How to predict product success on an online store? A complete guide

Realistically, no one can predict product success.

Customer preferences and tastes are always changing. Think about a product like a Blackberry phone. More than a decade back, almost every person investing in a mobile device wanted a Blackberry.

The market changed. People changed. Blackberry went away and now remains a faint memory.

Trends in the mobile app space keep changing the way people buy stuff online. It is thus difficult to predict if a product will succeed when you add it to your online store.

The best you can do is predict if a product can do well now.

Even building an ecommerce app is easy now. You can use a mobile app builder to create an app and go live on Google Play and App Store. Selecting the right products for your app is a more tedious challenge.

Here is a complete guide on predicting the viability of your product to succeed on an online store.

#1 - Prepare a product pitch and a good landing page

The first step is creating a product pitch.

Make a short and simple pitch describing the new product you plan on adding to your online store. Approach this task as you would approach marketing any other product on your online store.

Clearly highlight the benefits of the product. Then replicate the same pitch in different formats for promotions on multiple platforms.

You should also develop attractive artwork that is appealing and engaging. This will make sure your pitch is wholesome and complete on every level.

Next, create a good landing page for the new product on your online store or app. There is a lot you can learn about designing a good landing page. The best thing you can do is use a good product image and ensure website & app speed is optimal.

The rest of the finer points should work out as time goes by.

#2 - Run a small sample campaign for the product

Once a pitch and a landing page is ready, it is time to set up a marketing campaign.

You don’t need to set up an elaborate campaign. Keep a minimal budget and the marketing pitch you set up in the previous step.

There are two main decisions you have to make here - the platforms you choose and the audience you target.

It is best to choose the platforms you generally use during a marketing campaign. This will help you compare if the new product can perform as well as other products in your store.

If you don’t have any regular outbound channel for marketing, it is best to go with a mainstream option like Facebook. Select your audience and create a good set of creatives to get your campaign. Remember to keep the budget small.

#3 - Calculate number of people reaching checkout

Use the website and app analytics tools you have to see how many people arrive on your product landing page and go to the checkout.

More people visiting your checkout page is a good sign and speaks to the sales you could make with the product. To reduce the risk, you can simply have a product listing without actually having the product.

In other words, simply inform users during checkout that the product has run out of stock.

This reduces the risk on your part to actually keep inventory for the new product. Secondly, you can check if the product will actually be a success without taking any financial risk besides a small marketing campaign.

Calculate the number of people who reach the checkout page and extrapolate it to find the possible revenue you can generate. Account for the cost of the product and the money spent on marketing to know your overall profit margin.

#4 - Evaluate your options

The final step is simply making the choice. Based on the number of people who reach your checkout page, you can make an educated guess about your profit margin. Remember to account for general cart abandonment rate to get a more accurate estimate.

Generally, you will not be testing one product alone. Ecommerce companies are constantly trying out new products to add to their stores. You will thus have to use the process discussed here again and again to test your products.

In conclusion

Creating an ecommerce website is very simple. Even making an app is easy thanks to tools like the AppMySite free online app maker.

One of the main challenges is finding products that will actually find success. This piece covers a four-step process you can use to predict the success of your shopping app.