What can you learn from the "big box" department stores?

• Clothing – Everyone wears clothes so there is a huge market for clothing. To get started in the clothing industry see if there is a small niche in the clothing industry that needs to be filled. I spoke to woman who works in the construction industry and she said there is no good clothing for woman working in labor positions. The clothes she has to choose from were designed to fit a man. A good business concept might evolve around this type of idea. Work bibs, gloves, and shirts for the working woman. Market the products toward women farmers, laborers, factory workers, etc... I bet with the right press release your business would be featured in major rural papers. Read our article on press releases.
• Bedroom – Everyone has a bedroom. Therefore it is a high demand area. Everyone sleeps on a bed, uses a pillow, and has sheets, a comforter and other bedroom accessories.
• Kitchen – Everyone has a kitchen. Therefore it is a high demand area. At one time we did sell food dehydrators and sold a lot of them. However it was not to the level that we wanted. Don't get me wrong we did make thousands of dollars selling these online but this was our only kitchen item we sold. If you go into kitchen products I would suggest appliance parts for blenders, mixers, and other appliances. Again a niche area. We did not go into this area because our passion was not there.
• Bathroom – Everyone has a bathroom. Towels, shower curtains, bath carpets, soap, shampoo, and other bathroom items are used by everyone. This means everyone buys them. A great marketing area.
• Outdoors/Patio Stuff – These products do make people feel better. Deck lighting, pond fountains, gardening and other small items should be good sellers. A website focusing on yard ornament items might do well. My wife buys a lot of these items.
• Fitness – The hot topic. Lose weight, exercise, health related items always sell well. If you have a background in health/fitness this area might work for you. Infomercials are always on TV featuring these items. Why? Because they sell.
• Toys – A hot items for everyone. Christmas is a time for kids and everyone buys toys for them. I have not explored this area but it might work if you can compete. USA made toys might be a good niche site especially after the China/lead scare.
• Lingerie – OK it is the same as clothing. However, there is a lot of room in this area. Many people do not want to buy "some" items at the store. You might look around and see a lot of sites marketing these products. Guess what? They are making money. Some know how to market on-line and other do not. Look for our article on marketing on-line to see why some make it and some don't.
•  Technology - This is a big area.  Gadgets galore.  There is a lot of room to compete and market products in this area. I have not researched this area but it is huge.