When you think of selling online, what initially comes to mind? Probably products like printed t-shirts, handmade jewelry, or pet supplies, right? Creating or curating tangible goods to sell online is a common business model, after all—one that defines many who use Shopify today.
But determining what to sell on Shopify can still be a challenging task. Will you create your own handmade products or dropship for other brands? Will you hop on a trend or invent something entirely new?
Consider also that you can sell more than just things you can touch and feel. Many founders are using Shopify in creative ways to sell pretty much anything and everything. Selling experiences, courses, rentals, and digital goods are just a few of the unique business ideas you’ll find in this guide. Ahead, find a product that excites you and get started selling on Shopify today.
What to sell on Shopify: 17 ideas
- Handmade products
- Dropshipping products
- Print-on-demand products
- Merch
- Trending products
- Curated products
- Service appointments
- Memberships
- Consultations
- Digital products
- Experiences
- Classes and workshops
- Rentals
- Quotes, estimates, and assessments
- Donations
- Event tickets
- Gift cards
If you’re embarking on a new entrepreneurial journey, or you’re looking for a change, consider selling products or expanding your brainstorming beyond tangible goods. Here, we’ll explore what you can sell on Shopify, including real store examples, app suggestions, and advice for getting started.
1. Handmade products
One of the most common things to sell on Shopify is handmade goods. If you have a hobby like jewelry making or baking, chances are you may be able to monetize it. Turning your hobby into a business means finding an audience, streamlining your production processes, and preparing your products to sell online.
When stained glass artist Debbie Bean found her calling, she worked side jobs and cut household expenses to grow her new business. She found her start at a local craft show and grew her brand by word of mouth from there. Her work was featured in more than 200 retailers worldwide before she pivoted her business to large-scale art installations.
Tips for getting started
- Scaling a handmade business is tough, but you eventually can hire staff to help with assembly. In the meantime, try streamlining your process to make products in batches.
- Consider a made-to-order model that allows you to produce work only when it’s sold.
- Brand storytelling is important for maker brands. Take time to craft your own.
- Consider personalized products like adding monogram embroidery for an extra cost.
2. Dropshipping products
Dropshipping is a great option for ecommerce beginners. It’s a business model that allows you to sell products without holding inventory or dealing with shipping. A dropshipping business is one that sells products online for another company that, in turn, ships those products directly to the customer.
Tan Choudhury discovered dropshipping while struggling with the shipping issues in his first business. Since then, he’s become an expert, helping others sell products this way. His biggest piece of advice? Start with one product. “Trying to merchandise 20 products as a beginner can be pretty overwhelming,” says Tan.
Tips for getting started
- Find reputable dropshipping suppliers that can ship products on time.
- Focus on differentiating your brand from the other dropshipping businesses selling similar products.
- Look to trending products for inspiration on what to sell.
- You can dropship almost anything, from clothing and jewelry to books and baby products.
3. Print-on-demand products
Print on demand is another type of business model that requires no inventory or shipping. If you’re a creative, consider using print on demand to apply your designs to t-shirts, smartphone accessories, mugs, and more.
Maria Qamar, also known by her artist name HATECOPY, found print on demand after her art business took off. “At some point the volume became so much that I couldn’t make time to draw. I was spending all of my days delivering and in transit,” Maria says. Print on demand now allows her to focus on the creative parts of her business.
Tips for getting started
- There are a number of print-on-demand companies to choose from. Find one that has the types of products and quality you’re looking for.
- Authors too can use print on demand to sell books on Shopify, bypassing the traditional publisher route.
4. Merch
There’s a way to sell products even if your business isn’t about products. Many service businesses and online creators sell merch to diversify income streams and build brand affinity. Influencers can build their own ecommerce store and sell merchandise to fans. This is also a great way to build your email list and own your audience away from social platforms.
Sarah Andersen’s doodles caught the attention of Tumblr users back in 2011. Since then, she’s built those drawings into a comic book empire called Sarah’s Scribbles. Eventually, merch made sense for her brand, and she launched a line of tees, plushies, mugs, and prints alongside her comics.
Tips for getting started
- Use a print-on-demand service or app from the Shopify App Store to avoid handling inventory.
- Use merch as a way to offer lower cost items to your mix. An artist who sells only expensive originals can add merch printed with art to the mix.
5. Trending products
When you’re starting from scratch and looking for something to sell on Shopify, consider trending products. If you don’t have a business idea or hobby you can convert into one, this is a great place to start. You already know there is a market for the product—you just need to drive them to your website.
Google Trends can help you vet your idea’s trend potential. Setting up a successful Shopify store for your trending product is also an important step. There’s likely a ton of competition: How will you stand out?
Tips for getting started
- Don’t stop at Google Trends. TikTok Trends, Pinterest Trends, trade publications, consumer magazines, and other online stores can be great places to discover trending products.
- Remember that trends are fleeting. Have a plan to pivot if interest in your product wanes.
6. Curated products
If you’re not interested in making products from scratch, try a curated approach to selling on Shopify. Consider your interests: Can you curate the best niche products in that category? What about selling beauty products for a specific skin condition? You can even try becoming a reseller for an existing brand in a new market.
