Product research is an important part of starting and running a successful business, irrespective of whether you selling on Amazon, eBay, Shopify — or any other platform.
Fortunately, as ecommerce business owners, we can use various available tools, methods, ideas, strategies, and approaches to conduct effective product research and find trending and winning products.
One such product research method is Amazon’s movers and shakers list.
Note: This Amazon movers and shakers product research guide focuses on helping you learn how to use the movers and shakers list to conduct product research and find trendy, winning products for your dropshipping or ecommerce business.
If you would appreciate a list of other product research methods you can experiment with and use to find winning products, check out our other article highlighting over 15 product research methods.
Specifically, this guide will mainly focus on the following:
- What the Amazon movers and shakers list is and how it works.
- The advantages of using the movers and shakers list for product research.
- And four unique and effective ways to use the movers and shakers list for product research and to find trendy products for your ecommerce or dropshipping business.
If all this sounds interesting and something you’d like to learn how to do, let’s get going, starting with covering our bases:
Amazon movers and shakers product research: How the list works and its advantages
The Amazon movers and shakers list is one of the least-known product research methods for finding winning ecommerce products.
Fundamentally:
Amazon movers and shakers is an Amazon-created resource or list of products that have achieved the most significant sales rank growth on Amazon over 24 hours.
Amazon updates the movers and shakers list hourly, making it one of the best tools you can use for product research and trend analysis.
A behind-the-scenes look at how the Amazon movers and shakers list works
An example is a great way to illustrate how the Amazon movers and shakers list works. So, let’s do that:
An example of how the Amazon movers and shakers list works
When writing this article, the top product on the Amazon movers and shakers list in the clothing, shoe, and jewelry department/category was women’s lace-up loafers, a previously unranked product that, within 24 hours, had climbed up the ranks to a rank of 141.
Now:
Because this is a breakout product —a previously-unranked product that has shot up the ranks fast— Amazon does not show the product’s percentage growth.
However:
Look at the other “movers and shakers” products in the clothing, shoes, and jewelry department in the screenshot below, also taken at the time of writing this guide on how to use the movers and shakers list for product research:
You’ll notice that most of the products on the movers and shakers list have an indicator showing the percentage growth the product has experienced in the last 24 hours.
This feature makes Amazon movers and shakers a capable product research and trend analysis tool because it makes it easy to track how a product or even product category fairs —trend-wise—over time.
For example, the workout shorts featured in the screenshot below have experienced an over 272% growth in rank in 24 hours:
Now that you have a clearer understanding of Amazon’s movers and shakers list and how it works behind the scene, we can continue our learning journey, shall we?
Like most ecommerce business owners, you’re probably curious about the advantages of using the mover and shakers list to find trendy and winning products for your business.
The advantages of using the movers and shakers list for product research
The first advantage of doing Amazon movers and shakers product research is that you can use this method to find trending products.
Consider an example where you have a product idea in mind, a product you believe has the potential to do well.
In this case, you can use the categories on the movers and shakers list to niche down to your product/product category, then monitor the product’s trend over 24 hours —or longer— before deciding to source and dropship the product.
Secondly, and this relates to the point above:
The movers and shakers list has great categorization. For example, when writing this article, the list featured products in over 40 categories.
However, of these “departments,” only the following are relevant for dropshipping and ecommerce product research because the others relate to private-labeled Amazon products, digital products, software, digital music, etc.:
The main Amazon movers and shakers categories for product research
- Appliances
- Arts, Crafts & Sewing
- Automotive
- Baby
- Beauty & Personal Care
- Camera & Photo Products
- Cell Phones & Accessories
- Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry
- Computers & Accessories
- Electronics
- Entertainment Collectibles
- Grocery & Gourmet Food
- Handmade Products
- Health & Household
- Home & Kitchen
- Kitchen & Dining
- Musical Instruments
- Office Products
- Patio, Lawn & Garden
- Pet Supplies
- Sports & Outdoors
- Sports Collectibles
- Tools & Home Improvement
- Toys & Games
This categorization is advantageous because it allows you to narrow your product research process to a specific product, niche, or product category, making it easier to uncover trending and winning products in your niche.
As a product research approach or strategy, the movers and shakers list also does two other things exceptionally well, making it one of the best product research resources and methods:
1. It gives you a micro and macro view of trending products
Except for previously-unranked products, products on the Amazon movers and shakers list have a percentage growth indicator beside them, as mentioned earlier and as shown in the screenshot below.
This feature allows you to conduct micro and macro trend analysis and product research and determine a product’s sale performance over 24 hours —and even longer when you are doing extensive research on a potentially winning and profitable product.
Here, the primary thing worth noting is that:
Micro view
The micro view means you can microscopically monitor consumer interest in a potentially-profitable product or micro niche over a few hours or a day to determine if the product is on an upward trend and, therefore, worth it.
The micro view can also help you take advantage of emerging seasonal trends, find winning products, and get ahead of the trend curve.
Macro view
On the other hand, the macro view allows you to zoom out of a product or product category and view it from a bigger-picture perspective to determine whether selling the said product would prove profitable for your business, either in the short or long term.
Take an example where you’re in the clothing, shoes, and jewelry niche, and notice that, over time, different slippers for men and women are on the movers and shakers list for a while, as was the case when researching and writing this blog post.
