10 Hot Online Product Niches for Canadian Sellers in 2024

It’s time to update this list of our hottest online niches for 2024!

One of the most challenging parts of starting an online business in Canada is choosing a profitable niche. We have less competition within our borders than we would in large markets like the US. However, we still need to select products that are trending and in demand in Canada, while avoiding a saturated niche or products that are easily obtained locally. We also have to stay away from items easily obtained from the US (such as those that ship inexpensively in an envelope).

Alternately, we can sell to Americans or in many other countries with some research on the demand, competition, and laws in each country.

Table of Contents

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Reducing the Risk

My Secret Weapon – Dropshipping

Testing the Waters with Affiliate Programs

Data & Analysis Reveals Solid Trends

Rolling with the Punches

My Hottest Online Niches in Canada

In 2024, I’m Keeping a Close Eye On…

More Tips

Reducing the Risk

Having a wide range of choices is one of the benefits of doing business online, but it can also make it harder to choose a promising niche. Nobody wants to bet heavily on products without a reasonable chance of success. Being stuck with stagnant inventory is a seller’s worst nightmare. Research and testing can help to mitigate that risk.

Our Secret Weapon – Drop Shipping

[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]

Drop shipping is the perfect way to lower the risk of choosing the wrong niche or product. With no inventory to worry about, we can test-run virtually any product. Dropshipping is a business model in itself. You may decide to continue with it, or bring in the best-selling products for resale and continue drop shipping other products.

Some of the most popular drop shipping suppliers among Canadians are accessed through Wholesale2B (primarily overseas suppliers) and more recently, Syncee and Spocket. Ecommerce platforms like Shopify make it incredibly easy to add drop-shipped products from multiple wholesalers through apps.

For more information about drop shipping in Canada, please read Drop Shipping / Wholesale for Canadian Sellers.

Testing the Waters with Affiliate Programs

You can also test product popularity through affiliate programs. Simply find a merchant selling the product (or something similar) and use direct linking options to see how it sells for you. Before joining the affiliate program, you’ll have to verify that they ship to Canada if they’re located elsewhere.

Your margins/commissions will probably be lower than with drop shipping, but it’s a less intimidating option for some. An easy affiliate network to start with is Share-A-Sale. Check out The Best Affiliate Program Networks for Canadians for more options.

Learn more in our big guide, How to Start Affiliate Marketing in Canada.

Data & Analysis Reveals Solid Trends

Your sales data is invaluable as you test new products, but when it comes to industry trends we rely heavily on Canadian and North American data for those markets.

“Analyze the market to uncover industry trends,” suggests SEMRush in a recent blog post. “Capitalizing on some… trends depends on first recognizing how they relate to your business and being able capitalize on them. Studying markets and their audiences constantly will help you establish better strategies.”

JungleScout has helpful guide available this year, entitled Product Research 2024 Guide: How to Find Profitable Products.

Rolling with the Punches

Of course, everything changed in 2020. Most Canadians were already enthusiastic online shoppers, but they placed more orders over the course of the pandemic. Others started shopping online out of necessity, but have continued to do so now that they’re comfortable with it.

The biggest shakeup in 2020 to 2022 wasn’t the increase in online shopping, but the mass movement of Canadian businesses into the digital market. For whatever reason, many small businesses in Canada had resisted digital adoption and online sales until the pandemic forced their hand.

The movement will continue into 2024, as businesses scramble to recover from offline losses and realize how critical it is to be online. It has moved beyond a marketing tool and optional source of revenue, to become a crucial part of today’s contingency plans.

Additionally, new online businesses will pop up faster as individual Canadians look for their own financial backup plan, be it fulltime or a side hustle. There is a wealth of legitimate online opportunities beyond ecommerce, just waiting to be discovered.

2024 Hottest Online Niches in Canada

I’ve worked with a lot of products and merchants online in various capacities for 25 years. That has given me unique insights into the Canadian digital market.

