Every year, online shopping is growing in popularity, and owners of online retail and dropshipping stores are able to make larger and larger profits. According to Insider Intelligence, US retail commerce sales are experiencing an upward trend and are expected to grow by 16.1% in 2022, reaching a value of $1.06 trillion. Business-to-business ecommerce is also expected to see significant growth in 2022, with B2B ecommerce site sales reaching approximately $1.77 trillion.
So, if you’re looking to start an online business to make large profits, ecommerce is a lucrative business, with dropshipping becoming a more popular business model. Read ahead to find out more about what dropshipping is, how it works, and how you can start successfully dropshipping. We’ll also introduce you to FillSell – the best China-based sourcing agent you can work with.
What Is Dropshipping?
Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method for online traders that differs from the traditional retail business model. The main difference is that the online seller – the dropshipper – does not keep a physical inventory of the products they sell.
Instead, the dropshipper buys products from a dropshipping supplier – usually a sourcing agent or wholesaler – that then delivers the products to the dropshipper’s customers. In this way, the dropshipping suppliers act as a third party between the dropshipper and the customers.
Dropshipping is becoming increasingly popular in the era of ecommerce because it offers a number of benefits when compared to the traditional retail business model.
To begin with, a dropshipping business can be set up with little to no upfront capital needed since a dropshipper does not need to invest in an inventory of products or equip a warehouse to hold that inventory.
This, paired with the fact that the dropshipping supplier handles shipping and logistics, means that setting up and starting a dropshipping business is also quite easy.
Dropshipping also offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to what kind of products you want to sell and which location you want to work in.
As long as your dropshipping suppliers offer delivery to certain locations – many even offer international delivery – you can have an extended customer base to work with. This can lead to higher profits than if you were in one physical location.
How Does Dropshipping Work?
Now that you have a clearer idea of what dropshipping is and why it has become such a popular business model, let’s take a quick look at how dropshipping works.
To begin with, a dropshipper would first have to build an online store or a website to sell products and get in touch with various dropshipping suppliers.
The dropshipper can then market products that the dropshipping suppliers have available to potential customers on their website or store.
Once customers start placing orders, you can forward them to the dropshipping supplier, after which the supplier will source, pack, and deliver the products to the customers.
6 Steps to Start Dropshipping Successfully
To start dropshipping successfully and hold your own in the competitive ecommerce market, there are certain things you will have to consider. Below, we have outlined 6 steps for you to start dropshipping successfully.
1. Find Your Audience and Dropshipping Niche
The first thing you need to decide is who your target audience will be and what niche of products you want to sell.
There are a number of ways to decide on a dropshipping niche. You could pick the easy route and choose a niche that you have a personal interest and passion for.
For example, if you are a pet parent, you might want to consider pet products as a dropshipping niche.
Next, you can take a look at Google Trends to see which niches are gaining popularity.
Google keywords is a great option for finding trending niches and also lets you narrow your searches down to specific terms. Google Insights is also a helpful tool for finding an appropriate audience for your dropshipping niche.
You can find out where most potential customers interested in a niche are located as well as their age range.
Social media is another place to look for trending niches and get an idea of what kind of audiences are interested in which niches. Facebook Audience Insights, for example, can offer you a lot of helpful information about audience demographics.
And lastly, you can also visit different ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon or Ali Express and take a look at their top product categories to get an idea of which dropshipping niches are most in demand.
2. Choose the Right Product
Once you have a dropshipping niche selected, you might want to consider selling just a few products from that niche before further expanding your store. The products from a niche that sell the most and are often on bestseller lists are known as winning products.
To find winning products in your chosen niche, you can start by taking a look at the bestselling products on different ecommerce platforms. This can give you a good idea of the kind of products that are most in demand. You can also find out what brands and companies’ products sell the most.
Additionally, you can also take a look at the products that your competitors are selling. Find competing dropshipping stores that sell products from the same or similar niches to the one you have selected. Then, take a look at their best-selling products or any reviews that customers might have left.
