10 Top Selling Summer Products for 2024

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Popsicles, slow music, warm sunshine – who doesn’t love the summer?

Summer-specific items give you a great opportunity for you as an entrepreneur, small online business owner, or hobbyist starting a website to go seasonal and cater to this short-term but very strong annual customer demand.

Now that it’s May, you want to be picking summer items to sell and, if you haven’t already, now is the time to get your store up and running – an ecommerce website builder is a quick and easy solution if you’re tight on time!

But with so many summer items to sell online, where do you begin? This article will help you find the top selling summer products for your store, let you know why they’re so popular, and the range you have to choose from.

How To Pick Products To Sell Online

As the owner of an online store, it’s crucial to find the best options. You want to source products that are seasonal, appealing, and useful.

The best products solve a problem that your customers have, so conduct market research for your online business and have a think about the customers that you want to reach. What is it that they need for the summertime? How can your products make their lives easier?

The Benefits of Selling Seasonal Products on Your Online Store

Once you know how to find trending products and seasonal items, they can be a good money-making opportunity for your online store.

Because they are popular with consumers, the top selling summer items get your website immediate attention from new customers with little promotion. And they’re already searching for these best selling summer items, so buying intent and need are high. Seasonal items are also easy to prepare for in advance, because you always know when it’s coming!

10 Top Selling Summer Products for 2024

There are a huge variety of top selling summer products you can sell online. But here are 10 of the most popular.

1. Swimwear

Just about everyone needs swimwear in the summer. Whether they’re a glamourpuss who likes diamante-dripped bikinis or someone who wears simple surf trunks, swimwear is central to the summer experience. Online store owners have a special advantage selling swimwear because most people don’t want to buy second hand options.

These days there’s something for everyone – every shape under the sun, swimwear for any activity, flexi-sizes, and many more. MIGA Swimwear offers excellent inspiration – they are community designed, and offer adjustable swimwear for everyone including people with disabilities.

MIGA swimwear gallery of customers in swimwear
MIGA Swimwear has something for everyone and is a great example of using user-generated content to create a community feel.
Top Tip: Have a browse on forums like Reddit to see what kind of swimwear needs are not being met. Who’s complaining about not being able to find what?

2. Beach Toys

Beach play is about more than a bucket and shovel. The possibilities are endless for beach toys, for kids and adults alike. Popular items that give hours of sporty fun include frisbee, volleyball, hydro lacrosse, and fins. Classics options include kites, squirt toys, and sifters. Educational items like catch-and-release aquariums and sea telescopes offer fun for more curious people. And for the artistic, there are sandcastle and sand sculpture tool kits.

Whatever the beach experience your customers want, you can provide it. Fat Brain Toys offers a huge variety of toys for kids depending on age groups, interests, and flexibility.

Fat Brain Toys beach toy product categories
Fat Brain Toys breaks down its beach toys into categories.
Top Tip: Not all sand is the same. Different beaches have different types of sand, so you can offer your audience a more customized service by letting them know the best types of toys for their chosen destination.

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3. Inflatables

This category of summer items to sell has really soared in the last 10 years. There are novelty inflatables like flamingos and pineapples, and inflatable tanks that squirt water, but there are also more practical ones including inflatables that protect and charge your devices and save your keys from sinking into the ocean!

Funboy is the GOAT of fabulous inflatables, providing a huge range that are both eye-catching and memorable.

Product photo of inflatable in a pool
Funboy’s inflatables make it even easier to have fun on vacation.
Top Tip: Not all inflatables are meant to be used in open water, so check safety standards so your customers can remain informed.

4. Eco-Friendly Sunscreen

Sunscreen is without a doubt one of the best things to sell in the summer – not only is there high demand, but you’re helping people look after their health. Because it’s such a popular summer product, it’s worth finding a niche to stand out from all the other sunscreen brands on the market. And that’s where eco-friendly sunscreen comes in!

You may be surprised to hear that some sunscreens contain nanoparticles or ingredients like octinoxate, oxybenzone, and octocrylene which can bleach reefs, damage fish, and add plastic to bodies of water. Many people are more eco-conscious nowadays – just check out the interest in searches for “reef friendly sunscreen” over the past five years!

Google Trend graphshowing upward trend for searches of reef safe sunscreen in the US over the past 5 years
Searches for “reef safe sunscreen” have grown in the US over the past five years according to Google Trends data.

Oceans, lakes, and rivers have got enough challenges without us giving them another one, so why not offer a more sustainable product instead?

There are many reef-friendly, plastic-free, biodegradable sun cream brands that are safe, affordable, and even smell delicious! Vanicream is a fabulous starting point.

Vanicream offers reef-friendly sunscreen

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5. Portable Fans

It’s no surprise that portable fans are a top selling summer product! Whether they are hand-held old-school paper fans, attached to a hat, USB, pedestal fans, or spray fans, you’ve got a lot of options! So to narrow down what will work best for your customers, think about who they are as people – where and for what will they need fans?

For instance, there are fans that look like headphones for bike riders, flexible tripod fans for strollers, fans that mist the face, even ones meant for bridesmaids during hot weddings. Tomtop has a great selection of fans to suit all needs including a neckband fan that blows cool air into your face and even up your back!