Reacting to current trends with new products can be a dangerous game and is best left to those qualified to hit a moving target. The trick is in predicting what will change and how permanent those changes will be.

We saw an uptick in all ecommerce and website traffic and thought it best not to introduce a lot of new products again this year. The pandemic trends have gone back to normal in most respects, but also have been extended in a few ways.

For example, working from home is expected to continue for many positions and more people are starting home businesses. What do people need to work from home? Electronics, office furniture & supplies, and maybe renovate a room for a quiet home office. Those are the obvious trends. When we apply it to our niches, all sorts of opportunities present themselves.

Our natural pet care niche has steadily grown in online sales because people are working from home and can care for pets. As new pet parents, or those with a growing family of them, they need everything from dog beds to premium food. If they’re new at it, they’ll be interested in pet care books and tutorials. That can be turned into another revenue stream, traffic, or be used as a free download to grow an email list.

“Retail pet food sales experienced positive growth recently despite the effects of COVID-19 on the Canadian economy,” reports Jeewani Fernando in Pet Ownership and Pet Food Trends. “It is expected the pet ownership trend will continue. In 2023 alone, more than a million Canadians are expected to add a pet to their household. This suggests the pet population could continue to increase, and demand for pet food and other goods and services will continue to grow.”

That said, COVID has left some scars. Some items continue to sell better than they did before the pandemic because they’ve become a part of our everyday life over time. For example, everyone is more aware of contagions and will continue to purchase hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes indefinitely. However, the demand has bottomed out with market saturation. We continued our focus on recovery needs, from businesses roaring back to life, to mental health products to help people who are trying to deal with the trauma and loss.

As always, we focus on what the market wants and how our product or service can benefit the people who want it. Trends are just another viewpoint to explore for longer-term opportunities. You’ll win some and you’ll lose some, but with practice you’ll get better at spotting the most profitable and lasting trends.

Turn to your ideal customer profiles and think about how the past year has impacted their life, and how your product or service can help. Head in that direction in 2024 for an increased chance at a profitable year.

Following (in no particular order) are the most consistently-lucrative product niches for me (and those I work with) this past year. Some have held steady from previous years and have proven to be solid, long-term earners. Others are newer online niches that appear to be winners right out of the gate.

1. Backyarding: People are discovering the potential of their back yard as an important part of their lifestyle, but their reasons for it are diverse. That makes this a broad category that many sectors can find an opportunity in. Landscaping, food security, environment and nature support, outdoor work spaces, play areas for kids & pets, entertaining, and relaxation are just some of the ways consumers are taking their living space into their backyard in 2024.

2. Cannabis: Cannabis accessories have jumped high as a niche since Canadian legalization, and the pandemic increased demand. There’s still tons of room for novelty items, whether they’re already available or something you invent yourself. Additionally, it’s the ‘new wine’ and with that comes the opportunity to serve the equivalent of “wine snobs” at the high end. Many people are looking for information, leaving the door wide open for content marketing.

The business opportunities for anything related to Cannabis in Canada are practically endless at this point, but make sure you’re following the law. For example, CBD is legal in Canada but only from authorized sellers & suppliers. You can stay on top of the Canadian cannabis sector by subscribing to the BNN Bloomberg newsletter, Cannabis Canada. North American Cannabis sales are expected to reach $47.3 billion USD by 2027.

3. Information Products & Online Education: The demand for ebooks, whitepapers and online courses has skyrocketed since 2020, when 25 percent of Canadians participated on online learning, building on the already healthy market for digital learning products. In fact, 11% of Canadians did online training or learning for the first time in 2020. Digital products do well for us because we can find or create downloads on virtually any topic, allowing us to slip them into any niche. It can be a primary source of revenue or add another revenue stream to your small business.

4. Sustainable Fashion: The sale of pre-owned clothing and accessories has become a very profitable niche. Buying used clothing was always popular here, but the sector has grown as Canadians become more aware of the environmental impact of ‘fast fashion’. They’re also more budget-conscious right now.

