Best-Selling Products on Amazon: What Bestsellers Tell Us – and What They Don’t (Including Examples)

Landing among the best-selling products on Amazon is likely the secret wish of many sellers. Of course, no one declares a bestseller as an annual goal, as achieving such a status depends on too many uncertain and difficult-to-measure factors. Nevertheless, looking at the bestseller lists can be worthwhile, as they can provide valuable insights into popular product types throughout the year.

At the same time, marketplace sellers should not place too much weight on Amazon bestsellers. Not only do the respective leaders change constantly, but they are also not a reliable indicator of a profitable business; rather, they simply suggest that a deeper market analysis might be worthwhile. Therefore, in this blog article, we will not only take a look at the category “Best-Selling Products on Amazon,” but also explore how sellers can find profitable products.

Best-Selling Products on Amazon: The Bestsellers

Finding out the current bestsellers is quite simple. Amazon makes the best-selling products publicly accessible at amazon.de/gp/bestseller and updates the selection hourly. You can view the respective bestseller products for each category there.

What the Bestseller Rank Does Not Tell Us

However, that is about all it reveals: How well does a product sell compared to the other products in that category? The actual number of times a product has sold is not disclosed on this page. For example, it could be that the bestseller in a low-traffic product category sells significantly fewer units in absolute numbers than a non-bestselling item in a very popular category.

To assess the sales potential of a product, two additional essential pieces of information are also missing:

All these aspects alone do not provide any indication of whether a product idea can be profitably marketed. What good is high demand and low competition if the margins are too small? What does it matter if there are high margins and little competition when there is hardly any demand? And even a combination of high demand and good profit margins is not a guarantee of success if the competition is already so strong that there is little chance of capturing a share of the market.

Instead of fixating on the best-selling products in an Amazon category, online sellers should view them merely as a hint to explore further. In particular, niche categories can be rewarding, as the competition is often not as pronounced here.

How We Can Leverage Bestsellers

Despite the limited informative value regarding sales potential, sellers can derive a lot of information from the best-selling products on Amazon and use it to their advantage.

Identifying Trends

Regularly monitor the bestseller pages in your category to identify current trends and popular products. This helps you discover new products that could be successful in your market segment.

Identifying Niches

Use the bestseller page to identify underserved niches. If certain products have high demand but do not offer enough variants or alternatives, it may be worthwhile to fill this gap.

Monitoring Competition

Analyze the competitor products on the bestseller page in terms of price or number of reviews/average star rating to identify improvement opportunities for your own listings.

Optimizing Product Listings

Take a close look at the product listings of the bestsellers. Product titles, images, and descriptions reveal which keywords and phrases are successful and how you can design your A+ Content.

Adjusting Advertising Strategy

Use keywords that frequently appear in the bestsellers to target your Amazon advertising more effectively, and find out in which related categories potential customers are shopping, so you can advertise in those categories.

Developing a Pricing Strategy

Compare the prices of the bestsellers and consider how you can position your product competitively. Discounts, bundles, or special promotions could be helpful.

Dynamic Pricing for eCommerce Sellers: Why the Push Strategy Works So Well

It can be a real challenge to plan a fixed budget in such a way that the maximum profit is achieved. Professional repricing solutions have been developed for this very purpose: to enable controlled growth through pricing strategies like the push strategy and thereby significantly improve ROI. In this guide, you will learn what the push strategy is, why it works so well with a fixed budget, and how to apply it – both manually and automatically.

