How to Turn Today’s Trends into Your Next Top Selling Products
By Lisa Suttora
Founder/CEO WhatDoISell.com®
Presented by WhatDoISell.com & HammerTap
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
About Lisa Suttora and WhatDoISell.com
Lisa Suttora is the Founder and CEO of WhatDoISell.com, the oldest online
private membership e-learning community for eBay Sellers - serving eBay
sellers since 2004.
Lisa is also a noted trendologist (an expert in the study of consumer product
trends) and the Product Trending Editor for the Product Sourcing Radio
Show.
She is a frequent guest on eBay Radio, speaking on the subject of trends and
has been quoted in numerous publications
With a background in retail merchandising and both offline and online
retail, Lisa combines her knowledge and experience in both selling venues to
help entrepreneurs answer the question of “What should I sell online?”
WhatDoISell.com is an eBay Certified Provider. We provide eBay
entrepreneurs with the step-by-step ongoing education, support and seller
community they need to reach their eBay business goals.
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
The Real Definition of a Trend
Trends are about people not products
Trends are a reflection of what’s happening in the
hearts, minds and lives of consumers
Trends always have a reason behind them
Trends are NOT fads
Fads spark up for no reason, and burn out quickly
Trends versus Hot Lists
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Why Trends are Important to Your
eBay Business
“The Trend is Your Friend”
Trends are a reflection of what’s happening in the
hearts, minds and lives of consumers
Trends drive product sales
Look at trends FIRST, then turn your attention
to selling products related to those trends
Ignore trends on the front-end and you’ll
end up marking down unsold merchandise on
the back-end
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
What Drives Trends
Trends are driven by 8 different factors
Trends continually morph and change
Consumer
Needs
Consumer Wants
New
Technologies
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
Innovations
Demographics
Lifestyle
Changes
Long Tail
Niches
Economics
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
3 Top Product Trends for 2008
Eco Friendly Products: When Green = $Green$
Technology Enhanced: Practicalities
Women Specific Design
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Myths & Facts About Trends
MYTH: You have to be “trendy” to spot or understand trends.
FACT: No trendsetters required! You ALREADY have all the skills you
need to spot consumer trends. If you can read, listen and observe you can
spot consumer trends.
MYTH: Looking for the latest trends is time consuming and costly.
FACT: When you’re in The Product Sourcing Mindset™ (our exclusive
product sourcing system at WhatDoISell.com) and frequenting Idea
Hotspots™, spotting the latest consumers trends will become second
nature to you.
MYTH: I’m a busy entrepreneur and I don’t have time to look for
consumer trends.
FACT: You can either spend some time paying attention to consumer
trends up front OR spend time marking down and closing out unsold
products on the back end.
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Where to Find the Trends
Frequent Idea Hotspots™
Spot trends and get in touch with what today’s consumers
are buying.
Idea Hotspots™ can be a place, publication, or a person.
Some of the most fruitful Idea Hotspots™ are:
Consumer magazines
Newspapers
Trade Shows
Trade Publications
Live in the world in which your buyer lives
By frequenting Idea Hotspots™ you’ll get in touch with
exactly what today’s consumers are talking about, thinking
about and most importantly buying!
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Applying Trends to Your Business
Discovering the trend and then not acting on it will not
make your business more profitable.
You must extend the trend to your product line, your
customer base, and your future product expansion.
Actively start looking for products based in the new trend
to incorporate into your business.
Test market new products. You know about the trend,
now it’s time to test market the products.
Get out of the box. Staying in your comfort zone and
getting complacent with your product line is the kiss of
death for your sales. Remember the trend isn’t about YOU.
You don’t have to love it, agree with it, or participate in it.
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Trend Case Study: Camping Gear
The trend is AWAY from traditional camping products and TOWARDS ultra-lightweight
& technology enhanced camping equipment.
If you study the trends in ultra-light camping gear you will find that there are products
available in these areas:
Sleeping Bag, Tent, Sleeping pad, Sleeping bag liners
Shelter, Seating, Lighting
Backpack
Clothing, Shoes
Stove, Cooking utensils, Eating utensils
Activities and games, Accessories, Batteries, Entertainment (TV, radio)
Water filtration systems
Photography equipment
Cleaning supplies
Binoculars
Medical supplies
Within these product categories there are numerous brands, styles and levels of
products.
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Summary
Pay attention to trends
Integrate them into your product sourcing
Look for products within the trend
Trends continually morph and change
Keep your products current
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
How WhatDoISell.com Can Help You Locate
and Profit from Today’s Trends
Learn the system for applying trends to every product
category
Find industry insider trending resources
Monthly Trend Profiles and Trendbytes
Analysis of the top trends and niche profiles for today’s
consumer products
WhatDoISell.com is your all-in-one business education
partner in starting, running and expanding your eBay
business.
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved
Friends of HammerTap Exclusive Offer
Special offer only for HammerTap customers through this
special link:
http://www.whatdoisell.com/hammertapwebinar
Discover how WhatDoISell.com can help you start, run,
improve and expand your business on eBay…
Special introductory offer: $9.97 for the first month and claim
your Special Bonus Report!
Turning Trends into Profitable Products
© 2004-2008 WhatDoISell.com ® All Rights Reserved