[+15] Best Product Research Tools Must-Have For E-Commerce

Success often hinges on unearthing winning products that resonate with your target audience. Yet, with countless options for attention in the digital marketplace, finding those gems can feel akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Product research tools have now become the compass that guides sellers through trends and fluctuating consumer needs and preferences.

But what exactly are product research tools, and why are they indispensable for e-commerce entrepreneurs? In this blog, we will clarify the concept of the product research tool and point out the best product research tools you must have for eCommerce. So, buckle up as we explore the frontier of e-commerce innovation and discover the key to unlocking unparalleled success in the digital marketplace.

What is a Product Research Tool?

A Product Research Tool is the cornerstone for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting crucial data about products and user behavior. These platforms drive informed decision-making and strategic development in the competitive e-commerce landscape. It is a pivotal component of a product manager's tech stack, encompassing various tools tailored to obtain insights on market trends, user behavior, feedback collection, A/B testing, and more.

Product research tools are not just tools; they're indispensable allies, empowering product managers to navigate the complexities of product development with precision, agility, and confidence.

Read more: 

• Best Shopify Product Research Tools
• Best AliExpress Product Research Tools
• Best eBay Product Research Tools
• Best Walmart Product Research Tools
• Best Etsy Product Research Tools
• Best Amazon Product Research Tools

Why Should You Use Product Research Tool?

Staying ahead of the competition requires more than intuition; it demands data-driven decision-making powered by a robust product research tech stack. Here's why leveraging product research tools is essential for the success of your business:

• Create User-Centric Products: Delving into user pain points and product usage patterns, product research tools enable you to develop products that resonate with your audience on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and satisfaction.
• Optimize User Experience: Track user engagement and satisfaction levels precisely, allowing you to continuously refine and enhance your product experience to meet evolving consumer expectations.
• Scale Market Research Capabilities: Expand your market research horizons and gain invaluable insights into customer preferences, demands, and emerging trends, empowering you to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on new opportunities.
• Mitigate Risks: Guiding product development and launches with data-driven insights minimizes the inherent risks associated with innovation, ensuring that your efforts are grounded in a solid understanding of market dynamics and consumer needs.
• Facilitate Collaboration: Product research tools foster seamless communication and collaboration within your team, streamlining workflows and facilitating the exchange of ideas, feedback, and insights to drive collective success.

Best Product Research Tools

1. Thieve

Thieve is a dynamic platform showcasing trending products on AliExpress, providing valuable inspiration for your product search. Users can easily access a curated selection of impressive products from AliExpress by signing up for a free account. The website offers the added convenience of filtering products by category, allowing users to focus on items within their niche.

Highlight Features:

• Browse lists of popular products by category, such as electronics and homeware.
• Swipe through popular products from all categories to generate a list of products of interest.
• Read about trending product niches, such as "Zoom Flex," which refers to looking good on video calls.
• Upload an image found online to locate potential product manufacturers and sources.
• Find Aliexpress suppliers making profitable products.
• Find product images, remove logos, and split grouped images into individual files.

Search for products to sell on: Shopify; AliExpress

Pricing:

• Thieve Supply Monthly: $29/mo
• Thieve Supply Annual: $99/mo (20% savings when paid annually)

2. JungleScout

JungleScout is a comprehensive Amazon market research and product analysis tool tailored to sellers of FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). It provides various features to assist users in analyzing product performance, conducting keyword research, and tracking market trends on Amazon.

Highlight Features:

• Look at product sales and performance metrics to gauge market demand and competitiveness.
• Forecast potential sales volume to aid in inventory planning and decision-making.
• View Amazon product reviews to understand customer feedback and sentiments.
• Conduct keyword research to optimize product listings for improved visibility and discoverability.
• Track seasonal shifts in purchasing habits to capitalize on trends and maximize sales opportunities.
• Verify manufacturers used by competitors to inform sourcing decisions and competitive strategies.
• Offers a Chrome extension to access product data while browsing Amazon quickly.

Search for products to sell on: Shopify; Amazon and Walmart

Pricing:

• Basic: $29/month
• Suite: $49/month
• Professional: $84/month
• Cobalt: Custom pricing

3. Seller Assistant App

Seller Assistant App is a product insights tool for Amazon sellers. Unlike some tools focused on dropshipping, the Seller Assistant App assists users in assessing the profitability of reselling products sourced from discount stores, bin stores, liquidation sales, and other sources.

Highlight Features:

• Provides insights into average sale prices over one, three, and six-month periods.
• Calculates fees and expenses associated with selling the product on Amazon.
• Indicates whether any intellectual property claims have been made on products of this type.
• Estimates potential profit margins for the product.
• Displays best seller rank over one, three, and six-month periods.
• Shows total product stock currently available for sale on Amazon.

