Hot E-Commerce Startups & Niches To Watch In 2017

It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere: Timekeeping Technology

Okay, so we’re not quite ready for time travel – not yet anyway. It does look as though watches are a hit recently. With all the recent buzz about Apple Watch’s new Theatre Mode, and two insanely successful watch campaigns on Kickstarter late last year (Oliwer Lion and Archibald), it seems consumers are interested in keeping track of time in bold new ways. Consider investing in watches and other timekeeping technology if you want a piece of the pie.

Archibald by Huckleberry & Co. raised $92,280 of their $20k goal last year on Kickstarter.

Artificial Intelligence Is Taking Over

If you can get your paws into the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, now is the time. Amazon has released three cutting-edge AI technology products, and all of them are a hit. The first AI product, Polly, translates text-to-speech in a natural tone. Lex is the voice-recognition program behind the new Alexa system. Rekognition, the third Amazon AI breakthrough, is able to recognize images. Integrating systems like these is the newest trend in product technology.

Security Should Be A Major Seller

With the introduction and increasing popularity of the “digital wallet”, you can bet that hackers are going to be testing security. So, products that integrate security software into their functionality are going to take up a large portion of E-Commerce sales.

Mobile Access Control Entities securely recognize personal login credentials via Bluetooth.

Going Green In A New Way

Natural and eco-friendly products have been the rage for some time now. In 2017, the cannabis industry is expected to continue to grow from the estimated $6.7 billion generated last year. A compound annual growth rate of 25% for cannabis product sales is expected through the year 2021. Are you interested in selling THC or CBD tinctures, extracts, and salves? If so, this is the time to jump on the green bandwagon.

Cloud-Based Product Hosting

Francesco Cetraro, head of operations at .Cloud said, “Cloud-based solutions like ePages, Shopify and Despatch.cloud are making it easier for today’s businesses to take advantage of the e-commerce wave and extend their sales online at a faster rate than seen in previous years. Next year, we’ll see an increase in the number of businesses using cloud-based solutions for online sales.” Choosing a solid, reputable e-commerce host is one aspect that needs to be considered in 2017, regardless of what products and services you offer.

Shopify offers a secure, cloud-based e-Commerce solution.

Conclusion

It looks as though timekeeping technology, AI, security, and cannabis are going to be major money-makers in 2017. Are you ready to integrate one of these into your e-commerce startup? If so, make sure you’re hosting your store with a reputable, cloud-based service.

Also read about startup goal-setting before you launch. You’ll be glad you did.

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Photo credit: frankieleon via Visualhunt / CC BY