Top 10 Most Successful Businesses to Start Online on Shopify

E-commerce success depends majorly on three things; you got to offer in-demand products, you should have the skills to market products, and your passion to succeed.

Since you are already here learning about the top 10 most successful businesses to start online, it shows that you have a winning mindset and are ready to learn & adapt winning strategies.

However, that’s just one requisite of earning big through the online store. The first and foremost important aspect for you is to have in-demand products to sell.

And that’s precisely why we are here. Below, we have come up with the top ten businesses to start online in 2021. In this list, you will be able to find all the highly in-demand products that can help you build your online empire from scratch or add to your existing store.

In fact, many of these trending products are also make up the best online business to start with little or no money.

What are the most common types of online businesses?

Honestly, running an online business seems tempting, however, there’s much more to it than what may seem on the surface. Managing and successfully running an ecommerce business comes with its distinct set of challenges; just like any other new venture, you give into.

What’s different here is that the “online” channel gives you the reach to connect with a larger group of the audience without any geographical boundaries. It’s one of the most powerful tools that let businesses reach out globally and connect to the right customers looking for the products offered by the business.

Hundreds of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses have already made their way into the online business world and with the right ideas, dedication, and sweat equity, you too can make your way up the ladder in the online industry.

So, before we begin our top 10 most successful businesses to start in 2021, let’s quickly have a look at some of the most common types of online businesses that are making big on Shopify;

1. Clothing line

Some trends never get old and the clothing line is one such trend that has always stayed right at the top of the business curve for a long. Over the years, hundreds of passionate Shopify designers have launched their clothing line on the Shopify store and made it big with their dedication and inspiring designs.

Why clothing line?

• It’s one of the best online business to start with little money
• It’s satisfying to create products used by customers in daily life
• There’s always a demand for trending and stylish clothing
• You will feel a sense of accomplishment seeing your designs come to life

2. Dropshipping store

Recently the idea of drop shipping has gained much traction across the global entrepreneurs and honestly, it’s a worthwhile idea to implement.

To start with, with the dropshipping store, you don’t need to invest anything into your business (other than your time and skills). You won’t need to buy large product stocks, don’t worry about warehousing and delivery services or any other aspect.

In this business mode, you will be sourcing a pre-existing product from vendors and letting them take care of everything involved in the business; from packaging to fulfillment.

All you need to worry about is the best vendors to source products with a maximum profit margin to make.

Why dropshipping?

• Best online business to start with no money
• No upfront cash risk
• No tied-up inventory
• No headaches for warehousing, packaging, or fulfillment of orders
• Can start right from your home or the café down the street

3. Sell art online

if you got some creative skills; a photographer, musician, painter, or any other artistic skill, it’s time to start earning some money with it.

Thousands of artists are making big online by offering their services to users around the world. From songs to portraits and graphics, it’s an evergreen idea to make money online.

Why sell art?

• One of the best online business to start in 2021 with high demand
• You get a chance to become part of people’s lives
• Build your portfolio by showcasing your work
• Earn money while doing what you love

4. Become a freelance

The gig economy is booming and thanks to covid-19, even the large companies have understood the benefits of making employees work from home.

Freelancing has remained one of the most trending and rewarding online business ideas for skilled people. It’s a unique business model that enables professionals to sell their skills in the open market and choose what they want to do.

It also remains popular amongst the users, who get to hire the top talent professionals at the fraction of cost as compared to hiring services from a professional company.

So, if you have some professional skills that you can sell (writing, designing, programming, development, etc.), you surely have a skill that’s high in-demand and can earn you big money.

Why freelance?

• One of the best online business to start with no money
• Turn your skills into a business
• Choose projects that you want to work on
• Work at your schedule
• Built your portfolio

5. Teach online

Online teaching is yet another highly in-demand and low-investment business idea that can help you generate passive income. The best part about online teaching is that you won’t need any upfront investment other than your laptop and internet connection along with lots of upfront efforts to begin.