Search for products to sell on: Amazon, The Home Depot, Target, and eBay

Pricing:

• Start: $15.99/month
• Pro: $29.99/month

4. Rapidr

Rapidr is a comprehensive product research tool designed to assist product teams in understanding customer needs, prioritizing features, and creating roadmaps backed by customer insights. It facilitates feedback collection, idea analysis, prioritization, roadmap creation, and communication of new features through release notes.

Highlight Features:

• Collect product ideas, requests, and feedback from colleagues and customers via a centralized feedback portal and in-app widget.
• Analyzes and prioritizes the roadmap based on customer insights, allowing slicing and dicing feedback by customer attributes and sorting by votes.
• Informs the roadmap with critical feedback and communicates new features to customers through release notes.
• Offers an end-to-end solution for feedback collection, roadmap management, and release notes, eliminating the need for multiple apps.
• Provides cost-effective pricing based on the value derived from the software, rather than per-seat pricing.

Pricing:

• Startup: $49/month
• Business: $199/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

5. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is an all-in-one survey tool designed to facilitate customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys, and employee engagement surveys. It enables businesses to gather product feedback and insights from users, as well as assess employee satisfaction within the company.

Highlight Features:

• Enables the creation and distribution of customer satisfaction surveys (CSAT) and NPS surveys to gather product feedback and assess customer sentiment.
• Supports employee engagement surveys to understand employee satisfaction and engagement levels within the organization.
• User-friendly interface for creating and sending feedback surveys, making it accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Offers a wide range of survey customization options, including data collection from multiple respondents and integration with other tools.
• Provides advanced reporting and data analysis capabilities for extracting insights from survey responses.

Pricing:

• Team Advantage: $25/month
• Team Premier: $75/month
• Enterprise: Contact sales

6. Exploding Topics

Exploding Topics is a trend-spotting tool that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to identify products, trends, and companies currently capturing people's interests online. It scans blogs, news sites, social media platforms, and more to provide insights into emerging trends and consumer preferences.

Highlight Features:

• Utilizes AI to scan the Internet and identify trending topics, products, and companies across various online platforms.
• Human data analysts evaluate the data to identify top trends, which are then compiled into a trend database.
• Users can access the trend database to see which topics are currently exploding in interest online, and track product popularity, sales performance, and reviews.
• Enables users to build profitable direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites, develop new products aligned with consumer interest, and stay ahead of competitors by offering trending products for sale.
• Offers a free version for users to begin finding trending products, while a Pro membership provides access to additional features and insights.

Pricing:

• Two-week trial for $1
• Pro plans: start as low as $39 per month (billed annually)

7. Pinterest Trends

Pinterest Trends is a tool that allows users to discover which products and niches are popular among users in their region. Like the TikTok Creative Center, it provides insights into trending topics, products, and consumer interests.

Highlight Features:

• Research current products of interest, seasonal trends, and products related to specific consumer interests or keywords.
• Explore product interest by user demographics, including age and other factors.
• Track weekly, monthly, and yearly changes in product interest to identify emerging trends.
• Provides in-depth insights into how interest fluctuates over time, related trends and products, demographic details about interested users, and related Pins.

Pricing: Free

8. Zendesk

Zendesk is a service-first CRM company that builds support, sales, and customer engagement software to foster better customer relationships. It focuses on improving customer service, meeting customer needs, and setting teams up for success.

Highlight Features:

• Enables companies to handle and respond to client inquiries effortlessly across multiple channels such as email, chat, telephone, or social media.
• Facilitates analysis of customer feedback through multiple integrations and customizable functionalities.
• Provides a straightforward platform with a minimal learning curve, making it easy for teams to adopt and use effectively.

Pricing:

• Suite Team: $69/month
• Suite Growth: $115/month
• Suite Professional: $149/month
• Suite Enterprise: Contact Sales

9. Dropship Spy

Dropship Spy is a product research tool designed for e-commerce businesses utilizing drop shipping services to sell goods. It caters to Amazon and Shopify sellers, facilitating connections with dropshipping suppliers on platforms like Aliexpress.

Highlight Features:

• Provides details on best-selling products across various social media platforms, Aliexpress sales volume, Amazon product ranking stats, keywords, and historical sales metrics.
• Identifies Instagram influencers promoting similar products, along with details of their services and rates.
• Offers additional services, including pricing and profit calculators, CSV files of existing product reviews, product videos, Facebook ad audience segments, and pre-written social media ad copy.

