What Are The Most Dominant Pop Culture Themes By Type on Amazon Merch on Demand?
In a world driven by pop culture, where trends emerge and evolve at lightning speed, Amazon Merch on Demand stands as a vibrant hub for creative expression. From captivating movies to mesmerizing music and thrilling gaming realms to alluring series, we delve into the core themes that resonate with millions.
In the following sections, we take an immersive journey through Amazon Merch on Demand to unveil the trends that dominate the world of Amazon merchandise.
NOTE: Before we dive into the article, we talk a lot about research we have done that involves lots of intellectual property that you would NOT own. Do not infringe on the intellectual property of others!
The most dominant pop culture categories
When it comes to pop culture, there are five core pillars to explore:
- Gaming
- Movies
- TV series
- Comics
- Music
All of these segments serve as inspiration for merch design creators. They open up new avenues of profit-making and enable sellers to connect with their audience in creative ways.
But the reality is that not all of these categories perform equally well on Amazon Merch on Demand.
We used Merch Informer to analyze the average BSRs of these markets and reveal their popularity among shoppers. Using market-related keywords for each, we discovered the following average BSRs:
- Series – 288 394
- Comics – 291 276
- Gaming – 375 015
- Movies – 962 582
- Music – 1 087 035
According to these findings, TV series generate the highest sales volumes as they have the lowest average BSRs.
However, it’s worth noting that there could be discrepancies in the extracted data. As mentioned, we’ve only used main keywords to perform our research, such as “series t-shirts” or “movie t-shirts”.
Keep in mind that in most cases, listing titles and descriptions from these niches will only feature specific themes. For instance, a listing in the movie category could only include keywords related to Inception or Harry Potter, excluding any movie-related words.
In terms of user search behavior, we can conclude that the gaming space dominates with the highest search volumes:
- game t shirt design – 5 957 – high
- music tshirts – 4 826 – high
- movie hoodies – 4 823 – high
- comic tshirt – 4 423 – high
- tv series shirt – 323 – high
Next to the search volume, you can also see the competition level of each keyword. Unsurprisingly, competing for such broad words and phrases is incredibly difficult. But before you start worrying, remember that there’s a way out. Targeting sub-niches and specific themes will make ranking in certain markets much easier.
The themes that create the biggest waves
So far, we’ve reached the conclusion that series-inspired merch offers the highest sales potential, while game-related products are the most browsed for on Amazon.
But this won’t be enough to shape a killer strategy. You’ll also need specific themes to create your designs around.
Luckily, Merch Informer offers all the data you need to make the right decisions.
Let’s look at the most dominant and lucrative pop culture themes for each category that you can explore as a seller.
TV series
There are some TV series that simply turn into a name that we all know of, no matter whether we’ve seen them or not. Productions like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Stranger Things are only a few of the examples that come to mind.
But when it comes to the series with the lowest average BSRs on Amazon Merch on Demand, Squid Game dominates most others. With an average BSR of 17,168, Squid Game merch items are truly exciting for sellers.
Tied with a vast search potential (95 470 monthly searches for words like “456 squid game shirt”) this theme is undoubtedly a leader in the series niche.
Gaming
Earlier, we found out that gaming t-shirts, hoodies, and other merch items are among the most searched for on Amazon. At the same time, not all gaming themes will yield the same results, both financially and popularity-related.
While there are a range of games that have garnered tremendous interest worldwide, like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Call of Duty, one stands out with the lowest average BSR – Super Mario.
A quick browse through some of the bestsellers on Amazon Merch on Demand reveals a ton of creative Super Mario designs. The average BSR of top performers in the niche is 404 314, which is lower than other researched alternatives.
At the same time, around 4,300 users search for these designs on a monthly basis. For example, words like “super daddio mario shirt” accumulate a monthly search volume of 4 356.
Interestingly, this keyword also demonstrates how two niches can be merged together for success. In this case, the seller has combined “super mario” with “dad shirts” to create an innovative and competitive product.
By taking this approach, you can overcome one of the big challenges in the pop culture market – the aggressive level of competition.
Movies
When it comes to movies, there are endless themes to create merch around. Think of Harry Potter, Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings. We’ve all seen eye-grabbing and must-have shirt and hoodie designs around these blockbusters.
But as with other pop culture segments, some names outperform others.
In this case, Star Wars is an unquestionable leader in terms of average BSR. However, we didn’t arrive at this conclusion by performing a standard search for “Star Wars shirts” on Merch Informer. Instead, we used the most loved and eminent character from the saga – Yoda.
Merch designs that include the word “Yoda” in listing titles or descriptions have an average BSR of 148 506. Considering the popularity of the movie space in general, such a low number is truly impressive.
In addition, keyword phrases like “yoda hoodie” have a monthly search volume of nearly 7,000. This is a substantial demand that you can satisfy with attractive and competitively priced designs.
Comics
Comics shape a large piece of the pop culture space on Amazon Merch on Demand. Anything from general DC or Marvel designs to specific merch products centered around Batman or Superman, this niche works wonders when it comes to attractiveness and profitability.
But if we had to advise you to focus on one theme, it would have to be Hulk.
Hulk-inspired merch listings have an average BSR of 205 897, showcasing the sales potential of this topic. In addition, we discovered that these products have higher average and maximum prices than most other pop culture niches ($23.56 and $28.29).
This means that your royalties per sale are likely to be more rewarding, leading to satisfactory monthly profits.
The search volumes of theme-related keywords are also not to be neglected. For example, “hulk smash shirt” is used by users browsing around 5,500 times per month. Just think about the royalties you’ll enjoy if you manage to satisfy this demand.
Music
The final piece of the pop culture puzzle in Amazon’s merch world is music. Here, you can expect to see anything from Metallica hoodies to Lady Gaga t-shirts.
Out of all available themes to sell in, we identified Pink Floyd merch as the most gainful. Top performers in this specific segment have an average BSR of 55 892, which is among the lowest when compared to all other categories.
To top this up, search demand is also significantly high, reaching 9 431 per month for phrases like “pink floyd t shirt”.
Important notice about trademarks
Before we wrap this up, it’s important to consider the legal aspect of these pop culture themes. As you’re probably aware, Amazon is extremely careful not to infringe on existing trademarks.
And to be perfectly clear, most if not all of the creative titles discussed in this article are copyrighted.
So, take our research as just that – research to inspire new ideas, but definitely not to be used without ensuring that you do not break any established trademarks. To check if a keyword is trademarked, use the Trademarks toolset offered to Merch Informer subscribers.
Disclaimer: Merch Informer does not own any of the trademarked titles discussed in this article, and does not encourage their use in print-on-demand t-shirts, or any other print-on-demand merchandise to be sold for profit on the Amazon platform.
Summing up
So what can we recommend based on our discoveries from the pop culture genre?
If you’re in a dilemma about the category to choose from, we suggest focusing on TV series as the segment with the lowest average BSR.
Using Merch Informer as your powerful weapon for valuable data, you can produce not only creative but sales-inspiring merch items. Don’t be afraid to merge niches together and experiment based on research and actionable data. This approach will help you transform your portfolio into a success story on Amazon Merch on Demand.