Why teach online?

• best online business to start in 2021 with little to no money
• It’s a onetime effort that lets you earn big in the long run
• You don’t have to learn anything new, rather just share the knowledge you already have
• It’s a satisfying experience to teach others a new skill

Top 10 most successful businesses to start online 2024

Ok, now that we have an idea of some of the highly in-demand products and services on Shopify, let’s start our list of 10 best business ideas to start online in 2021 that can let you start earning big immediately;

1. Peel-off face mask Shopify Store

The beauty industry is one industry where the demand for quality and stylish products never diminishes. And if you are looking to make some big money by selling beauty products, peel-off face masks are certainly a great product to offer.

There are hundreds of Shopify online stores making big money by selling various beauty products and peel-off face mask is no different.

Thanks to the renewed interest due to the launch of various innovative facial masks and aggressive marketing campaigns by companies, these masks are in high demand, especially amongst females.

According to statistics, more and more users are showing increasing interest in a peel-off face mask as beauty products with over “30,000” monthly keyword searches of “Peel-off face masks” and over 27,000 monthly searches for “face peel”.

Other similar keywords like “charcoal face mask” and “Facial masks” even go as high as over 80,000 monthly searches online.

To further consolidate the position of peel-off face mask as one of the top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021, there are on average 5.3M views on YouTube videos for “peel-off face mask”.

All of these trends clearly show an increasing demand for high-quality and reliable facial peeling masks.

How to market?

Now, if you want to make an instant impact with your peel-off face mask or even with some other health and beauty product, it’s recommended to market the products on visual platforms like YouTube, Instagram and others.

You could ideally also partner with an influencer to maximize your reach and impact. Some of the marketing tactics you can adapt includes;

• Doing a question and answer session on Instagram to highlight the potential benefits of using your face mask
• Run a contest
• Promote products with funny reels
• Repost user-generated content
• Create Instagram stories
• Publish carousel posts

Once you are able to gain traction for the facemask, you can always improvise and expand the product line to include other relatable and in-demand beauty products to maximize your sales.

2. Nail Polish Shopify Store!

What makes Nail Polish business one of the best online businesses to start in 2021 is the high consistent demand that never diminishes. Brands and small businesses from across the world are exploiting the global reach and cutting-edge features of Shopify to market unique nail polishes and accessories across the world.

The global market for nail polish is expected to reach as high as $1.5 billion in the next five years. The demand for nail polishes is further surged by the trending designer nails; especially amongst the younger population.

If we are to look at the Google Trends for the keyword “Nail Polish” we see that even amid global lockdown, the keyword searches surged in March 2020; reach astonishingly nearly 250,000 monthly searches.

Today, the young generation is all set to experiment and embrace new and stylish nail trends; soaring the demand not just for nail polishes but also other nail products including; lacquer, enamel, varnish, and others. if we are to go by trends, nail polish is going to be the fastest-growing cosmetic segment, given the vast variety of variations that are being thrown out in the market.

How to market the nail polish?

Well, while nail polish may be one of the top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021, you certainly need a robust and vibrant marketing campaign to make it a success story.

Again, as a beauty product, your target market should be visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. Similar to facial masks, you can get help from influencers to maximize your reach and impact. You can also create aesthetically pleasing and vivid ad campaigns to drive the sales up.

Like Instagram, Pinterest is also showing a rapid increase in interest among users for everything “nail” related. From nail polish to nail designs and nail ideas, there is much content being generated on Pinterest lately.

This is a positive sign, where you can use design some exquisite inspiration boards on Pinterest showcasing your trending designs and nail polish textures.

Carousel posts are also a great way to market your nail polish on Instagram as it enables you to highlight all different nail polishes styles and textures in one go.

3. Exercise bands Shopify Store

Excise bans have quickly become the talk of the town in the past year. The resistance bands saw a massive surge in demand following the global lockdown, as citizens were barred to go to gyms and forced to stay inside.

