Top best-selling products of all time: Some products come and go without much impact on society, yet others sell so well that they remain in our memories forever. If you think about it, you can surely think of one of these items, which everyone has or at least wanted to purchase at one point or another. The companies responsible for their creation not only satisfied millions of customers, but surely made their investors happy due to record sales. In addition, these top best-selling products of all time did not just break sales records, but shaped entire industries, as businesses tend to follow trends and emulate each other.
Innovation is usually the key behind creating a best-selling item, since these products are usually the first of their kind and therefore remain in everyone’s mind for decades. After all, who doesn’t remember the first iPod presented by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s first version of Windows. Yet in other cases, the best-selling products of all time stem from niche markets. These items are so revolutionary that they quickly become mainstream, generating enough demand that other companies decide to join the industry.
In a recent article we presented you with the top 15 best-selling Apps for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iTouch. Apps surely constitute a new industry and as mentioned before, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was one of the firms responsible for making them so popular due to their innovative products. Whether any of these items actually made it into our list of the 10 top best-selling products of all time is yet to be revealed. Although brand-recognition and producing great items are some of the main factors which determine appearance on this list, market domination is also relevant.
With sales records being broken constantly and companies rising and falling in their popularity, it might not always be easy to keep track of who dominates and which product has been sold the most. Hence, in order to come up with this list, we took information provided by 24/7 Wall St., which reviewed a wide array of products in different categories and organized them according to their sales numbers. In the end, we were able to create the following list of the 10 top best-selling products of all time, which we will now examine in further detail, beginning with…
10. PlayStation
With more than 344 million units sold, Sony Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:SNE)’s PlayStation is one of the best-selling products of all time. The first version of the popular video game console was presented in 1995 and had the most powerful processors available at the time. Due to its huge success, Sony has continued to bring out new versions, with the PlayStation 4 being the latest of its kind.
9. Lipitor
Although it is not the typical consumer product that comes to mind, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) achieved a sales volume of $141 billion thanks to Lipitor. This pharmaceutical drug is prescribed to patients with high cholesterol in order to reduce the risk of heart disease and enjoyed huge success until 2011, when the firm’s patent expired.
8. Corolla
Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:TM) has sold more than 40 million units of its Corolla model. The first Corolla ever was rolled out in 1966 and has since experienced a huge make-over, yet even in its 11th generation, it continues to enjoy a great reputation as an affordable and reliable vehicle, with low gas-mileage, and as of late, improved design.
7. Star Wars
The two Star Wars trilogies brought in more than $4.6 billion in sales combined, making it one of the most successful film sagas of all time. Despite being released more than 20 years apart, both trilogies were immensely successful amongst old and young alike. In 2012, the franchise was purchased by The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) for $4 billion, in order to bring about the newest trilogy of the masterpiece originally created by George Lucas.
6. iPad
Of course Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) couldn’t be missing on this list, as their iPad revolutionized the industry by bringing about the tablet as a common accessory in offices and homes alike. With over 211 million units sold, the iPad remains the most popular tablet on the market, despite efforts by competitors to challenge Apple’s market dominance.
5. Mario Bros. Franchise
Ever since their first appearance in 1981, the easily recognizable plumber brothers have made it into 115 different titles and even managed to get their own cartoon series and live-action movie. According to its creator, Nintendo Co Ltd (NTDOY), the main Mario Bros games have been sold over 262 million copies, making Mario the most popular video game character of all time.
4. Michael Jackson’s Thriller
The King of Pop’s album Thriller was not only sold 70 million times, but also brought about a huge change in pop culture. Today, everyone knows the moonwalk and remembers the MTV generation, yet these wouldn’t exist without Michael Jackson and his 1982 hit album Thriller.
3. Harry Potter
It is would be almost impossible to find one person today who doesn’t have at least a slight idea of who Harry Potter is. With more than 450 million copies sold in over 73 languages, the Harry Potter books have become the best-selling book series of all time.
2. iPhone
Confirming its reputation as an innovative company, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes it second appearance on this list with its iPhone. Selling more than 520 million units, the smartphone which is now in its 6th generation continues to break records in the mobile industry.
1. Rubik’s Cube
In a way, this might be the most basic item on our list, yet it remains by far the best-selling product of all time. With more than 350 million units sold, the Rubik’s Cube is so popular, that no other toy can compete with it. In fact, it is first on our list due to the fact that, unlike the iPhone which has reinvented itself six times, the cube continues to be sold in the original form it was created in 1974, by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik.
