You’ll be surprised to find out what the most sold item in the world is. And you’ll probably buy it too.
What is the Most Sold Item in the World: Many people would say that one of the most sold items in the world would be Coca-Cola, something that everyone needs regardless of their situation and location. However, while this may not be far from the truth, there are actually plenty of other products that beat it out when it comes to sales volume!
What is the Most Sold Item in the World?
Let’s take a look at some of the other most sold items in the world and see why these products seem to sell so much more than others.
A-List of Common Items Sold Around the World
Every person you pass on a busy street, every car that passes by, and every home has an item purchased from one of these popular brands. What they all have in common is that they are all products that were manufactured and sold by just 25 companies.
For example, Proctor & Gamble owns over 400 companies including household names like Gillette, Braun, Olay, and Pantene. That’s just one company out of many owned by The Big 25. However, not everyone who walks into a store can afford to purchase their products. The most sold item around the world is jeans.
The iPhone
Apple has been a pioneer of innovative marketing and advertising techniques. No other company in history has built its brand around an individual, but Apple has successfully marketed not just one, but several individuals: Steve Jobs, and currently Elon Musk. The iPhone is sold worldwide to consumers who want cutting-edge technology from one of Silicon Valley’s most reputable companies.
Not only does Apple consistently churn out new products every year that sell millions of units before they’re even announced, but with high margins and little to no competition at their high-end market position, it’s no wonder that Apple is ranked #1 on Forbes’ America’s Largest Private Companies list by revenues.
Cars
The vast majority of new cars are purchased through dealerships, which means that they’re subject to stringent laws. While car salespeople will often push extras (such as extended warranties), their main purpose is to sell a vehicle—and it’s their job to do so legally. When selling a used car, however, there are more opportunities for infractions like tampering with odometers or passing off damaged vehicles as good ones.
Always ask for proof of an odometer reading before making an offer and check reviews on sites like Yelp to see if others have had a similar experience. If your gut is telling you something doesn’t feel right about a sale, don’t be afraid to walk away from it.
Beer
Beer is a beverage that is consumed by people all over the world. There are many different kinds of beer, and most countries produce their own. Popular beer-producing countries include Germany, Japan, China, Brazil, and The Netherlands. The global beer market generates about $400 billion a year, which makes it one of the largest industries on earth. Guinness brews an estimated 1% of all beer worldwide – despite not being available in most parts of Africa or Asia.
When sold under local brands it accounts for up to 50% of all beers sold around the world! Beer is also one of the most commonly counterfeited products in history. In fact, at least 10% of all beer sold globally is fake! Some major companies have been forced to close down because they were selling fake versions of their product. This shows just how lucrative and widespread counterfeiting can be if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Milk
It might seem surprising, but over 3 billion liters of milk are sold worldwide every year. Milking cows is a difficult job though and requires farmers to monitor their cattle for up to 14 hours per day. A lot of farmers choose to use automatic milking machines.
Which operate around the clock and cut labor costs significantly. The next time you’re sipping on a tall glass of chocolate milk or enjoying a refreshing ice cream cone made with real vanilla bean ice cream, think about all those hardworking dairy cows that made it possible. Without them, we wouldn’t have such tasty treats!
Cigarettes
The most sold item in the world might surprise you. Nearly one-third of all cigarettes are smoked in China. That is a staggering 3 trillion cigarettes consumed each year, with an additional 400 billion Chinese-made fake cigarettes. The smoke from these cigarettes equates to roughly 7 million deaths each year, and only 43% of smokers in China seek medical help for tobacco-related illnesses.
The 2nd highest consumption of cigarettes takes place in Russia, where 50% of adult males smoke at least 100 cigarettes per month. This addiction leads to 1/3rd of Russian men dying before they reach retirement age. The average life expectancy for a male who smokes in Russia is 58 years old.
Diamonds
Diamonds are, by far, one of the most widely sold items in history. Some reports suggest that $17 billion worth of diamonds were sold every year. Approximately 75% of all diamonds are bought as engagement rings. Diamonds account for almost a quarter of all sales in jewelry and half of all jewelry sales are estimated to be diamond-related.
All told, diamonds account for nearly 2% of global GDP and nearly 5% of U.S. GDP. If you’re looking for something to sell, it might not hurt to look into diamonds. They’re very popular and easy to market. However, there is a lot of competition out there so you’ll need some good marketing strategies if you want your business to succeed. Good luck!
Clothing (Clothes)
Americans spend nearly $200 billion a year on clothes, which is around $1,700 per person. As one of life’s essentials, clothing is essential to our survival. Fortunately for Americans, there are many choices of where and how we shop for clothing: big-box stores (like Target and Walmart), department stores (like Sears and JCPenney), specialty shops (like Gap and Nike), or even overstock websites (like Mercari).
This can lead to hours of scouring store racks or browsing endless pages on your phone—not to mention all that energy spent driving from store to store or website to website. People in other countries don’t have it so easy. In fact, some people only have access to one brand of clothing. In these cases, they might not be able to choose between different styles or sizes—they might not even be able to choose their own color!
That’s because brands create a specific color scheme for each item they sell and consumers must adhere to those guidelines. For example, if you wanted to buy an Adidas sweatshirt at Adidas’ flagship store in Germany, you would need to purchase it in black because that’s what Adidas sells its sweatshirts in. In fact, if you wanted any other color than black, you would have no choice but go somewhere else because Adidas does not offer any alternative colors at its German flagship store.
Shoes
Yes, it’s true—according to a recent study published by Fortune, global sales of shoes surpassed an incredible $300 billion in 2015. That total is more than any other single product type and nearly 4x what was spent on mobile phones that year. The shoe industry hasn’t always been so big—up until around 2000, only U.S., Italy, and France were responsible for more than $1 billion worth of shoe sales annually.
In fact, over 70% of all shoes sold throughout history have been sold since 1995—shoes have become a worldwide phenomenon recently as people have shifted from work boots to stylish sneakers, sandals, and flats; global sneaker sales grew 20% between 2012 and 2013 alone. While we still love our athletic shoes (Nike owns nearly half of the entire market), casual footwear has also grown tremendously.
While Chinese shoppers are largely driving growth in Asia, European consumers continue to buy plenty of high-end leather loafers and designer heels—and they’re even willing to pay up for them: European luxury shoe sales increased 8% last year. All told, there are now just under 10 million pairs of shoes being sold every day around the world—and that number continues to grow at a rapid pace…
Rice (Food)
Rice is one of Earth’s most abundant foods, and it can be grown almost anywhere with little effort. That makes it a cheap staple for billions of people around the world—and also a good candidate for what many call the most sold item in history. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 2.4 billion tons of rice are produced each year.
About 50 percent more than wheat and 40 percent more than corn. Plus, rice is found just about everywhere you look: from China to Egypt to Brazil to Thailand; from India to Indonesia to Nigeria; from Italy to Japan all across America. No wonder lots of experts say Rice might very well be one of history’s top sellers. What do you think?
Also Read: Which Business is Best For Students?
Conclusion
Cars, cars, and more cars. That’s right; there are more new cars sold worldwide than anything else. In 2013, there were just over 82 million new vehicles sold worldwide—about one car for every 12 people on Earth. Although that may be true for all of us here on planet Earth, it varies greatly when you look at individual countries.
In America alone, there are plenty of other items that beat out automobiles when it comes to sales volume. For example, Dairy products are still one of the most-sold products in America (even though many don’t think so). Americans drink a lot of milk—over 1 billion gallons per year—so it’s easy to see why dairy products rule our grocery store shelves.