According to statistics, there’s still a massive monthly search volume for various exercise bands keywords variations like; over 650,000 monthly searches for “resistance bands”, 25,000 monthly searches for “exercise bands”, and nearly 10,000 monthly searches for “exercise resistance bands”.

So, if you are looking to start a new Shopify online business with a minimum upfront investment, venture into these high profit-margin and always in-demand exercise resistance bands.

The best part about venturing into the exercise bands with the Shopify online store is that you get to utilize all the latest marketing features of the platform that gives you the reach and credibility you need to kick start your new business.

How to market?

Well, as part of the health equipment, it’s easy to market these products. You can start by creating blogs and videos for YouTube and other social media channels guiding users on various positions and use of bands.

By creating quality video content for training, you can quickly build up your brand and attract a greater number of leads to your store.

You can also start a health and fitness blog, promoting a healthy lifestyle and ways to keep up the fitness during the pandemic and otherwise.

This won’t just help you achieve a higher ranking on search results, but also promote you as an authority in the industry, opening more avenues to attract leads and generate revenue.

4. Water bottles Shopify Store

The growing trend of eco-consciousness has given rise to an ever-greater number of consumers looking for eco-friendly products. The same is true for reusable bottles, which market has rapidly grown to over $8 billion back in 2018 and will continue to grow in the next five years with an average CAGR of around 4%.

To back up our claim of water bottles as the top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021, we have some serious stats with us. For instance, the monthly keyword search for various variants of water bottles are;

• Water bottles: over 100,000 monthly searches
• Custom water bottles: over 20,000 monthly searches
• Reusable water bottles: over 27,000 monthly searches
• Sports water bottles: over 14,000 monthly searches

How to market?

The best marketing campaign for these eco-friendly bottles is to show them in use. For instance, create a contest for customers to show their pictures with eco-friendly water bottles out in nature. Also, you can create a visual campaign of water bottles out in the wild and use them in ads.

5. Blankets Shopify Store

Why blankets are amongst the best Shopify online business startup to venture into? Well, because it’s a high-profit margin product with consistent market demand.

Since we are already well into the winters, customers across the USA and elsewhere are looking for high-quality and customized blankets that can keep them warm on cold winter nights.

If you are able to manufacture/source the right quality of blankets and offer some level of customization, you can be sure to get high-profit margins with the Shopify store.

According to one research, the global market value for blankets reached over $6 billion in 2018 and will reach nearly $10 billion in the next five years with an average CAGR of 4.6%.

To exploit your online blanket business, try venturing into stylish, comfy, and modern blankets manufactured using superior material like wool. According to research, woolen blankets also offer better profit margins to vendors as compared to polyester or cotton blankets.

To further improve your reach, try offering custom made blankets, with an on-demand printing option available that will help you stand out amongst the crowd.

With over 40,000 monthly searches for “wool blankets” and nearly 50,000 for “fleece blankets”, it’s certainly one of the top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021.

How to market?

The best way to market your blankets is by running Google Ads for certain keywords. Also, you can create visually pleasing and comforting social medial campaigns showing how your products can keep users warm in bed.

Also running giveaways and bestselling blankets can be a good idea to market your online blanket business.

6. Yoga Mats Shopify Store 

Looking for an easy entry into the online industry with minimum investment?

Well, starting an online Shopify store selling Yoga Mats is a great business idea to create a consistent passive income stream without putting much cost upfront.

Just like exercise bands, the demand for yoga mats has surged amidst the global lockdown as people try to keep themselves healthy and fit while sitting at home.

According to estimates, the yoga industry is expected to cross $17 billion in revenues in the next five years, which is also confirmed by Google trends with nearly 200,000 monthly searches for Yoga Mats and various variations.

How to market?

The key to market yoga products is to keep in view the target audience. For instance, for people who are already familiar with Yoga or who are yoga-goers, the marketing campaign should be about nature with an organic feel.

