I came across this outstanding research that really blew my mind! Let’s check it out:

So, based on the chart above, if you are wondering “What should I invest in to sell?” the clear winner is Mens and Womens Clothing (and sports clothes too!). Almost HALF of all men and women buy apparel online! That’s insane!!!

Computers / Technology is next on the list for Men but not for women, so if you are looking to capitalize on technology, plan ahead that you will be selling primarily to men. Avoiding girly items might be a safe bet since only 18% of women buy these online.

“Travel / Holiday Accommodations” is the next category that is popular to both sexes, but likely isn’t something you will want to sell, however you can sell travel necessities such as Carry-on Approved Bags, Sunscreens (non aerosol), sandals, sunhats (packable!), etc.

Which means the next “safe bet” is absolutely Home Goods; with almost ⅓ of all men and women buying home goods online, this is def a safe bet! Heck, I can’t even begin to think of the number of household goods I have purchased in the past couple years… I would say hundreds, at least, especially since we recently redid our living room.

Tickets for Events and Books are almost tied. Then the rest of the categories are marginally almost tied.

Another fascinating statistic is what Device people use to shop online most - this is critical because you need to consider how your product images and content DISPLAYS on their screen.

In the chart below, Aqua represents Millennials as a whole whereas the red color shows ages 35-55 and the purple bar is for 56+ years old.

As you can see, in the United States, Millennials dominate all smartphone shopping. This means you need to make sure you are offering a “zoom feature” on product images OR offer additional images showing close-up views. Keep in mind that cell phone screens are small, and the product image takes up only a portion of the screen. It can be difficult to make a purchase decision based on a 2” image with no ability to enlarge.

Next, lets compare men vs women by device type:

In the graph above, Red = men and purple = women.

We can see that men clearly prefer to shop from their computer. Women also still prefer computer but will shop through their smart phone.

IN CLOSING

By reviewing this data we have come to a few very important conclusions:

• Clothing is absolutely the #1 purchase
• If you sell merchandise geared toward Millennials (Ages 18-34), you must make sure you are able to easily view and purchase the merch from a smart phone. Consider that even though you may have a large smartphone screen it is important to look at your listings from other peoples phones too.
• If you are selling items geared toward Men, chances are he will be viewing your listings from a desktop computer
• But if you are selling merchandise to women, there's a 40% chance she will be shopping from a smart phone.
• And lastly, if your merchandise is aimed toward the 35+ crowd, you will likely be getting views from desktop computers. 

So now it's time to shop our Womens and Mens wholesale clothing sections!