Secondhand luxury items will always fly off the shelves, but don’t miss the opportunities in children’s clothing, business attire, plus sizes, and collectibles. Forbes reported that the resale of sneakers alone brings in USD $2 billion in annual sales. Consider anything that supports the distribution of sustainable fashion as well, including platforms, apps and information.

Incidentally, recommerce (selling used or excess products) in general is growing 20x faster than the broader retail market and 5x faster than off-price retailers. Having recognized a new/old opportunity, select retailers are adding used products when they had only sold new products previously. Others are taking it even further, such as the H&M Rewear Canadian recommerce marketplace.

Note: There are several laws & regulations that apply to clothing (and other used products) that you should be aware of before selling these items in Canada. Additionally, brands can have terms in place to protect themselves and consumers.

5. Specialty Fashion: Attractive, trendy fashion in plus sizes, especially 2XL & up. Many Canadians are “overweight”, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to dress fashionably. Professional attire has been especially popular in this niche and it has resurged since people headed back to the office. There’s now a growing interest in clothes that can comfortably move from the office to the home, to better accommodate hybrid work scenarios and side hustles.

6. Entrepreneur: Home business items revolving around organization, space-saving and efficiency are popular. Mobility is still huge across the business niche. Anything that helps people work and communicate on the fly has major potential, especially if you find a gap in what’s offered by the larger B2B (Business to Business) stores.

As you’ve probably guessed, tools and services that facilitate online communication and working from home exploded in popularity in 2021. Online events also took off as physical venues became unreliable, and now event planners are sold on them. Related digital products did well for us over the last couple of years, as well as online event planning services.

You may have noticed a few companies casting a ‘work at home’ angle over their campaigns. It isn’t limited to starting a home business anymore, it’s an emerging lifestyle that includes hybrid work, remote work, and entrepreneurship. For example, most people who work at home also work from other places, like airports or coffee shops. They need a reliable, lightweight, secure laptop to take with them, a VPN, cloud storage, and apps. Plus, most are new at this and will need guidance before purchasing, offering endless opportunities for content marketing.

7. Health & Fitness: Natural supplements remain profitable, with a focus on more obscure or trending items. Offering solutions for specific health issues can give you an edge. However, you must have legitimate expertise or experience in the category to ensure you rank well in Google’s search results as a quality resource.

Also lucrative is the sale of anything that may be embarrassing for some to buy in person, such as adult incontinence products. Medicinal uses for Cannabis and it’s derivatives are huge, as are proven ways to boost immunity and fight viruses. Keep an eye on scientific research and cite those sources in your content.

8. Pets: Natural everything, from food to toys, continues to grow. Note that Canada should reflect the American market per capita. The U.S. online pet food and supplies market is expected to reach USD 6.13 billion by 2025. Canadians spent more than $5.7 billion on their pets in 2020, and over a million Canadians were expected to get a pet in 2023. Many people have added pets to their family because they’ve been working from home, causing an uptick in sales of staples, necessities, novelties and premium products, as well as digital products related to training.

9. Senior Citizens: Assisted living products and senior-friendly travel options have been growing steadily in recent years. Don’t underestimate or dismiss this segment of the Canadian market as too lacking in tech expertise to shop online. Seventy-one percent of Canadian seniors used the Internet in 2018 and like the rest of consumers, the pandemic forced more of them to shop online.

“In terms of age category, the largest increases were among older Canadians, with over 8 in 10 (82.6%) seniors (those aged 65 years and older) using the Internet in 2022, up 6.3 percentage points from 2020.” reports Statistics Canada. “For those aged 75 years and older, the increase was even larger: up by 10 percentage points to 72%.”

10. Reusable Shopping Bags: Shopping bags do really well if you stick to novelty bags with nice designs in large sizes. Demand has picked up as more stores move ahead with plans to go plastic-free due to changing municipal laws. Promoting them as practical gift bags over the holiday season brought in even more sales for our online business community.