3. Find Reliable Dropshipping Suppliers
The dropshipping suppliers that you choose to work with will play a huge role in your business’s success. After all, the dropshipping supplier is responsible for the quality and performance of the products you are selling, as well as reliable and timely product delivery to customers. So, how can you find reliable dropshipping suppliers?
Many ecommerce marketplaces and other ecommerce websites list down the suppliers that they work with. These lists as known as supplier directories and usually have reliable and well-known suppliers listed in them, along with supplier contact information.
You can also find some legitimate and reliable suppliers by contacting the manufacturers of certain products that you want to sell. These manufacturers can help you find out which suppliers are reliable and trustworthy and also help you with finding relevant contact information.
One of the best dropshipping suppliers that you should consider working with is FillSell. FillSell is a China-based sourcing agent that provides low price points and helps you find the best suppliers within China with quotes within 24-48 hours. The company offers competitive prices, meaning that you can benefit from higher profits.
If you’re wondering why you should choose FillSell, there are many benefits that can be gained from working with the company.
FillSell helps you get in touch with a number of sourcing agents and gives you quotes from each agent. So, you can get the benefit of choosing the lowest quote.
Once you have reviewed the different suppliers’ prices and reviews, FillSell allows you to auto-sync your orders from different platforms like Shopify. As soon as you receive an order from your dropshipping store, FillSell will begin to source the products and get them delivered directly to your customers via trustworthy shipping companies.
Since FillSell is responsible for the entire sourcing process and delivery, the company offers quality assurance, customer support, and after-sales guarantees. With these additional services, you can build strong relationships with your customers and benefit from the business of happy repeat customers.
And lastly, another benefit you can gain by working with FillSell is brand building and recognition. FillSell offers branding services, including adding logos, scotch tape, custom packaging to products before they are delivered to your customers. This can help your business appear more professional and legitimate.
4. Build a Dropshipping Website or Store
The next you need to do to successfully start dropshipping is build a dropshipping website or an online store on an already existing platform.
You can build your own website from scratch using WordPress or hire the services of a web developer. You can also build a store on any ecommerce platform like Shopify, Woo Commerce, Amazon, and so on.
The good thing about creating a store with an already existing ecommerce platform is that many dropshipping suppliers offer integrations for these platforms, making it easier to auto-sync orders.
Remember, whichever route you take, your dropshipping store should be easy to navigate, have a user-friendly interface, display the products clearly with relevant descriptions, and have an aesthetically pleasing look.
5. Create a Customer Acquisition Plan
Then, it comes time to create a customer acquisition plan or strategy. A customer acquisition plan is basically an outline of how you will create customer outreach, convince customers to shop at your store and inspire customer loyalty.
There are a number of different approaches you can take for your customer acquisition plan. Some of these include email marketing, paid ads, social media marketing, SEO optimization, writing blogs and other content, etc.
Your customer acquisition plan will play a big role in drawing the customers in.
6. Analyze and Optimize
The last step to ensuring that your dropshipping business is a success is analyzing and optimizing your store.
Once your store is up and running, it is important to look at how successful your business is and consider what changes you can make if needed. You should analyze your sales, customer behavior, and profit margins.
Additionally, tools like Google Analytics can help you understand what kind of customer traffic your dropshipping business receives over a period of time. You can also use multiple social media marketing tools to analyze your marketing campaigns’ success.
FAQs About Dropshipping
1.Is dropshipping legal?
Dropshipping is a 100% legal and legitimate ecommerce business model. You can enter into completely legal Dropshipping Agreement Contracts with different dropshipping suppliers.
2.Is dropshipping worth it?
Given the rate at which ecommerce is growing and the increasing profitability of dropshipping businesses, dropshipping is definitely worth it in 2023. New dropshippers just starting out can use this business model to break into ecommerce markets and make high profits.
Conclusion
Dropshipping is a highly profitable business model and offers several benefits, as discussed previously. If you are interested in starting a dropshipping business, 2023 is a great year to start.
We have outlined the steps you need to take to successfully start dropshipping to help you get a better idea of how you can set your store apart from the competition. We have also spoken extensively about FillSell, the best China-based sourcing agent you should consider working with as a dropshipping supplier.