Dad merch: What are the most profitable product types and niches paying homage to fathers?

Gone are the days when Father’s Day gifts were limited to ties and socks.

Amazon Merch on Demand offers a world of opportunities to show appreciation to fathers, be it for a special occasion or a daily love reminder.

Naturally, this creates a lucrative niche to explore for sellers.

But what are the most profitable product categories and niches in the dad segment?

Let’s find out.

The dad merch with the highest profit potential

As a seller on Amazon Merch on Demand, you can choose from a total of 12 categories to position your listings in.

But the truth is that not all of them offer the same financial gains.

To find out which merch types are most lucrative in the dad niche, we used Merch Informer’s powerful features and capabilities.

We analyzed the average BSRs of top-performing listings ranking for “dad” or “father”. To reach an informed answer, we examined each category in detail.

Discovering the lowest average BSRs wasn’t enough. Why?

Because the competition is different in each category.

We therefore assessed individual bestsellers to uncover the ones with the highest monthly royalties.

This extensive research process concluded that the most profitable dad merch categories are t-shirts and hoodies.

Let’s dive into these two product types in more detail.

Dad hoodies

Our initial assumption was that t-shirts would dominate all other categories in the dad niche. After all, they’re Amazon Merch’s leading merch type.

However, our market analysis reveals that father-inspired hoodies generate higher monthly returns.

Here are the insights that brought us to this conclusion.

There are more than 500 listings that rank for both “dad” and “father” in the hoodie category. The average BSR of dad hoodie bestsellers is 82,931.

This number signals the huge sales potential of the segment. However, it’s not enough to determine profitability.

One of the ways to gain an understanding of the earnings potential of the niche is to look at the minimum, maximum, and average prices in the space.

For dad hoodies, these are:

• Lowest price – $11.95
• Highest price – $50.95
• Average price – $32.80

This data shows that most sellers price their dad hoodies around $32. This translates into per-sale royalties of $5.

At the same time, some of the more experienced merchants are asking for $50 for their hoodie designs. In this case, the royalties are more than $11 for every sale.

A look into the number one bestseller in the niche offers insights into realistic monthly sales volumes. Using this information, we can forecast the monthly returns that some of the most successful sellers are securing.

The “USC USC Dad Retro Script Style Pullover Hoodie” listing dominates the scenes as the top-sold dad hoodie. At $45.95, it has a BSR of 20,594 and lands 140 sales per month.

Working out the maths, we can see that this merch design is accumulating monthly revenue of $1,540.

This positions hoodies as the most profitable merch category in the dad domain.

Dad t-shirts

The good news is that hoodies are followed closely by another lucrative merch type – t-shirts.

As mentioned earlier, t-shirts are the most well-developed market on Amazon Merch on Demand. At the same time, however, they’re also one of the most competitive spaces to penetrate.

Just like in the hoodie category, more than 500 “dad” and “father” t-shirts are available for sale. The top performers that rank for “dad” have an average BSR of 92,447.

While slightly higher than the average BSR of dad hoodies (82,931), this result is still low enough to trigger interest.

When it comes to pricing, the rates are much lower than in the hoodie category:

• Lowest price – $13.38
• Highest price – $30.00
• Average price – $19.08

Note that each Amazon Merch on Demand merch type has a unique royalty structure. The lower prices, therefore, aren’t necessarily an indication of poorer royalties.

For example, the per-sale returns of an item priced around the average ($19) are $4.89. Note that the royalties per sale for hoodies that cost $32 are also around $5.

A look into the number one listing in the dad t-shirt segment reveals real-life monthly profits. “Dad Est. 2024 Expect Baby 2024, Father 2024 New Dad 2024 T-Shirt” costs $19.98 and has a BSR of 13,168, translating into 216 monthly sales.

With per-sale royalties of $4.89, this merchant is earning $1,056 per month from this listing alone.

This information positions dad t-shirts in the second-best spot for the most profitable merch types in the niche.

Buyer interest towards dad merch

Now that we’ve laid out the foundations, it’s time to consider the shopper behavior in the market.

Are consumers actively browsing for dad merch? What are the themes and sub-niches that take leading positions?

The best way to find out is to analyze the search volume of popular keywords and phrases related to “dad” and “father”.

According to Merch Informer, here are the popular searches related to these words:

• Father christmas gifts – 38,301
• dad hoodie -11,328 – high
• dad pillow – 11,321 – high
• your dad my dad shirt – 10,014 – high
• dad popsocket – 7,906 – high
• dog father shirt – 5,514
• father figure shirt – 4,069
• father & son shirt – 4.058

Next to each phrase, you can see its monthly search volume.

Right off the bat, it becomes clear that the majority of users browse for Christmas gifts for fathers. This theme generates nearly 40,000 searches per month. However, it represents a sub-niche that’s seasonal and only popular around December.

For sellers looking for year-round earnings, a look into other opportunities is a must.

The list also uncovers that hoodies and shirts take center stage, with search volumes of between 10,000 and 11,000.

Interestingly, the data also shows that themes like dog fathers are also attractive to buyers.

So far, these results have provided exciting niche ideas for creating top-selling dad t-shirts and hoodies.

The final piece of the puzzle is to determine what keywords some of the chart-topping dad t-shirt and hoodie listings are utilizing to boost rankings and score sales. This will equip you with additional information on the trending niches in these categories.

Most popular keywords in the dad t-shirt and hoodie space

When examining the most successful dad listings, we identified the following top-used keywords:

• Day
• Love
• Fathers
• Funny
• Father’s
• Gifts
• Jokes
• Birthday
• Son
• Dog
• Daddy
• Daughter
• Christmas
• Vintage
• Papa
• Softball
• Present
• Proud
• Soccer
• Pregnancy
• Announcement
• First
• 70s
• Sarcastic

This list is a gold ticket to a ride to success.

It offers insights into some of the most popular and attractive sub-niches. As a seller, you can use it as inspiration for hoodie and t-shirt design creation and listing optimization.

Summarizing these findings, it appears that the most trending sub-niches for dad t-shirts and hoodies are:

• Occasions – Father’s Day, dad birthdays
• Announcements – Pregnancy, newborns
• Humour – Dad jokes, sarcastic memes and designs
• Hobbies – Softball, soccer, wrestling, fishing

Keep in mind that each of these sub-niches can be considered an individual market on its own. For example, the market prices and average BSRs of father’s birthday t-shirts will differ from those of softball Father’s Day t-shirts.

When entering these segments, it’s vital to have access to as much market information as possible. Evaluate the pros and cons before choosing a niche to compete in.

Conclusion

Thanks to Merch Informer, we were able to conclude that t-shirts and hoodies promise the highest returns for dad merch.

We also identified niches that guarantee high rankings and sales, including occasions, announcements, humour, and hobbies.

If you’re ready to dip your fingers into this opportunity-rich segment, you have the basics to get started. As you craft your sales strategy, don’t forget to use Merch Informer’s tools and modules for access to valuable data.

Make all the right choices and outperform others with ease.