Best Items to Sell Since COVID-19: Health, Fitness, Home
Quick answer: COVID-19 pushed up demand in four groups of products: health products (face masks, hand sanitizer, infrared thermometers), home fitness gear (dumbbells, wall pulleys, yoga mats), entertainment (jigsaw puzzles) and home products (home and garden decoration, baby gates). Emergency items have returned to normal demand, but products tied to lasting habits — working out, working and relaxing at home — are still solid choices for an online store.
When COVID-19 broke out in 2020, it changed people’s lives and consumption habits, and many of those changes have lasted. Demand in some niche markets soared during the pandemic. As a dropshipper, you should see and seize these business opportunities. The pandemic also pushed more shoppers to buy online: at its height, e-commerce reached 16.1% of all retail sales in the United States, and even after physical stores reopened, the online shopping trend continued.
All these phenomena indicate that if you don’t sell the right products online, you may miss a large profit. This article will help you select the best items that took off during COVID-19 to dropship.
Changes in Product Demand During COVID-19
The changes in product demand brought by COVID-19 mainly reflect the following aspects:
People were often suddenly isolated at home, which made them form the habit of stocking up, and the demand for some necessities rose.
After the epidemic, people’s health awareness has been enhanced, and people pay more attention to their own bodies, which makes medical health products and fitness products particularly popular.
Because people spend more time at home, home offices became popular, and sales of home office supplies increased significantly. Due to boredom at home, many entertainment products also grew substantially.
In these product categories, many purchases peaked in the early stage of the pandemic. The peak demand for some products has eased, but retail demand for others has stayed higher than before. Choosing products from these categories can still make a real difference to your dropshipping business.
Best Items during COVID-19 to Dropship
1
Health Products
- Face masks
Masks were the top-selling product of the pandemic. According to Google Trends, the popularity and search volume of medical masks soared to the top of the list at that time.
There are two main types of masks: medical surgical masks and disposable medical masks. Medical surgical masks are mainly prepared for surgical staff, with waterproof requirements and penetration resistance in case of blood or body fluid splash. Disposable medical masks are used by ordinary medical staff or ordinary people.
Masks are needed not only in hospitals; during the pandemic, people had to wear them on buses and in shops, and many still buy them regularly during flu season. Demand is lower than at the peak, so treat masks as a complementary product rather than your main line.
- Hand sanitizer
Hand sanitizer already sold well before the epidemic, especially to families with infants. During the pandemic its sales volume doubled, and hand hygiene has remained a habit for many people.
- Thermometer
Almost every household has a thermometer, and during the epidemic temperature checks became common everywhere. How can you increase your competitiveness among thermometers? I recommend an infrared thermometer. You can show the characteristics of the product to attract customers: it reduces physical contact with others, and it is safer and cleaner.
2
Fitness Supplies
Among fitness supplies, smaller products are more popular.
- Dumbbell
The home gym product with the highest sales volume turned out to be dumbbells. Dumbbells are very suitable for people at home: a small tool that brings great benefits. On Google Trends, the search volume of dumbbells stayed high and reached its highest value several times, so it is worth adding this product to your store.
- Wall pulley
Whether in terms of search volume or sales, this product is worth starting with. Many people moved their workouts from the gym to the home. So how do you bring the big gym machines into the home? A wall pulley is more suitable for home use than the large machines in the gym, and the risk of customer dissatisfaction with this home gym product is low.
- Yoga Mat
No one wants to get hurt during exercise. A double-sided anti-slip yoga mat helps people who exercise at home avoid injuries. Almost everyone who works out at home needs one. You can promote it as lightweight and easy to carry.
3
Entertainment Products
- Puzzle
If you want to add some entertainment products to your store, you can choose puzzles. They sold like crazy during lockdowns, because people were bored at home and had few entertainment choices. Premium puzzles can sell at a high price, just like Lego products. You can create content such as videos and blog posts to show them to your customers and support your marketing.
4
Home Products
- Home decoration
Since the epidemic, people prefer to spend time decorating their homes. You can expand your product line with home decorations. For example, in the United States and Italy, many people became more willing to spend time and money decorating their gardens, and you can meet their needs.
- Baby door
A baby gate is a great product for parents, because working from home and child care are a headache when they collide. This product has relatively little competition and good market potential, making it a useful home product in your store.
Conclusion
Customers turned to online shopping in an unprecedented way during the pandemic. After the epidemic, dropshipping did not stagnate; new opportunities emerged.
If you want to keep your online store thriving through changing times, you can contact Honest FulPhilment. We provide a full range of e-commerce fulfillment services and have a professional team to help your dropshipping business grow. Please feel free to contact us.
FAQ
What products sold best during COVID-19?
Demand rose most for health products (face masks, hand sanitizer, thermometers), home fitness equipment (dumbbells, resistance pulleys, yoga mats), entertainment such as jigsaw puzzles, and home products like decorations and baby gates.
Are COVID-era products still worth selling online?
Some are. Emergency items like masks have dropped back to normal demand, but habits formed during the pandemic, such as home workouts, home offices, hobbies and home decorating, still support steady sales of related products.
How did COVID-19 change online shopping?
Lockdowns pushed many shoppers online for the first time, and a large share of them kept shopping online after stores reopened. That shift made ecommerce and dropshipping a bigger part of retail than before the pandemic.
How do I choose products to dropship after the pandemic?
Look for needs that stayed after lockdowns ended, such as home fitness and home comfort, check search trends and competition, and order samples to confirm quality before you list them.