Best-Selling Products on Amazon

The Most Popular Categories

It is not always preferable to choose a high-revenue product category over a niche, but it doesn’t hurt to know which categories on Amazon best meet customer needs and preferences. Finding official current figures is not so easy, as Amazon does not publish detailed sales figures or revenues for specific categories to the general public. However, the following product categories can be derived from the company’s quarterly and annual reports, press releases, the “Best of Prime” reports, or other sources:

The Most Popular Products

Now let’s turn to the best-selling Amazon products. Since the bestseller rank is constantly changing and Amazon does not publish its own annual evaluations, the products listed below can only serve as examples for their respective categories. To gain a comprehensive impression of a category, sellers should regularly monitor the bestsellers over an extended period and – very importantly – combine the insights gathered with other metrics. These include:

For this, sellers should acquire suitable analysis software, for example, to check the search volume of relevant keywords using the Amazon Keyword Tool. Additionally, free applications can provide initial insights. With Google Trends, the development of specific search queries in Google Search can be tracked, assigned regionally, and compared with other keywords.

In the following, we will present the Amazon bestsellers from the most popular categories that were able to secure the top position at the time of research.

Starting Capital: 900 Euros. Monthly Revenue: 100,000 Euros

With a starting capital of just 900 euros, the three founders of AMZ Smartsell entered the world of online retail. Since then, the company has experienced impressive growth and now achieves a monthly revenue of approximately 100,000 euros. In this case study, learn from real figures how automated price optimization using the SELLERLOGIC Repricer has increased the company’s competitiveness and efficiency to thrive sustainably in the dynamic world of e-commerce. Read now.

Kitchen, Household & Living

In this category, the Stanley Quencher is in the lead. Priced at 50 euros, it is certainly one of the more expensive drinking bottles, which is likely due to its current popularity. In Google Trends, the search volume for “stanley quencher” has recently increased significantly.

Fashion

Apparently, socks are still very popular at Christmas, allowing this product listing in the fashion category to secure a top position. Notably, the inclusion of the keyword “gift” in the product title is significant.

Electronics & Photo

In the electronics sector, an Amazon Basic product has secured the bestseller rank – a sign that the competition is quite strong and that entering this market would have little chance of success.

Camera & Photo

Instant cameras have been experiencing a revival for some time now. And even though this is not a product of an Amazon-owned brand, the seller is indeed the corporation itself, which indicates high sales figures but does not suggest a low-competition environment.

Books

Always a good bet for a bestseller: Sebastian Fitzek’s “Das Kalendermädchen” reaches the top position. Books can be a profitable business – particularly in the used segment. Read more here: Successfully Selling Books on Amazon.

Drugstore & Personal Care

This bestseller illustrates why such a position can be misleading: If we had prepared this item in June, a sole warmer would certainly not have been found at the top. Therefore, you can rule out extremely pronounced seasonality when evaluating bestsellers over a long period.

Pet Supplies

Approximately 15.7 million cats lived in German households in 2023. Their owners apparently enjoy purchasing scented cat litter. It may be worthwhile to take a deeper look to see if there is a market gap for certain scents.

Sports & Outdoors

Seasonality also plays a crucial role here. The best-selling product on Amazon in mid-December 2024 is a hat with an integrated light. We also find the keyword “gift” in the title, which additionally reveals important USPs (rechargeable, headlamp, extremely bright, running hat).

Conclusion: Best-Selling Products on Amazon

The bestseller lists on Amazon provide a valuable source of inspiration for identifying trends, popular product types, and potentially profitable niches. They show us which products are currently well-received by customers and which strategies – whether in pricing, product listing, or advertising – can be successful. This allows sellers to gain targeted insights and use these findings to optimize their own offerings.

However, bestsellers should not be overvalued. The rank alone does not provide information about sales figures, profit margins, or competition. Without a comprehensive market analysis, there is a risk of entering highly saturated markets or investing in unattractive niches. Additionally, the seasonality of certain products can be misleading, which is why long-term observation is necessary.

For sellers, it is important to note that bestsellers are not a recipe for success but rather a starting point for deeper research. With targeted analyses, such as keyword research, competitive monitoring, or the use of specialized tools, the chances of success can be significantly increased. Only those who look beyond the bestsellers understand what truly lies behind the numbers – and can leverage this for a sustainable growth strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Image credits: © mimadeo – stock.adobe.com / © Screenshots – Amazon.de