If you have deep interest in or knowledge of a specific topic, this is a great place to start. Use content marketing to establish yourself as an expert and build trust. Then, curate the best products in the category to sell on Shopify.
Tips for getting started
- Explore other online stores to get inspiration for yours. How do they curate collections? What makes their store stand out?
- Consider a subscription box business and try a subscription app from the Shopify App Store to help manage your business.
7. Service appointments
In-person and virtual businesses alike can make appointments more seamless for customers (and staff) by offering self-serve online bookings. Businesses like contractors, salons, and music schools can sell virtual consultation time slots and in-person services through an online store.
Stores that typically sell physical products can also benefit from adding services (free or paid) to their websites.
Tips for getting started
- Appointment booking Shopify apps offer a dynamic calendar, letting customers book preferred time slots with real-time availability.
- Service businesses can also consider branded merch to sell on Shopify alongside appointments.
8. Memberships
Many non-profit organizations rely on paid memberships as a way to secure ongoing financial support. Memberships can also be used by creators to sell access to exclusive content for their most avid fans. Golf courses, fan clubs, galleries, and educational content producers are more great candidates for selling memberships online, securing long-term commitment from customers rather than selling one-off services.
The Buffalo Botanical Gardens sells single-visit tickets but encourages visitors to buy memberships that allow year-round access and member-only perks. And kid music brand Yoto sells memberships to its Yoto Club. Members receive Yoto Cards in the mail monthly.
Tips for getting started
- Memberships work much like subscription businesses, relying on recurring payment functionality and customer account management tools. Use this model as a guide when setting up your ecommerce store.
- An app like BOLD Memberships allows you to sell one-time or recurring memberships online.
9. Consultations
Why not sell your expertise online? Everyone from interior designers to fitness trainers can use an online store to book and sell online or in-person consultations.
Brands that specialize in customization or made-to-order products may sell consultations to help customers create the perfect product. Kaikini founder Taryn Rodighiero runs her custom bikini business with the help of online consultations to guide customers through the measuring and ordering process.
Tips for getting started
- An app like BookedUp lets customers book consultations with you on your website, syncing with Calendly to avoid double-booking.
- Try Shopify’s invoice generator tool for billing custom services that you sell through consultation.
10. Digital products
Digital products can refer to anything you sell that you deliver in a virtual format—course content, music files, fonts, or other design elements are a few examples. (Note: Later in this article, we’ll dive deeper into selling courses, specifically.)
While Thread Theory founders Matt and Morgan Meredith sell physical products like scissors and paper patterns, they also offer a lower-cost option: PDF sewing patterns delivered virtually. Other businesses with printed materials like magazines or journals may opt to offer digital versions to sell on Shopify that customers can print at home.
Tips for getting started
- Apps like Sky Pilot and Easy Digital Products can instantly deliver files to customers after a purchase, or send a link to where the files can be downloaded.
11. Experiences
Experience-based businesses can range from travel and adventure providers to winery tastings to kids’ camps. These businesses can improve the customer experience by offering advance ticket purchases and scheduling options online.
For example, you could sell rock climbing adventures, international guided trips, and camping expeditions through an ecommerce store. You can create product pages for each adventure that inform, educate, and persuade potential customers to make big-ticket purchases.
Tips for getting started
- Experience-based businesses may need to collect additional customer information, like medical concerns and emergency contacts. Use Shopify Forms to create robust and customizable forms.
- Use video to your advantage: Use a free video editor tool to create marketing videos using footage from real experiences.
12. Classes and workshops
The COVID-19 pandemic proved that courses could be easily portable to a virtual format. Yoga studios and boxing gyms alike moved to an online model, letting participants buy class passes and attend online. Consider other types of courses you can sell on Shopify: digital marketing, DIY how-tos, and parenting classes.
Tips for getting started
- Sell courses in multiple formats like videos, worksheets, booklets, and 1:1 coaching sessions.
- An app like Courses Plus can turn your Shopify store into a course platform, allowing you to create lessons to sell online.
- Create course content using Shopify’s free online video maker and sell it over and over.
13. Rentals
Rental businesses are services that make physical products available to customers for a predetermined amount of time. Customers pay for the advantage of using an item for a brief period without the associated long-term costs like storage and maintenance.
Mannequin Madness sells retail props to other shops through its online store, but also rents them temporarily. When accidental entrepreneur Judi Henderson-Townsen needed a mannequin, she discovered only one seller in her area. “I bought his entire inventory,” she says. Mannequin Madness uses a contact form to assess customer needs before processing the rental.
Dress rental business The Fitzroy, however, takes a self-serve approach by asking customers to select a rental period using a date selector variant available on its product page to “check out” the item. It relies on a simple app and a clear FAQ page to make the rental and return processes run smoothly.
Tips for getting started
- IzyRent: Rentals & Bookings is an app designed specifically for stores offering rentals. It allows for one-click rentals on your website.
- Rentals may require extra information to be collected from customers, and Shopify Forms can help you do just that.
