ECommerce industry is growing at a lightning-fast pace. The commerce activities are transitioning from physical to digital space, which makes it an ideal time for an entrepreneurial plunge in this massively grossing online market. After much research, we have brought to you these ten best innovative eCommerce business ideas for 2019.

Disaster management store

When everything is being sold online, why not the stuff that saves millions of lives or support people in need. I am talking about the products, gears, and equipment used by people for disaster management or disaster relief.

No doubt one can get most of these products on Amazon or Walmart, but finding them is the challenge here. E-commerce is not just about selling something. It is also about educating people about the stuff they didn’t know. For example, while looking at the products listed on a disaster management web store, people can read and comprehend about the products that they can use in case of an emergency.

Just take the example of this listing on Amazon-

Traditionally, people would make a list of things they might need in case of an emergency and buy them separately. They might miss many important things in this process. However, after looking at this listing, one can easily comprehend the stuff he or she would need to survive for 72 hours with 4 people. What could be better than a central location to find everything one would need?

Dedicated web-shops for such supplies can make some good earning as there is not much competition. You have got an array of products to list on your disaster supply shop-

• Survival kits • First aid kits • Earthquake fasteners • Solar equipment • Tents • Sanitation and Hygiene products • Packaged water supply • Water purifiers • Packaged food and much more.

Many people donate to charitable trusts for disaster relief funds. With a global reach, you can encourage such people to directly donate the supplies to the preferred locations. Having a disaster relief supply shop is indeed more than just an eCommerce business idea. It is a corporate social responsibility.

Micro-niched Community Based eCommerce

ECommerce in 2019 is all about targeting a niche and making some good sales to it. By a community-based eCommerce business idea, we mean the same micro-targeting. For instance, you can target the world biggest community- the gamers’ community. There are millions of people who love gaming and buy an array of gaming related products such as gaming consoles, gaming PC setup, game DVDs, gaming chairs, gaming headphones, keyboards, and mice. Not just that, hardcore gaming fans also buy related merchandise and accessories. For example, a Fortnite fan would love to buy a Fortnite printed-shirt.

You can always start different types of online eCommerce businesses targeting these sub-niches and supplying the stuff that community would love buying. You can target many such communities such as knitters, painters, potters, artists, and fan clubs. You can take a cue from this below web-shop that sells only casino supplies.

Second-hand eCommerce / Yard sale

There are many stuff in the world that doesn’t lose its utility value with the time. If kept in good condition, one can get a really decent resale value for the particular product. You can use this eCommerce business idea to sell used and second-hand products on your webshop.

If researched nicely, there is no shortage of products that can be re-sold to the customers interested in it. It could be anything that can be put into a house and office space including furniture, electronic products, and decorative items. You can either work as an eCommerce site where others list their products and sell it, or you could purchase products at lower cost and re-sell them on your website for a profit. This innovative business idea is open for extensive exploration and is not a very crowded space. People always have something that they are not (or will not) be using and want to make some money by selling it. To make your store more niched, you can also deal in antiques, which is a completely different segment of products with higher resale value.

Just check out the range of products and categories this particular site is offering. You can start a similar business with your own set of business models-

Rental eCommerce

When selling over the internet was already buzzing the e-commerce market, renting too became one of the trending eCommerce business ideas. A renting site, or simply call a service marketplace is booming. People are preferring to rent something and ditch it once not required anymore. What could be a better way than using a product for a certain period and saving a lot of money that could have been spent in buying it at once?

In fact, many rental eCommerce sites are offering enticing plans where people can own the product after renting it for a certain period of time. For example, there is a bike rental service, which supplies brand new bikes to the users. If the user uses that bike for 3 years continuously, he can own the same after paying a minimal charge which is even cheaper than buying a second-hand bike. You can utilize many such business ideas in this particular section of eCommerce.

Just note that the target audience for rentals is highly demographical. People look for rentals in their localities. For example, people look for categories such as furniture, electronic items, occasion-wear clothing, and accessories in the same city they live. You can start from a single base, and later expand to multiple locations with collaborations with local suppliers. Other best eCommerce online business ideas to start in this category could be renting products for an event like speakers, mics, decorative lights, tents, etc. The rental eCommerce market is constantly growing with many online eCommerce business ideas.

For example, this rental service rents products and well as a complete setup for a room or house, which includes multiple products in a single package. People who keep migrating to new locations for jobs are the most appropriate audience for such services-

Uber-like on-demand services

Businesses similar to Uber’s model are becoming extremely popular among the users. Following Uber’s on-demand service model, many entrepreneurs have started an on-demand delivery business in their local areas. It would be a wise idea to do some research and find out the demand for the deliverable services in your area. An eCommerce business idea in this niche could be anything that can be delivered to the users within their proximity in a matter of minutes.

There are many examples of small online eCommerce business ideas running on Uber’s on-demand service model. Food delivery, on-demand cab service, local same day courier delivery, anything that can be requested and tracked on GPS, comes under the same.

Here, is an example of a same day courier delivery service in New York. It also allows users to track real-time location of their deliveries, same like Uber eats or cab services-

Custom Order eCommerce

The demand for the ready-made product is indeed high. However, there is another section of products that is becoming popular among the innovative eCommerce ideas- customized products. In this particular eCommerce business model, you would be getting requirements from customers to prepare a product with custom modifications. For instance, designing or carving on mugs, t-shirts, key chains, ring and jewellery.

