Strategy for finding low‑competitive private‑label niches on U.S. e‑commerce platforms (Аmazon)

Methods. The methodology presented in this study focuses on the use of the Opportunity-Gap Model (OGM), which consists of four key elements: demand sufficiency, competitive variance, barrier assessment, and economic viability. Data was collected from platforms such as Helium 10, Keepa, MerchantWords, and Amazon SP-API during 2022–2025. An initial sample of 12,000 ASINs was reduced to 820 niche candidates that met the basic criteria. The following indices were evaluated: keyword volume (Keyword-Volume Index), revenue distribution uniformity (RevenueGini), review velocity (Review-Velocity Index), and compliance (Compliance-Score). Results. Only 6% of all potential niches successfully passed the OGM model, indicating a high rejection rate. The study found that in many popular categories, brand dominance or market share exceeds 70%, consistent with a winner-take-all phenomenon. The average launch budget of approximately $8,900 for niches that passed the OGM test resulted in a 32% increase in first-year revenue. Moderate response rates were found to be an important factor for stable rankings (R² = 0.46). Approximately 40% of potentially profitable niches were rejected due to patent, certification, or category restrictions issues. Nowelty. The novelty lies in the creation of a comprehensive, empirically based OGM model that integrates several factors (demand sufficiency, competition, barriers and economic viability) to identify profitable niches. Unlike existing approaches that often rely on intuition or single indicator analysis, OGM offers a structured mechanism that minimizes risks. This allows novice and average sellers to avoid saturated markets and unfair competition. Practical value. The practical value is that the model can be used as a step-by-step guide to creating stable and profitable private brands on Amazon. It helps to systematically filter out monopolized categories and identify hidden «safe» niches. This model allows sellers to save money on advertising and avoid investing in unviable ideas, which, in turn, increases the chances of success and contributes to a more efficient allocation of capital in the market.