As the pandemic persists, netizens have come to accept that swiping through their phones is a safer means of purchasing. In its own way, e-commerce continues to expand in the country as Filipinos adopt it into their  “new normal” lives.

Through this development, the need to evolve businesses, transition merchants, and upskill digital workers has grown. If one desires to stay afloat during these trying times, understanding the playing field should prove beneficial. It begs the question—what are the best-selling products online in the Philippines?

This article will define the best-selling products in the Philippines available through e-commerce platforms amid the global health situation. Data interpretation tools and some marketing tips will be shared to help readers expand their reach towards new customers.

1.    Appliances

According to Semrush, appliances are a hot topic to date, with a high search volume of 18,100 keyword searches per month. The keyword ‘appliances’ has cemented relevance in the best-selling products category due to its rising search volume.

Appliances rose in prominence starting in 2020. The graph above notes down how much interest netizens have put on it for the past five years. Consumers valued improving their living situation more than usual a month into the pandemic in April 2020. This interest died down and rose again in November of the same year and peaked again in the summer of 2021.

Analytics is a big part of understanding your target audience. If you’re running a new business, utilizing SEO tools for keyword research will help you immensely. Tools like Semrush or Google Trends can provide users with a database, which can be used for market or web content studies. Search volumes and SEO keyword difficulty are valued because of existing competition and current trending searches.

Looking to market appliances yourself? Investing to expand your reach is never a bad idea. While the keyword ‘appliances’ may vary (e.g, SM appliances, Ikea appliances, etc.), competition for your products within the existing search volume can be remedied. Businesses can opt for a paid search engine campaign that can help move some of this traffic directly to your website.

Last tip—It’s important to note that consumers are unlikely to purchase an appliance on sight. Most consumers do their product research as they choose which appliance brand to trust. Investing in product testimonials and consumer reviews will help your business play a role in influencing a prospect’s decision-making.

2.   Personal care products

The pandemic has taught us to value our health above all for the time being. Naturally, the importance of personal care products rose. If you’re an aspiring retailer or seller of personal care products, being visible to the public is the highest obstacle alongside building trust.

Personal care products in itself are a broad category alone. What business owners are really looking for is what product comes with a high number of repeated purchases. Among these products, skincare products shone the most. Having an equal search volume with appliances is no easy feat.

The demand for skincare products has proven to increase steadily throughout the pandemic. The nationwide lockdown began on March 15, 2020. If we look at the graph, skincare products have overshadowed personal care products by a mile, only losing interest over time by a small amount around October 2020.

A report by Allied Market Research noted variables responsible for the growth of the Philippine skincare market. These consist of the surge in the female working population, increasing awareness concerning maintaining beauty, and desired lifestyle changes. It’s also important to note that by 2027, Filipinos are expected to spend 2.7 billion on skincare products overall.

Need tips on building trust between a brand and consumers? Using visual platforms like Instagram and Tiktok could prove more than enough. Creating content (reviews, product testimonials, routine tips) through these platforms can be a gamechanger for business.

Relying on SEO tools for this one isn’t optimal, but its input about trends is still of value. Consider the service of media influencers or influencer marketing agencies for this one. After all, social engagement and advertising products to strengthen brand trust and product awareness are what they do best.

3.   Home improvement products

Ever since the start of the lockdown in the Philippines, interest in home improvement has been steady. It’s an expected turn of events, with people being required to stay at home for most of the pandemic. It peaked in the summer for two straight years and had a sudden rise around August this year.

As with personal care products, home improvement is a broad field of subject. However, we took the time to take apart these home improvement products and see which ones remain popular to this day. But, something odd did come from this analogy.

Naturally, home improvement stores would sell products like gardening and carpentry tools. Throw in some home office upgrades, and it looks pretty normal. The real shocker here is that people look up ‘kitchen tools’ more than actual kitchenware in the Philippines.

The takeaway from this scenario is simple. Sometimes you have to think like the customer. Think about what you need and what could be useful right now. Play around with keywords and define what your product is and what you think the customer knows your product as. This is why studying analytics and being able to use SEO tools are important.