Sell personalized products to your audience and deliver a unique product to every one of them. Custom order eCommerce opens up the opportunity to build customer rapport. At par customer service during and post-customization leads to repeat sales and customer referrals. You can tie-up with vendors to supply products as and when you get orders so you don’t have to invest in inventory, which makes it a multi-vendor marketplace. Your only investment is customization and customer support.

Here is an eCommerce site that allows users to design their own Mugs. They can personalize everything from colour to images and texts on the mug. People love personalized products.

The demand for custom products does not seem to lessen any sooner. From personalized bikes to personalized computer accessories, there is a huge array of online eCommerce business ideas in this niche.

Affiliate-Based eCommerce site:

Selling is not the only way to make a good profit with an eCommerce business idea. You can earn even without selling anything of your own. Help others to make a sale, and earn a commission without investing in the cost price. This is what an affiliate-based eCommerce site does.

You can promote another company’s products on your website. An easy way to do it is to curate the best products in the market from different online and offline vendors and promote them on your website. There are various revenue models in this. One, receive a commission for each sale generated from the seller. Two, earn profit from the buyer. Three, earn money by placing banner Ads on your multi-vendor e-commerce website and app. You can list any/all category of products that are available online already. Offering niche products that are not available online would also make your store exclusive. Clothing, footwear, hand-made accessories, electronic goods are good to start with as they have large customer base through the globe.

This is what eBay, Etsy, Amazon, and Alibaba did if we take out their later introduced in-house products. Start a marketplace site and earn without investing in inventory management.

There are also affiliate websites which do not allow purchasing from their own site but instead transfer a customer to the original site for making payments. They use affiliate links to track the referrals made through a particular affiliate partner. You can become an affiliate partner of many big sites and list their products on your site.

Here is an example of an affiliate site that is primarily a blogging site but also suggests suitable products from Amazon with its relevant blog posts and other on-site content. This is probably the best way to blend content marketing with profitable online eCommerce business ideas.

App-based digital eCommerce

With the world going mobile with smartphones, digital products are becoming more popular. All those digital resources which can be browsed using a smartphone offer best innovative eCommerce ideas to start an app-based shop for digital products. Digital eCommerce includes both products and services.

You can sell music tracks, videos, software, games, mobile applications, e-books on your digital store. They could be popular music numbers, podcasts, movies and educational series. E-books can be children’s books, comics, published books – almost any book who has a digital copy can be sold online.

Steam is a perfect example of a digital eCommerce store selling games, software, videos and many more-

Auction-Based eCommerce

Offer an e-commerce platform for people to auction their products online. The seller can list the product that he wants to sell and people who are interested in buying it can bid. Seller closes the bid at the highest price. You could also offer them the flexibility to automatically close the bid at a maximum price pre-fixed while posting the advertisement. Your business notifies them of every bid and activity on their Ad. Enable a chat where the buyer and bidders can converse on your platform. This is secure for both the parties as they don’t have to share their personal details with each other or leave your platform in order to discuss on the bidding.

There are more than three revenue channels in this eCommerce business idea. One, you get a percentage of commission from the seller to list on your e-commerce website & app. You could either charge based on the selling price of the product or fix price slots for every category of products. Two, you earn revenue through affiliate advertising. When any brand advertises on your platform, you make money. Three, earn from sponsored listings of the sellers on your website. Four, provide shipping and delivery for the products and charge either party or both the parties.

eBay is a well-suited example of such auction based eCommerce site-

Not just an auction site for products, but real-estate is also a high grossing niche for this category of eCommerce business. People also sell houses and properties in the auction to get maximum value-

Same day grocery delivery

The online grocery store is a challenging but quite profitable business. It can work on both traditional and marketplace model of eCommerce. A perfect blend of marketplace model and on-demand service can make this niche profitable for entrepreneurs.

You can sell perishable goods which require same day delivery. On a typical lazy day, when users don’t want to go out but feel hungry, getting a same day delivery of the kitchen supplies would be an accessible option. Moreover, working people, who get tired of a busy day would love to order their daily supplies online without going out. The array of target customers for an online grocery delivery business is unlimited.

An Uber-based on-demand service model will do the job. Tie up with local grocery and departmental stores, offer real-time delivery tracking and your e-shop is ready. You can adopt a number of methods to survive the competition from the local physical stores. You can give products at a discounted price, offer free shipping and lot more.

Amazon PrimeNow and Instacart are two popular businesses in this niche. You too can become a popular business in your locality through a similar model.

To conclude

Use any of the above-mentioned innovative ideas for e-commerce business and take the industry by the storm to a whole new level. If you are planning to enter a crowded space, let your business stand out by at least one factor that will bring you a level above your competitors. If you want to explore a new niche and innovative online eCommerce business ideas, you can be one of the first businesses to set the standards and constantly take it higher. It is easy to capture the market for initial entrants with new and innovative online store ideas.

Follow our blog to be updated on tips, ideas, and information on eCommerce businesses and everything about the software used to start and improvise eCommerce businesses.