We took a tentative step into print-on-demand shopping bags in 2021, introducing unique, trendy and some personalized designs. They’re well on their way to becoming one of our top sellers. Jumbo sizes that were popular in plastic form continue to be popular. Be aware of copyrights and trademarks when selecting images to use on these products.

Note: I recommend ordering samples from potential wholesale, dropshipping, or print-on-demand suppliers before deciding which one(s) to go with. A poor quality shopping bag that can’t be relied on to carry weight is practically useless, especially in large sizes. Demonstrate the durability (and size) of your bags by putting common items inside for product page photos and marketing images, such as milk containers with the litres clearly showing.

In 2024, I’m Keeping a Close Eye On…

1. Décor: “-core” themes have been popping up on social media, revealing fast trends that are practically designed to be outdated in record time. Some will last longer than others, such as “Mermaidcore” for bathrooms. Others will be gone as fast as any other fad, such as the movie-inspired “Barbiecore” bathroom décor. If you keep up with home trends you’ll recognize these opportunities, relate them to your niche, and find creative ways to profit from them. There are two primary benefits I see here. One is cornering a demographic that is constantly redecorating (spending), and the other is social media exposure when these trends peak.

2. Product returns: This is a huge problem that continues to plague retailers. It’s expensive and terrible for the environment. Those who can help address this problem are going to make a lot of money in 2024 and beyond. That could mean coming up with a solution or selling the solutions invented by others. It’s also inspiring a growing number of entrepreneurs who are reselling returned products online through liquidation products.

3. AI: I’ve been watching Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the attempts to use it in a variety of ways. So far, what I’ve seen has been mediocre at best. AI is terrible with interaction at the customer service level, for example, and it certainly won’t replace writers any time soon (no matter how many AI marketers try to convince you otherwise). It’s probably better used in support roles for now, such as researching for human writers, gathering and organizing information, or prescreening customer service chats. The potential is still there, however, and I’m looking forward to developers finding something useful for it to do (well).

Note: Laws & regulations will be implemented to better control the use of AI, copyright infringement, disclosure, and so on. Keep an eye on reputable sources of tech news and Canadian regulators if you’ll be entering this space.

More Tips

If you need a website with Canadian currency, shipping options, data centres, and other Canadian functionality & features, please read:

A Canadian Guide to Finding the Best eCommerce Platform Software

Checklist: Choosing a Website Host for your Canadian Business

You can learn more about starting an online store with our Checklist: How to Start an Online Store (Ecommerce Business) in Canada

Ecommerce is the fastest-growing segment in Canada’s digital economy. Eighty-two percent of Canadians shopped online in 2020, spending $84.4 billion online.

In 2022, Canadian online shoppers ordered over 26 times each in a year, an increase of 60 percent since 2019, according to Canada Post.

  • 50% of Canadians buy more items online
  • 27% no longer go to malls.
  • 21% avoid in-store shopping

The potential of Canadian ecommerce in 2024 is astounding. Opportunities to generate revenue online in a wide variety of ways will continue to be there for anyone who keeps their finger on the pulse of consumer demand.

Any questions about selling online in Canada? Please feel free to ask in the comments below or discuss this and other online business topics in the Online Business Canada Facebook group!

Note: This list of top selling product niches in Canada is updated annually. It was first published in 2015.

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Melody McKinnon
Digital Business & Marketing Manager at Online Business Canada | Website | + posts

Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.

Melody has worked with many businesses & brands in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.

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Bristi

Loved this article! It’s exciting to see such diverse niches emerging in Canada for 2024. I especially resonate with the focus on sustainable fashion and the growing demand for pet products—both areas where we can make a positive impact. The insights on dropshipping and affiliate programs are also invaluable for anyone looking to dip their toes into e-commerce. Thanks for sharing these trends; I can’t wait to see how they evolve this year!

