooking. Le Creuset is definitely on the wishlist of many mums! You can even resell this brand like this seller.
- Air fryers are amazing to get crisp nuggets and fries without the excess calories from deep-frying. Russell Taylors‘ air fryers work excellently and are on par with elite brands.
Quick Tip: Big utensils not your cup of tea? Try selling much-needed small plumbing parts such as universal shower hose rubbers and nifty bottles of solutions that unclog drains or repel mosquitoes.
7. Health and Wellness
Supplements and vitamins are a household staple thanks to the growing awareness of building one’s immunity. This is an amazing opportunity as many love buying just everything on eCommerce platforms rather than making an additional trip to the pharmacy.
Quick Tip: Buy highly popular supplements in bulk and sell them at a slightly lower rate than your local pharmacies
8. Healthy Snacks
Healthy snacks such as whey or plant-based protein powder, meal replacement shakes, dark chocolate, seaweed, nuts, dried fruits, and sugar-free vegan milks are fantastic selling opportunities.
Canned goods, rice, and other staples can supplement your healthy snacks to access a wider customer base. Crackers that are sugar-free or made of wholemeal grains such as quinoa are ideal too as they are not commonly sold in local supermarkets.
9. Home Spa
Shoppers tend to replace expensive traveling or luxury goods with affordable comforts such as scented candles, bath bombs, and massage oils. Learn from sellers like Pristine.
10. Home Gym
Gym memberships can become a burden if cash flow in the house is short. As with the pandemic, many workout enthusiasts turned to home gym set ups instead and that presents an opportunity as a seller.
Some potential items for sale include: Punching bags, weight benches, yoga blocks, resistance bands, and workout clothes. Recurring sales are even possible with the right relationship and trust building with your customer base.
The ideas might not come all at once but it’s best to be patient and endure trials and errors in identifying trending products – just like engineer turned entrepreneur Satish of Russell Taylors who grew his following to over 90,000 on Lazada!
Gain free eCommerce lessons from Lazada University today to take the first step in securing your finances in the midst of job uncertainty.