Search for products to sell on: Shopify; AliExpress

Pricing: $39/month

10. Algopix

Algopix is a product research tool tailored for Walmart, Amazon, and eBay sellers. It enables users to expand their inventory and efficiently plan product prices across multiple marketplaces.

Highlight Features:

• Provides insights into best-selling products in any category, top sellers in specific channels, price changes, promotions, and sales rates by location.
• Helps users find products similar to those they are researching by analyzing product descriptions and providing a list of potential matches.

Search for products to sell on: Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.

Pricing:

• Amazon Sellers Only: Free (limited to five categories and 20 product searches per day)
• Two-Way Code Converter: Starting from USD 5 for 1,000 lookups
• Business: $35/month or $336/year

11. Hotjar

Hotjar is an analytics tool designed for page view and user session recordings, offering insights into user behavior through heatmaps, session recordings, and more. It enables companies to monitor and measure website user engagement, providing visual representations of visitor interactions.

Highlight Features:

• Heatmaps and session recordings: Visual representations of user interactions such as clicks and scrolls on websites.
• Feedback widgets: Allows users to submit customer experience (CX) feedback, which can be watched, read, and filtered by businesses.
• Engage research: Matches interview participants with research criteria and automatically collects 1-on-1, high-quality feedback.
• Conversion Funnels: Identifies steps leading to customer drop-off, enabling businesses to focus on improving key areas.
• Feedback Polls and Surveys: Gathers user thoughts and opinions directly to better understand user experiences and needs.

Search for products to sell on: Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.

Pricing:

• Basic: Free (limited features and capacity)
• Plus: $39/mo (greater tracked session limits, ability to segment data)
• Business: from $99/mo to $589/mo (offers uncapped data and premium features for larger teams)
• Scale: from $213/mo to $1259/mo (Includes funnel analysis, trend analysis, console-tracking, and dedicated customer success manager support)

12. Helium 10

Helium 10 is a product research platform offering paid and free tools tailored for businesses utilizing Walmart or Fulfillment By Amazon (Amazon FBA). It provides insights and analytics to optimize product listings and identify trending products on these platforms.

Highlight Features:

• Chrome extension: Pulls up details on Amazon and Walmart product listings for quick analysis.
• Sales estimates: Generates estimates for the sales performance of products of interest.
• Keyword research: Identifies the highest-performing keywords for each product to optimize listings.
• Trend identification: Helps users identify trending products on Amazon and Walmart.

Search for products to sell on: Shopify, Walmart, Etsy and Amazon.

Pricing:

• Starter: $29/month
• Platinum: $79/month
• Diamond: $229/month

13. Productboard

Productboard is a project management tool designed to capture problems, feedback, and user research, organize feature ideas, plan releases, and share interactive roadmaps. It consolidates customer ideas into a prioritized roadmap based on data, streamlining the product management process.

Highlight Features:

• Roadmap Planning: Visualize and communicate your product strategy effectively with a collaborative roadmap.
• Centralized Feedback: Collects and organizes all user feedback and input to understand customer needs better.
• Prioritization: Organizes product ideas based on customer value, facilitating informed decision-making about feature development.
• Team Collaboration: Engages all stakeholders in the product management process and keeps everyone aligned with the product strategy.
• Feedback Loop: Closes the loop with users by demonstrating how their feedback translates into product improvements.

Pricing:

• Maker Plan: $20/mo, suitable for individual use and small teams.
• Pro Plan: $60/mo, ideal for larger product teams, offering advanced collaboration features and integrations.
• Scale Plan: Custom pricing, tailored for enterprise-level organizations, providing extended functionality and support.

14. TikTok Creative Center

TikTok Creative Center offers a top product list that provides valuable insights into popular products, organized by region and popularity. It is free to use and does not require a TikTok account, making it accessible to all users.

Highlight Features:

• Best Sellers by Region: Provides insights into popular products organized by region and popularity.
• Changes in Popularity: Tracks changes in product popularity over a specified period.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR) on TikTok Ads: Indicates the standard CTR on TikTok ads for popular products.
• Advertiser Spending: Estimates the typical amount advertisers spend to achieve one sale and the total amount spent on ad campaigns for popular products.
• Related Product Categories: Identifies related product categories for each popular item.

Pricing: Free

15. Prodpad

Prodpad is a product feedback and road-mapping tool designed for product teams to collaborate on product development. It enables users to share feedback, upvote features, and create structured roadmaps for multiple products.

Highlight Features:

• Roadmap Visualization: Allows customers to visualize, collaborate, and maintain roadmaps in one place, replacing traditional spreadsheets.
• Idea Management: Enables users to create and prioritize multiple ideas and feedback, facilitating better project prioritization.
• Visualization Charts: Provides visualization charts within the tool to help teams prioritize projects effectively.
• Learning Curve: Prodpad has a steep learning curve and may be overwhelming for new users compared to alternatives.