14. Quotes, estimates, and assessments
GoGreenSolar sells and installs solar energy solutions for homeowners. Due to the custom nature of the product and the additional work involved in installation, customers can request quotes and expert advice through the contact forms available on the company’s site. Self-serve quote requests save time and staff resources for businesses that provide highly technical services and products.
Quotes are a great marketing tool for a business’s other services. For example, a business that provides home energy upgrades may sell energy audits through a website. The final report would then inform customers how they can recoup the audit cost through energy savings—by buying the business’s upgrades.
Tips for getting started
- An app like SA Request a Quote can help you gather customer quote requests from your store and convert that quote into a real order.
15. Donations
Many charities use Shopify as the merchandise arm of their organization, selling branded goods, with profits supporting the cause. But charities and non-profits can also use an online store to “sell” one-time and recurring donations.
An Act of Dog is a registered charity that sells pet paintings, with proceeds supporting various animal rescue organizations. The company also lets customers donate directly to causes through the same website.
Tips for getting started
- Collect custom donations directly from your Shopify store using an app like DonateMate.
16. Event tickets
Online ticketing can be employed by a number of businesses, from event spaces to independent theaters to pop-up haunted houses.
Undertow works with select artists to sell tickets online for music events throughout the US. It uses a paperless delivery method, sending downloadable tickets to customers. Run Across America uses ticketing in a different way, selling access to virtual run challenges that participants complete on their own schedule. Purchases include access to a tracking app and a sweatshirt.
Tips for getting started
- Design, sell, and scan event tickets with the Event Ticketing app that syncs with your Shopify store.
- A QR code generator can be helpful for creating unique QR codes that customers can present at live events.
17. Gift cards
The simplest of non-tangible goods to add to any website is gift cards. From Shopify, you can enable gift cards for most stores. They’re perfect for any business, allowing recipients to redeem codes online for products or services sold through your website.
Home décor brand Apt2B sells branded gift cards in multiple denominations, redeemable for furniture and décor goods through its online store.
Tips for getting started
- Offer gift cards in a number of denominations to give customers more options.
- Push digital gift cards in your marketing efforts after the shipping cutoff for holiday delivery has passed.
Considerations for choosing what to sell on Shopify
- Local regulations: Research what permits, licenses, or certificates you need before selling your products online, especially if you're making food, cosmetics, or items for children. Different cities and states have different rules and getting this wrong could lead to fines or having to shut down your shop.
- Shipping logistics: Think about how you'll package and ship your items to keep them safe during transit and make delivery cost-effective for both you and your customers. Consider whether you'll offer free shipping and build that cost into your prices. Use Shopify Shipping to save up to 88% on rates from major carriers like USPS and DHL.
- Target audience: Get specific about who would want to buy your products. Know their age, interests, income level, and where they spend time online. This helps you price products correctly, choose the right marketing channels, and create product descriptions that speak directly to their needs and wants.
- Inventory management: Decide whether you'll make products in advance and store them, or make them to order. Consider where you'll store inventory, how you'll track it, and how much money you need to invest upfront in materials and supplies.
Sell (almost) anything on Shopify
If you’re looking for a business idea and aren’t sure what to sell on Shopify, the answer is: almost anything. There are ideas for everyone, even if you’re not creative or don’t plan to make your own products. Don’t limit yourself to selling physical items. You can sell everything on Shopify, from memberships to tickets to digital goods. Develop your brand, set up a Shopify store, and start selling products—and everything else—today.
Read more
- 7 Profitable Retirement Business Ideas for Your Second Act
- Why Brands Are Taking Charge of Their Own Resale Markets
- How To Start an Online Bookstore: The Ultimate Guide (2024)
- 25 Best Online Business Ideas for 2024
- 11 Small Business Ideas for Teens in 2024 (+ Bonus Quiz)
- 16 Unique Business Ideas for You To Try This Year
- 50+ Best Shopify Stores to Inspire Your Own (2024)
- How To Start a Small Business at Home (40 Ideas for 2024)
- The Ultimate Guide To Selling Plants Online
What to sell on Shopify FAQ
What can I sell on Shopify?
You can sell both products (digital and physical) and services (virtual and in-person) on Shopify. Intangible things to sell on Shopify include memberships, consultations, fonts, installations, event tickets, and digital gift cards. But don’t stop there! Keep looking for your niche—the possibilities are infinite.
What do you need to start selling on Shopify?
To make your first sale on Shopify, you first need to develop a brand, hone in on your customer, and decide what you want to sell. The next step is building your store and starting your online business. After you’ve launched, drive traffic to your store through tactics like organic marketing, paid ads, SEO, and/or influencer shoutouts.
Can you sell your own items on Shopify?
Yes, you can make and sell crafts and other handmade items on Shopify. If you’re a maker, you can set up a store to sell your goods directly to your target audience. Also consider selling across multiple sales channels, like online craft marketplaces, to extend your reach. You can also sell vintage finds, secondhand items, digital creations, and more.
Is Shopify good for beginners?
Shopify is a leading ecommerce platform for beginners. With affordable pricing plans for all budgets and an easy-to-use back end, you can build and customize your Shopify online store in minutes. Plus, Shopify has an entire ecosystem of business tools that grow with you.