Howard Blaine

I look forward to this ranking of online product niches every year now. It’s interesting to see which niches have been working for years and what’s trending. The combo makes it more actionable and replicable as a strategy and inspires ideas, at least for me. Stellar content overall my friend, thank you!

tina

I’m trying to cover more AI this year in a special website I’m designing right now. I’m worried about finding topics too but for now there are tons of angles and plenty of people who need help with it I think. Maybe Canada will lag on AI too but the rest of the world is ready for it.

Joaquin Okuneva

Your posts offer valuable insights.

Janice DesJardins

Melody, I am beside myself having invested in an online Drop Shipping business and website. I am currently limited to products from AppScenic which in many cases diminishes my selection when shipping to Canada vs. USA. I am carving out a Heath and Wellness niche and am looking for another Drop Shipping company preferably in Canada that offers yoga wear, limited exercise equipment, aids for the aging population, educational books for dementia care, gut health products and supplements, and casual apparel. I have looked through some of sites you have suggested. I use Woo Commerce and need to find something compatible with that. I am new to this and am starting to see how complicated it can be and really need this to work as it will be a parachute business and livelihood for me as I must now transition from Distribution of paper media where everything is now digital. I would very much welcome any and all your suggestions as I try to build my Health and Wellness online Drop Shipping/Affiliate business.

Timothy Nevius

The niches are real hot. Steps towards business seems to be profitable.

William Thomas

I recently read your article about e-commerce and found it very helpful. I am about to start my own e-commerce business and your article provided much-needed insight. If you have any more information or guidance that could help me, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would really appreciate it. Thank you for your informative article and I look forward to hearing from you.

William Thomas

Muhammad Bilal

Hello Melody,
I loved your Article because I am about to start my e-commerce business and this article helped me a lot. I need some more guidance if you could help me. Please feel free to contact me anytime. Looking forward

Simone

Just starting out, looking for a niche in decor. It quality products that are difficult to find.

ashiq

Great read. Thanks so much, for sharing. Ifor I use a US dropshipper and sell in Canada (on ebay or amazon), do I need to register a business name? Or aNY paperwork from the US etc.?
Also, if I use a US dropshipper and sell on ebay, in the US, what sort of paperwork, would I need for that? Thanks in advance.

Havvie

Just a note to thank you for sharing this intelligence with the online biz community. Your experience and understanding of ecommerce in CA is hard to find. I don’t know if it’s rare or other experts just aren’t publishing or aren’t willing to share their secrets. Either way! Thanks!

Rz

Trends are a scary thing to chase but the people who took a chance in some health categories are cleaning up right now. I like to play it a little safer but I still do longer living trends. I wonder what the future will bring too! Always a surprise or 2!

Jay

I’ve been using these as a starting point to find solid niches IN Canada and it all looks promising. If only we could get rid of the pandemic and get on with business again!!

Youssef Chaqchaq

@Melody, I really like the structure of this website!! The topics are well diversified and in your short bibliography, you are in-depth knowledge of the online business. What do you suggest to a newbie where to start from scratch? Is a certificate in digital marketing required to be familiar with the online business?

Mildred

I heard there’s a need to sign up for a drop shipping “club” of some kind to start a drop shipping business? A friend of mine tried this via
amazon in the US market and she stopped because of the 24/7 need of supervision.
Do we need to pay membership of some sort to start drop shipping?

Patrick Devaux

Where would i find the dropshipping guide?

Kacey

Have you noticed a big difference in 2020 niches? More or less sales in yours? I know it’s a hiccup and it’s going back to normal but I don’t know if now’s the time to start or if I should wait until 2021. Thanks lovey!

Mekdes

How much money do I need to resale online?

Arman

Hi
I want to canadian brand product, in this regard if I buy shelves pull and open box branded products by 3rd party like liquidators how I can resell these branded products because I am not authorized seller please advise
Arman

jit

Greetings!!
We are in interest of launching our own E commerce Platform, in canada, we at the moment researching canadian online market: like what products,service are sold online. It was great to read the blog.
It would be great if we knew about the laws and regulation of online selling in canada.
We are India based at moment, and further looking to expand in UK, CA, USA.

