Niche

A niche is a narrow part of a larger market. "Pet products" is a market, "orthopaedic beds for large senior dogs" is a niche. Stores choose niches because a focused audience is easier to reach with ads, easier to write for and less crowded than the broad category.

A good niche usually has:

• a clear audience you can describe and target
• a problem or passion strong enough that people spend money on it
• products with enough margin to pay for advertising
• room to add related products later

To size a niche, look at how many stores already sell in it, their estimated traffic and sales, the ads they run and how long those ads last. A niche with a few stores that all show healthy estimated orders and long-running ads is promising. A niche with dozens of near-identical stores and short-lived ads may already show market saturation.

Niches also differ by country. A product that is crowded in the United States can be open in Germany or Australia. The guide on how to research a niche across countries walks through that comparison.