You can create a visual campaign with a minimalist approach and soothing effect for your products. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are all ideal platforms for marketing Yoga mats and other products.

7. Kayak accessories Shopify Store

Kayaking is one outdoor sport that has consistently seen a rise in popularity over the years. Today, there are over 11 million recreational kayakers in the USA alone, and the market is expected to grow in the next five years as well.

Various online businesses are making big money by selling various kayak accessories like paddles, dry bags, tail blowers, sunshades, and others. And while the sale for kaya accessories may be low during the winter season, it is certainly going to boom once we pass the winter season, with the peak coming in pre-summer months, and then again in the holiday season.

How to market?

• Share outdoor kayaking inspirational stories on the blog
• Create tutorials and guidelines for kayaking
• Generate testimonials for products of satisfied customers
• Use Instagram stories
• Run Facebook ads

8. Jigsaw puzzles Shopify Store

If you are looking for a Shopify online business that pays faster, try venturing into the Jigsaw puzzle. Since the global lockdown amidst the pandemic, the demand for the Jigsaw puzzle has soared greatly, with hundreds of Shopify store making quick money by offering affordable and creative jigsaw puzzle; bundled concerning specific audience.

With over 800,000 monthly searches, the jigsaw puzzle indeed is a fast paying product that’s also one of the top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021.

The best part about these puzzles is that it’s a low-cost investment with massive demand and popularity across the audience of all ages and gender. Also, the demand for jigsaw puzzle soars during the global pandemic as families were forced to stay at home.

The global jigsaw market stands over $9 billion today and is estimated to continue growing with an average CAGR of 15% in the next five years.

How to market?

There are a few ways to market the jigsaw puzzle. The best way is to create some specific niches to market products like a wooden puzzle, or kids’ jigsaw puzzle, etc. Creating individual niches will help you to come up with better-targeted campaigns for the right audience.

Another great way to market jigsaw puzzles is to launch content and give away a few free puzzles to winners. Also, run dedicated social media campaigns showcasing the contest and completed puzzles from customers.

9. Kitchen and dining room furniture Shopify Store 

Moving on with our online entrepreneur business ideas for 2021, we have another high-demand and hot selling product that has remained trendy for a long – kitchen and dining room furniture. With nearly 50,000 monthly searches for “Kitchen furniture” and over 100,000 monthly searches for “table sets,” it’s certainly a great product to venture into in 2021.

Hundreds of Shopify online furniture stores have made big in recent years, which also give new entrepreneurs a fair idea of the market potential and size.

How to market?

• Run Google shopping ads
• Create an interior design blog
• Run retargeting ads for blog traffic
• Try long-tail keywords like “rustic wood kitchen furniture” for Ads
• Start a social media campaign for Instagram and Pinterest

10. Rugs Shopify Store 

Last but not least, we have rugs that make up our top 10 most successful businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021. Luxurious and royal rugs have always been in demand in the USA and across the western world, making it one of the most profitable internet business ideas to start online.

Online Shopify rug stores from various Eastern Countries have successfully made a large impact and mark their presence with their innovative and high-quality products along with some intelligent marketing tactics.

According to statistics, the “Rugs” is generating over 650,000 monthly searches, with various other keyword variations also generate hundreds of thousands of monthly searches.

How to market?

• Create specific niches for types of rugs you are selling; shag, braided, etc.
• Create a home décor blog to promote rugs
• Run retargeting ads for blog traffic
• Run an Instagram campaign for home décor

It’s time to resurrect your Online business idea!

Well, there you have it, some of the best potential businesses to start online on Shopify in 2021. Remember, 2021 is going to be a great year for online businesses, as the world settles down to the new normal of working from home.

With these ideas, you don’t have to put up big money upfront, rather just put up your efforts and skills to promote these high demand products in the right way and get your business up and running in no time.

Need assistance in setting up your online business? Let us know about your comments or ideas below.