Vasav

What product range you would like to expand in to Canadian market. Please share if you can.

Bianca

Thank you so much for those great information, I was planning to start my home business in Canada and I was really excited about that, but when I got the shipping rates within Canada from all shipping companies I got really frustrated, the shipping rates are really high it costs like 17$ or more for shipping an order which makes it impossible for me to make free shipping or make earnings, could you please help me with any information if you have about shipping!! Many thanks 🙂

Will A

Excellent info here, thank you!
Question: I’ve heard from some very successfull drop shippers that high ticket domestically sourced items are best to go with. (Don’t have to deal with border issues/taxes, shorter ship times, etc) Is this what you do too? Or do you use international suppliers and just deal with the tax and import stuff.

Ian

How can a dropshiper compete with Amazon? Amazon is in all niches in Canada.

mamun

I think it was some great advise for a beginner such as myself….thanks for sharing….

Moira Llewellyn

Wow…thanks! I want to build a couple of niche sites this year and this really helps. One will have something to do with AI but I didn’t decide on the other one yet. Maybe there’s something here that’s unique but getting more popular? Time will tell!!

Adnan Iqbal

I really appreciate for helping the peoples from this website and guidance for new entrepreneurs

Stephen Burt

Hi Melody;
Thanks for creating a great site with great information.
If you use Green Geeks and have an ad for Wealthy Affiliates do they use them as well?
I am confused about whether to just get another host like I had (but with Canadian servers) on a single plan or a larger plan since we are anticipating an explosion in volume in and out and don’t know hosting like you do and talking to the sales team is not always the best source whereas you are independent.
Any thoughts will help as I don’t want to have a big jump that my plan can’t handle and lose participants.
Want to be on our board of advisers?
Thanks, Stephen
PS I filled out the info below and it didn’t like my URL but it is my URL and it works.

Mark

Great for your detailed instructions, I will apply it for my hot product search

Javeeth

Hi Melody,

I am India and I have an Import/Export firm in back home.I am planning to import the goods from India which is high demand and good profit for my firm. I have all the licences to export (Including perishable goods). Could you please advice in which item I can focus and do my R&D? Your help is highly appreciated! Cheers!

Deb

This was some great advise for a beginner such as myself…thanks for the advise:)

Selena

I guess these are the product list which is not so outdated even now. Many of the products are still hot in online business.

NikkiD

You listed “Specialty Fashion: Trendy maternity” as 2 in your list of hot niches however, this is exactly the kind of site I am looking to set up yet can’t seem to find any drop shippers for this niche – especially not in Canada. So just wondering at this made it to, pretty well, the top of your list.

Flowers4eden .

Great read. Thanks so much, for sharing. Ifor I use a US dropshipper and sell in Canada (on ebay or amazon), do I need to register a business name? Or aNY paperwork from the US etc.?
Also, if I use a US dropshipper and sell on ebay, in the US, what sort of paperwork, would I need for that? Thanks in advance.

Lesley Hoskin

Do you need a business number for taxes when you drop ship?

Amber

I’m so excited! Hoping to be up & running by fall for Christmas shoppers.

huzefa Dossajee

did this pan out

Randy O

They’re not so different from anywhere else but there’s lots less competition here and opportunities. Agreed!

Cheryl

Thanks for sharing your experience Melady! You can tell you have a lot of it to base your opinions on. I know who to come to with ?’s!

Josh Munroe

Most people won’t share this info…you’re very generous or crazy LOL. OK in the spirit I’ll share one of my best, it’s electronics accessories and custom packages of accessories for electronics. Profit margin isn’t too high bt they sell pretty fast. I make the most on the packages. People like to buy everything they need at once especially when they’re not sure about what they need in the first place.