You've probably heard dozens of product selection strategies and attended numerous training sessions, but choosing the right product still feels uncertain. Why is that?
It’s no longer the 'easy money' days on Amazon. As the saying goes, '70% depends on product selection, 30% on operations.' And yet, even after checking off all the boxes — price point, product size, packaging durability, ease of use, profit margin, and non-seasonality — we still lack one crucial piece: a clear view of the market landscape.
Who dominates the market? How concentrated are sales among top sellers? Are new listings gaining traction quickly? Without this broader perspective, even the best product might be thrown into a red ocean.
This is where Market Research comes in — a tool designed to give sellers a top-down, data-driven view of each niche.
By analyzing the top 100 best-selling products (by sales, not just BSR), you gain a comprehensive understanding of 10 essential dimensions:
1. Market Size
This is the most fundamental metric. By analyzing the total and average monthly sales of the top 100 listings, you can get a clear picture of a niche’s scale — whether it’s a million-, ten-million-, or even hundred-million-dollar market. Different seller profiles require different market sizes: large sellers won’t target sub-million markets, while smaller sellers should avoid overly saturated megamarkets like Bluetooth earbuds.
2. Demand & Trends
Track the top 5 core keywords in the niche and analyze their search trends over the past 3 years. This reflects not only overall demand but also whether the market is seasonal, holiday-driven, or stable and mature. Flat trends typically indicate steady demand and a mature market.
3. Product Concentration
This shows the sales share of the top 10 listings among the top 100. Don’t just look at the total share — check how evenly it’s distributed. For example, a 10-product group owning 80% of market share means different things depending on whether each has ~8% or one listing dominates with 60%. This affects how difficult it is for new entrants to compete.
4. Brand Concentration
Similar to product concentration, this metric reveals how much of the total sales are captured by the top 10 brands. A highly concentrated brand market may be hard for newcomers without strong brand power or differentiation.
5. Seller Concentration
This shows how the top sellers are distributing sales in the niche. The key here is identifying whether one seller controls multiple top listings via different accounts — something only industry experience and in-depth investigation can uncover.
6. Launch Time
This tells you how long the top 100 listings have been live and what portion of their sales they contribute. For example, if it used to take 3 months to enter the top 100 but now takes over 6 months, launching a new product has clearly become harder. A breakdown of listings launched in the past 3/6/12 months provides insight into launch difficulty.
7. Launch Time Trend
Dig deeper by grouping top listings by their launch year and analyzing their current sales contributions. This reveals both product lifecycle and niche maturity. If most top-selling listings were launched within the past 2 years, it likely means a product life cycle of ~2 years.
8. Review Count
A vital benchmark — understanding how many reviews your competitors have lets you estimate how much effort (time and cost) is needed to match their social proof and compete effectively in conversion rate.
9. Rating
Analyze how many listings fall into each rating tier and their share of total market sales. A high average rating implies strong customer satisfaction and a mature market — meaning fewer chances to compete on product improvement. Dive into low-rating reviews to uncover product pain points and innovation opportunities.
10. Price Distribution
See how listings are spread across different price ranges and how much market share each segment holds. Highly concentrated price bands (often low to mid-range) indicate fierce competition. Consider entering under-served price segments where differentiation is easier.
Market Research lets you see the full picture before making your move. Combine these insights with your own strengths in supply chain, logistics, and branding to make smarter, more confident product decisions.
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