You don't have to pick one kind of fan to sell - TomTop sells many different types to cover a range of customer needs.
Top Tip: The ice trick does work! Putting ice in front of your fan boosts its ability to cool you down, so consider selling fun ice cube trays alongside the fans.

6. Bluetooth Speakers

It’s hard to imagine summer without music and bluetooth speakers provide music for many occasions. There are speakers that provide deep bass, “boost” mode for outdoor listening, or LED and strobe light shows (it’s worth adding a warning for this for any customers with epilepsy). Waterproof speakers can be used without worrying about water damage.

JBL’s Go 3 and Sony’s SRS-XB13 speakers are so tiny your customers can attach them to a belt. JBL is a manufacturer-direct website that shows a good range of what’s on offer.

JBL segments its speakers into categories, like bluetooth
Top Tip:Don’t forget to list information on speaker battery life and whether they are rechargeable. Customers may want them to last for a full day out.

7. Portable Hammocks

Modern hammocks offer a much wider range than just the kind that ties to the two closest trees. There are portable hammocks with poles, folding ones, lightweight ones, ones that collapse into a backpack, and hammocks built for two. And of course, if your customers are much more style-focused, there are beautiful bohemian hammocks with macrame and beads.

Hammock Universe is a great starting point for your research, and includes hammock accessories too.

Hammock Universe’s website looks like a vacation
Top Tip: Why not ask your customers what they’re using their hammock for and then make personalized recommendations? Hammocks for beaches (with a sun/wind shield) provide a different experience to ones for camping (yes please to the mosquito net!).

8. Flip Flops

These shoes will never go out of style, and there’s so much more to this summer product than those cheap rubber flip-flops that rub that little space between your toes! Modern flip-flops offer a much more comfortable experience. There are fashionable platforms that can be used for more dressy outfits, and pool-side flip flops with excellent traction. Sporty flip-flops offer a more comfortable fit and are good for walks.

Flip flops don't have to be boring; there’s something for everyone at Camper
Top Tip: If your customers like to think outside of the box, the website Camper Shoes is a great example of offering something unique and eye-catching. They sell really unusual flip flops that are fun, 100% EVA and recyclable.

Find Out More

  • Learn more about the ins and outs of Selling Shoes Online to give your flip flop sales the best chance of success!

9. Waterproof Bags

No matter what you’re carrying and where you’re carrying it, chances are you don’t want it wet. Phones, electronic key fobs, food, books, and other devices need to stay dry. You can offer more stylish bags that have hidden waterproof liners, casual bags that have a waterproof inner pocket or bags that are 100% bone-dry waterproof in their entirety.

Heeta offers completely dry bags at extremely affordable prices.

Heeta provides waterproof bags at ultra-competitive prices
Top Tip: Dry bags can’t be filled to the top, so if you sell them, make sure your customers know they might have to buy a size up.

10. Insulated Water Bottles

It’s a great thing to see so many people using their own bottles ,thereby cutting down on single-use plastics. Insulated water bottles let customers enjoy drinks that stay cold for up to 75 hours. Bottles can be functional, beautiful, attachable, and BPA-free environmentally friendly.

Chillys provides lots of inspiration on styles with a huge variety of environmentally-friendly bottles offered.

Chillys makes sustainable bottles stylish
Top Tip: Not all insulated bottles are dishwasher safe, so provide guidance on washing for your customers.

Summary

Selling seasonal items in the summer is an excellent opportunity for you to attract customers to your online store, order and sell items fast, and enjoy an inspiring rate of conversion.

When choosing which top selling summer products to add to your store, always remember to put your customer at the forefront of your decision – which items do your customers need, want, or enjoy the most?

Whether you decide to go for tech-based items like bluetooth speakers and portable fans, or accessories like swimwear, bags, bottles, flip flops, and sunscreen, or fun stuff like beach toys, hammocks, and inflatables, you’ll be part of your customers’ fun memories and experiences.

And that’s the most an online business owner could ask for!

FAQs

We recommend starting to sell summer products during Spring, to catch any early shoppers getting ready for summer. This means getting your store ready even earlier! You don’t want to be held up by supply chain issues, website updates, or store admin such as writing new product descriptions or taking product photos. You want all of these tasks well out the way by the time customers are looking to buy, so that you can focus on providing a smooth shopping experience!
An outside-the-box collaboration might be the best option. For example, seasonal summer items are hard to find in the winter, so why not team up with a winter travel blog or holiday destination for customers looking for winter sun? For products you really can’t sell, you can find methods of avoiding and shifting deadstock in our dedicated guide.
Written by:
Smiling headshot of Amanda Graham
I started writing for Website Builder Expert in 2022. I love copywriting for ecommerce, website, automation, and website brands and I’ve ghostwritten and content strategised for some of the largest multinational brands in the world. I have years of writing experience for the BBC, including documentaries, scripts, and Twitter campaigns. With such a wealth of experience to draw on, some of my best work on Website Builder Expert focuses on topics such as ecommerce strategies, marketing tips, and small business advice. I hope you enjoy my articles!

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