Pricing:

• Roadmaps Essentials: $24/month
• Roadmaps Advanced: $44/month

What Makes a Good Product Research Tool?

When assembling your product research tech stack, selecting tools that align closely with your business objectives and deliver high-quality data is crucial. Here are the key factors to consider when evaluating the suitability of a product research tool:

• Purpose: Determine if the tool is tailored to provide insights into your needs, whether it's analyzing product performance, understanding user behavior, or tracking market trends.
• Features: Assess whether the tool offers the necessary features to fulfill your research objectives. Look for capabilities such as product analytics, user reporting, market research, and other functionalities crucial to your decision-making process.
• Usability: Opt for user-friendly and intuitive tools, minimizing the learning curve and enabling you to extract insights efficiently. A tool with a seamless interface and navigation can save valuable time and resources.
• Customization: Seek tools that allow for customization to adapt to the unique requirements of your industry or product. The ability to tailor your research process ensures relevance and accuracy in the data collected.
• Integration: Ensure that the tool seamlessly integrates with your existing tech stack, preventing disruptions to your workflow. Compatibility with other software and platforms enhances efficiency and collaboration across your organization.
• Pricing: Strike a balance between the functionalities offered by the tool and its cost-effectiveness. Evaluate different pricing plans to determine if the tool offers sufficient value for its price, considering your budget and requirements.
• Customer Support: Prioritize tools that provide prompt and reliable customer support, including access to training resources and assistance whenever needed. Responsive support ensures smooth implementation and ongoing usage of the tool.

Considering these factors, you can identify and implement product research tools that meet your immediate needs and contribute to your business's long-term success and growth.

How to Conduct Effective Product Research

Effective product research is the cornerstone of informed decision-making in eCommerce. It's not just about gathering data; it's about extracting actionable insights that drive your business forward. Here are some key strategies to ensure your product research endeavors yield meaningful results:

• Set Clear Objectives: Before delving into the vast sea of data, establish clear objectives for your research. Whether it's understanding user needs, validating a product concept, or identifying market gaps, having a defined goal will serve as your North Star, guiding your research efforts.
• Choose the Right Research Methods: No one-size-fits-all approach here. Different objectives call for different research methods. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, usability tests, and competitive analysis are just a few tools in your arsenal. Choose wisely based on your specific goals and target audience.
• Diversify Data Sources: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. To paint a comprehensive picture, tap into diverse data sources. Blend qualitative methods like user interviews and focus groups with quantitative approaches such as surveys and analytics. This multi-faceted approach ensures you're not only scratching the surface but diving deep into the nuances of your market.
• Know Your Target Audience: Your research is only as good as the audience it represents. Ensure you're gathering insights from a representative sample of your target market. Segment your audience if necessary to uncover nuanced preferences and behaviors that might go unnoticed.
• Create Effective Surveys: If surveys are part of your research toolkit, wield them precisely. Craft questions that are clear, unbiased, and structured in a way that elicits honest and comprehensive responses. Remember, the quality of your data hinges on the quality of your questions.

Product Research Tool - FAQs

1. What is the value of product research?

The value of product research lies in its ability to ensure that a product aligns with customer needs and achieves business objectives. It empowers product managers to cultivate a data-informed product vision, strategy, and roadmap. Product research becomes a cornerstone for PMs by providing insights, enabling them to make confident decisions regarding the product backlog and daily tasks.

2. What does product research cover?

Product research gathers insights and data on market trends, competitive analysis, user behavior, customer needs, product performance, industry regulations, technological developments, and market segmentation.

3. Why is it worth conducting product research?

Product research is worth it because it helps avoid misguided product development decisions, identifies potential issues with the product, and provides in-depth insights into customer preferences and needs. By conducting this research, businesses can create a well-thought-out strategy for building products that resonate with and are loved by customers.

4. What is the difference between market research and product research?

Market research focuses on understanding the broader market landscape, including customer demographics, preferences, and industry trends. In contrast, product research concentrates on gathering insights about a particular product or product line, including its features, usability, and customer feedback.

5. What is the difference between product design and product research?

Product research involves gathering insights and data to inform decision-making during the early stages of product development. In contrast, product design focuses on creating tangible design solutions based on those insights to meet user needs and business objectives.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, selecting the right product research tools is paramount for the success of any e-commerce venture. Businesses can gain invaluable insights into market trends, user preferences, and competitor strategies by leveraging these top-rated platforms. From Thieve to Prodpad, each tool brings unique functionalities designed to streamline product research processes and drive business growth. So, equip yourself with these must-have product research tools and embark on a journey towards e-commerce success.