In this case, the micro and macro views tell us that different slides and slip-on for men and women are trendy products.
In this example, if you were in this niche but not selling trendy slides, sandals, and slippers for men, women, and children, the product would be worth researching further as a potentially winning product.
2. It can give you great insight into consumer trends, market needs, and the competition
You can use the movers and shakers list to determine what products customers within your niche buy from one hour and day to the next.
You can then use this knowledge to customize your products and product descriptions to reflect changing market needs, take advantage of current and evergreen trends, and keep your store relevant and profitable.
Let’s recap a bit:
- Now you know what the Amazon movers and shakers list is
- You know how it works, and you know the main advantages of using it for product research.
Because you are probably very eager to get hands-on experience in using Amazon movers and shakers to find trendy and winning products for your store, let’s focus on how to do that now:
4 best ways to use Amazon movers and shakers for product research
Here are four different ways to use the Amazon movers and shakers list for product research:
1. Use it to spot micro and macro product trends early
Using the movers and shakers to spot product trends earlier is a great way to use this resource to find winning products.
All you need to do is head over to the Amazon movers and shakers list and narrow your product research process down to your chosen category; for example, the clothing, shoes & jewelry category mentioned in most of the examples used in this post.
You can then notice and monitor products you think will succeed with your audience as the list gets updated every 24 hours and even longer.
Related article: Wondering how to spot trends for product research? Check out our six tips here!
2. Use its consumer insight to develop product ideas
You can also use the movers and shakers list to monitor how consumer buying patterns change over time.
Then, you can use this insight to take advantage of quick-win micro-trends while keeping a broader eye on macro, longer-term trends within your niche.
For example, if you notice developing consumer trends and behaviors over time, you can use that insight to anticipate trends around things like:
- Major seasons and holidays —Valentines, back-to-schools, etc.
- Industry events —fashion events, electronic expos, football events, etc.
- Major industry trends —new technologies, emerging trends, etc.
- Social-economic developments —politics and how they affect products in various markets, films, cultural events, etc.
The great thing about this product research approach is that over time, the products consistently on the movers and shakers list make it easier to understand consumer behaviors in your niche.
This can make it easier to find and choose trendy products to sell in your store.
3. Use it as a product-sourcing resource
The Amazon movers and shakers list can also be a great catalog for generating product-sourcing ideas.
For example, if you’re in the patio, lawn, and garden niche and notice that pest control products are constantly trending, but you don’t carry them in your online store, you can move fast to capitalize on the macro trend.
The trick to using this approach for product research success is realizing that you cannot sell every niche product on the movers and shakers list.
You also need to move fast when you notice trends because if you wait too long, the competition will beat you to the punch, or you’ll get in on the trend too late.
The best thing to do is to visit the movers and shakers list often to develop your ability to read and notice trends early and determine which of the emerging trends will remain popular over time and which will pass as quickly as they sprouted.
4. Use it for product benchmarking
Product benchmarking is another great way to use the Amazon movers and shakers list for longer-term product research.
With this approach, you focus on finding competing products in your niche, then you look at the product reviews to identify what customers hate and love about trending products, the improvements they would love to see, the product descriptions used by the competition, etc.
When using the movers and shakers list for product benchmarking, especially keep a keen eye on the following:
- Product prices
- Product descriptions
- Overall ranking
- The number of reviews –most of the products on the movers and shakers list have jaw-dropping reviews you can use to determine why some of these products are doing so well on the list —the need they meet or the problem they help solve.
As a bonus, here are some other effective ways to conduct Amazon movers and shakers product research:
- Product description optimization. If some products in your niche are constantly on the movers and shakers list, you can check the product descriptions. Then, you can use what you learn to A/B split test different product descriptions to find what works for your audience.
- Product keyword research. As you use the moves and shakers list to monitor product trends, you will understand the keywords used by the competition on their product pages and consumers through reviews. This keyword data can make it easier to customize and SEO-optimize your product listing for higher sales.
Amazon Movers and Shakers FAQ
Here are the most frequently asked questions about using Amazon's movers and shakers list for product research:
Are there downsides to using Amazon movers and shakers for product research?
The primary downside to using the Amazon movers and shakers list for product research is that you need to move fast to capitalize on emerging trends because the list only shows a product’s performance over 24 hours.
However, the movers and shakers list is still a valuable product and market research resource. With time, you will learn which trends to take advantage of, which ones to pass on, and which long-term macro trends to take advantage of to ensure your business remains successful long-term.
Are Amazon’s movers and shakers and Bestseller list the same?
No, they are not the same.
The movers and shakers list features products that have achieved the highest sales rank growth in 24 hours. In contrast, Amazon’s bestsellers list showcases overall bestsellers over 30 days.
Summary
Before we go to the conclusion, we've created a quick summary of this article for you, so you can easily remember it:
- You can use it to spot micro and macro trends early.
- You can use it for consumer insight to develop better product ideas for your online store.
- You can also use the movers and shakers list as a product-sourcing resource.
- You can use it for product benchmarking, including product description optimization and keyword research.
Conclusion
Over to you now:
Which of the four ways to use Amazon movers and shakers for product research will you experiment with or use?
If you experiment with any of these methods, let me know how it goes and share your ideas on other ways you have used the all-powerful movers and shakers list to find winning products.
Want to learn more about product research?
Ready to take your product research game to the next level? Check out the articles below
