Although much of the media focus has been on what buyers are purchasing during lockdown, online sellers have also been spending more. Our analysis of eBay.com reveals 5 product categories that have grown significantly since March 2020, pointing to the sellers ramping their sales and the increase of people trying to get a start with selling online.
1 Mailers
Figure 1. #1 Best Match ranked listing in Mailers
Sales of Mailers have increased a massive 107% from March to April. With over 150,000 listings for sellers to choose from, their attention has been drawn towards patterned mailers, perhaps to bring further joy to those in lockdown. Currently ranked #1 in Best Match, the patterned mailers are priced at $9.95 and have sold 17,923 units to date (Figure 1).
The other popular mailer is the plain white eBay-branded airjacket in 6.5” x 9.25”. Although it is not #1 in Best Match, it is the live listing that is currently achieving the highest average weekly sales. Priced from $27.42, in packs of 100, 200 or 400, the eBay-branded mailer has sold over 56,000 units to date, and is selling on average 1,073 units per week, achieving over $29,000 per week.
Figure 2. Distribution of Mailer listings (green bars) and Mailer sales (line chart) by price range.
The difference in price offerings of the two popular listings is interesting; the #1 best-matched ranked listing is priced low, yet the best-selling listing is priced almost 3 times higher.
Looking at the distribution of listings and unit sales across price ranges* (Figure 2), we see that the price range with the highest sales is $20 - $30. It also has less competition than the lower-priced items. This is the price range in which the best-selling listing sits.
2 Lighting Kits
Lighting kits grew 51% from March to April, as perhaps part-time and hobby sellers became more reliant on eBay for income, and business sellers ramped up.
Figure 3. #1 Best Match listing for Lighting Kits
The Lighting Kits category is not overly large, with just over 10,000 listings. The #1 Best Match ranked listing is for a studio set (Figure 3). It is running a volume discount promotion, making their item range in price from $52.15 to $54.89. The listing has sold 1,588 units to date.
The listing that has the highest sales velocity is a 10” LED ring light with a phone holder. Priced from $32.99 it is has sold 29 units in the last 24 hours.
Figure 4. Distribution of Lighting Kit listings (green bars) and sales (line chart) by price range.
Looking at the distribution of listings and sales across price ranges* (Figure 4), we see that the listing with the highest sales velocity sits within the price range that has both the highest competition and sales, and that the #1 Best Match listing sits within the price range that has the second highest level of competition and sales. Both are selling in the price ranges that buyers are purchasing in.
3 Shipping Scales
Sales of shipping scales increased 76% from March to April. With 11,845 listings in the Shipping & Postal Scales category, an Accuteck 440lb scale is currently ranked 1 in eBay’s Best Match (Figure 5). Priced at $44.59, it has sold 12,458 units.
The current listing with the highest sales velocity is also an Accuteck scale (Figure 6), selling over 120 units per week at a lower price of $21.99. It has sold almost 25,000 in total.
Figure 5: Shipping Scales listing with highest sales velocity
Figure 6. #1 Best Match in Shipping Scales category
Figure 7: Brand share for Shipping Scales
With listings for Accuteck products leading both Best Match rank and average weekly sales, it is no surprise that they also lead in brand share** at 12%. They are followed by Weighology, Weighmax and Saga. This category is not completely dominated by brands though, as almost half of listing share is unbranded (Figure 7).
Figure 8. Distribution of listings (green bars) and sales (line graph) across price ranges.
Looking at the distribution of listings and sales by price range, we see that the $20 - $40 range is the most popular for listings and sales (Figure 8). This is also the price range that the listing with the highest sales velocity fits into. However, the listing with the #1 best match ranking is in the higher price range of $40-$60, which currently has less competition and sales. We can see that although there are listings for scales at much higher prices, they rarely sell.
4 Shelving & Storage
Figure 9. #1 Best Match and highest sales velocity in Shelving & Storage
There are over 48,000 listings in the Shelving and Storage category. This category has experienced recent growth, with storage racks increasing 68% from March to April.
The listing with the highest weekly sales is also the #1 in Best Match. The listing is for adjustable metal shelving priced from $67.99, with an average price of $125.99 (Figure 9). At the time of writing, 6 had been sold in the last 24 hours, with 2,474 being sold to date.
Figure 10. Distribution of listings and sales for Shelving & Racks
After removing the lower priced storage bins and accessories from the data, we see that storage racks and shelving extends into much higher price points, although the bulk of purchases are for items priced below $150 (Figure 10). Competition within the $150 to $200 range is especially fierce for the sales achieved.
5 Research & Insights
Here at ShelfTrend, we have also seen demand for our tool grow. Our customer acquisition rate has increased by double digits from March to April.
Sellers are using ShelfTrend to find categories that are thriving under these new conditions, and to quickly identify the product types and features that are attracting the most sales. Many are also using ShelfTrend to benchmark against their competitors and to track their best match performance, so that they can make the changes necessary to capture sales.
Take-Aways
With buyers shifting more of their purchases to online, categories related to selling are also thriving.
Mailers, Lighting kits, Shipping Scales, Shelving, and Research have all experienced sales growth.
Sellers are looking to bring a little more joy to their customers during these difficult times, creating opportunities in packaging.
There is opportunity in higher priced mailers where sales are strong but competition is relatively low.
The simple LED ring and the more advanced studio sets are both popular, with fairly similar levels of competition to sales.
Shipping Scales is a brand-oriented category, with Accuteck leading.
There are many listings for shelving over $150, but not many buyers. Under $150 is where it’s at.
Sellers are turning to ShelfTrend to identify the categories and products that are thriving.
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*Based on the 1000 top best-match ranked listings.
**Brand share is for the first page of search results (top 50 listings). On average, over 90% of sales occur on the first page so this is prime real estate.