But even with the landslide graph that ‘kitchen tools’ presented, searches for home office upgrades still won in Metro Manila. People in urban Manila made purchasing desks, chairs, and peripherals essential in furnishing their homes because of the work-from-home setting.

Interest in home office products since the pandemic began has been significant, to say the least. This translates to it being a consistent field of interest during the pandemic.

If you’re an up-and-coming home improvement or home office brand, exposure to visual platforms will do you good. Instagram is popular right now, and here are some ways on how to get your name out there using social media platforms:

• Hiring professional photographers for quality product photos
• Influencer marketing to expand reach while building trust
• Contests and giveaways for product/brand awareness

Also, try to be different in your own way to convince customers you’re the one for them. A good example is committing to a free delivery and assembly service. It conveys ease and a better deal, pushing prospects closer to that proceed to order button.

4.   Workout clothes and gear

Due to the ongoing pandemic, consumers have started to recognize the importance of maintaining health in their daily lives. Consumer appeal grew for activewear because of a developing interest in fitness. Most of them seek a lifestyle change and search for stores to purchase ‘gym clothes’ or ‘workout clothes’.

When it comes to posting products up for sale on the web, keyword research is important. No one’s going to try too hard whenever the need to buy an item presents itself. It’s strange how fitness apparel in itself doesn’t have enough available data to support itself. This just shows that simplicity is key when it comes to consumers and prospects. Now then, let’s work around what seems to work:

Some might consider going to the gym odd during the pandemic, but this doesn’t stop them from searching for what’s simpler to them.

If we’re going to be specific about it, workout equipment seems more appropriate. Searching for it displays a degree of consistency that most businesses strive for.

Using the right keywords for your health and fitness store will surely help your site traffic. The best advice for these products is to invest in paid advertising campaigns that Google Adwords and Facebook could provide you with. Sites like these trim down your target audience for you, namely health and fitness enthusiasts.

Don’t worry if you don’t make sales as soon as you pay for these campaigns. Having them see your products or wandering around your site is already a good thing. When you make a sale, you can also ask for their email addresses for more marketing campaigns given enough time.

5.   Video games

The pandemic gave us more free time than we would’ve liked through stay-at-home protocols. With many Filipinos desiring new means of entertainment, it comes as no surprise that video games rose in popularity.

Video games come in great demand, amassing a global volume of a million searches and almost 15,000 in the Philippines. While building trust and awareness shouldn’t be an issue for this product, understanding what people need still is—and here’s why:

While video games are popular in the Philippines, most netizens tend to look up mobile games more often. While the release of Sony’s PlayStation 5 was big news around the first quarter this year, it’s still not enough to deter mobile games.

Mobile games are free, accessible to almost everyone, and continue to rise in popularity every day. Meanwhile, console games need a console. However, this isn’t that bad because it teaches businesses a good lesson.

You need to look at what makes competition successful. It doesn’t necessarily mean to take their product and paste your name over it. Mobile games are popular in the Philippines primarily because they’re free, right? But how do these companies make money from it?

Mobile games give you the option to spend on items exclusive to their game. Whether it’s League of Legends: Wild Rift on the phone, Valorant for PCs, or Call of Duty for consoles—video games can and will have different means of earning more than you think.

We’re not implying that you develop your own game, but maybe getting to know their products can help you too. Selling their in-game currencies for them can be good business for you also. It’s hard being an online or physical seller of video games. Having extra options of earning for your store is a sign of growth.

Running your own E-commerce Store?

The e-commerce industry in the Philippines continues to thrive amid our global health situation. While being tech-savvy needs some getting used to, exposure to various platforms could be too much to handle. The good news is, various plug ‘n play apps are available nowadays to make it easier to run an e-store. Check out 8 Shopify Apps that are Must-haves for PH stores to help you grow your online shop.

Understandably, some businesses aren’t fully briefed on the digital means of marketing. However, some assistance from a seasoned marketing agency with e-commerce experts could shed some light on some areas.

Through SEO for E-commerce, Influencer Marketing, and Programmatic Advertising, your business can also take the next step forward in today’s digital age. Leave us a message to get started!