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Are you an entrepreneur who wants to enter and conquer the eCommerce market space but believe that you do not have enough resources at hand to do so? Well, dropshipping can be one of the most easier and faster solutions to that problem. And when it comes to dropshipping, we’d recommend nothing else than Shopify Dropshipping.
It’s because even if you do not have enough resources, Shopify dropshipping makes it incredibly easy for you to handle everything. From manufacturing and supply chains to even managing the inventory for you, Shopify dropshipping has promising features.
You can quickly launch your e-commerce business online and handle it effectively because then you do not have the inventory management headache. Everything is taken care of and isn’t that the dream of every entrepreneur?
So, while starting a Shopify Dropshipping site is surprisingly easy, you’d still need a lot of information to do it properly.
So, to help you understand how you can do it, we have created this guide. You can follow these steps and create an eCommerce website in a day and start selling your products.
So, without any further delay, let’s get into the details.
What is Dropshipping?
Let’s start with the most important question first.
For those of you who are still unsure, dropshipping is a business model where an eCommerce business owner can quickly sell his products without having to worry about carrying and maintaining an inventory.
In this method, the seller does not have to keep the products that it is selling in stock. On the other hand, when an order does come in, the retailer forwards the order to the wholesaler or manufacturer that then ships the product to the customer. In this way, the retailer never actually handles the product in any way.
You can integrate various dropshipping applications that make this task even much easier for you and allow you to add the products from different suppliers into the eCommerce shop to increase the number and types of products you are offering—no wonder 33% of online stores have now adopted drop shipping.
Moreover, it does not require you to invest a lot in it, you can efficiently run it in your spare time, and there are several tips that can help you in this process. All in all, Shopify dropshipping is the best option to work with and make sure that your eCommerce business is a success.
Advantages of Dropshipping
Dropshipping is undoubtedly one of the best business models that entrepreneurs can start with majorly because it is accessible as well. It helps to learn a lot about the market and choose the in-demand products present in the market.
There are, however, a few other reasons why dropshipping is known to be a popular model.
Less Amount of Capital is Required
One of the most significant advantages of dropshipping is that less capital is required; therefore, it is easy to launch an eCommerce store. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars setting up the inventory.
In another way, you would have to spend a lot of money just setting up the inventory. No extra cost is incurred until the sale is finalized and paid for by the customer. Similarly, the percentage of success with a dropshipping business is way more than starting a traditional retail business.
Low Overhead Costs
While dealing with the purchase and the management of an inventory, the overhead expenses are at times low. With dropshipping, you can save these costs, as most of the businesses are run home-based and require only a few things to run. Over the period, these costs might increase but not so much as compared to a traditional business.
It is Very Easy to Get Started
When you wish to start a dropshipping business, running it is much easier because you do not have to spend a lot of money setting up a traditional business. The traditional business requires a lot of time and money to set up.
Costs can be incurred on the management and payment of the warehouse, shipping of orders, tracking inventory, handling of returns, and management of stock level.
A Complete Collection of Products
With dropshipping, you do not have to pre-purchase the items; therefore, you can offer a vast range of products to your customers. If the supplier stocks an item, you can offer it on the online store.
Flexibility of Location
While running a business, the presence of a place is very integral but in dropshipping, that costs significantly decreases. It can be run from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.
Actively communicate with your suppliers and customers, and you are good to go.
It is Easier to Test
Dropshipping is a very useful tool to test the launch of a new store and if you want to check the customers for some new additional products. The new additional products can consist of anything. You can list the products and try selling a small number before deciding to take on a more significant product quantity.
It is Easier to Scale
Compare Dropshipping to other traditional businesses, and you would realize that you have to double the amount of work in the latter. With dropshipping, you will be able to expand your business with less work and fewer problems.
Increased sales will increase the work, but this business model makes it easier to do all the tasks that would typically take you a notable amount of time in traditional business.
Why Choose Shopify for Dropshipping?
Now you must be wondering that although there are numerous eCommerce platforms, why is Shopify the most popular platform for dropshipping? Multiple businesses around the globe use Shopify because of the different beneficial features that it offers and helps the eCommerce websites be a success.
There are a few other noticeable reasons why you should consider Shopify dropshipping.
It is Dropshipper Friendly
Shopify is recommended for dropshipping purposes because the platform is very friendly and related to the solutions for dropshipping. There are applications that work exclusively with Shopify making the platform much easier to use.
It is Very Easy to Use
Apart from being an excellent platform for dropshipping, it is one of the most user-friendly tools. It is completely packed with various features that do an excellent job of helping one set up their eCommerce website and add more features. You can design the dashboard as you want to.
It Offers Some Great Features
The Shopify platform has some of the best features to help you in running a successful eCommerce website. The online store builder allows you to design and set up your website without any trouble. Moreover, helping you manage the sales, marketing, and payments by keeping a strict record of all the data.
Shopify App Store
Shopify has many settings and features that help you manage your eCommerce website perfectly and without any problem that can not be solved. The platform is very easy to use, but if you cannot find any application or any feature you need, you can always find a suitable Shopify dropshipping app for it in the Shopify app store.
It provides you with the right kind of application to help you manage your work and find the solution for practically any problem.
Furthermore, there might be multiple eCommerce solutions present, but Shopify still manages to be the best for dropshipping.
So now that you have an idea why Shopify is the best solution for dropshipping option, let us discuss how you can grow more using this application.
How to Dropship on Shopify?
In this section, we talk about how to dropship on Shopify and walk you through some easy steps that can help you create your eCommerce store.
Following are the steps that you should follow to have a completely functional and running top Shopify dropshipping stores.
Name Your Shopify Dropshipping Stores
Even if you have one or multiple Shopify Dropshipping stores, the first step is to make sure that you name it. While naming the store, see that the name is simple, creative, and rememberable. This way, your audience will not have a lot of problems remembering the name of your store.
If you are having trouble finding a good name, you can choose a Shopify dropshipping app to decide on a simple and creative name for your business. You will be presented with a list of options that you can choose from, saving your time.
After this, you need to check if a domain is in use with the same name; if not, you can start your domain. Otherwise, you can choose a separate and general domain name to get started.
Create a Shopify Account
The next step is to create a Shopify account which is very easy and quick. Visit Shopify’s homepage and create an account by entering your email address and password. After this, you will be asked to enter the name of your Shopify Dropshipping business store.
Source: Shopify, Shopify-dropshipping-2021
Next, you will be asked a couple of questions, and once you complete it, your Shopify account is up and running, and then you have to configure the settings to launch your Shopify dropshipping account.
Source: Oberlo, Shopify-dropshipping-signup
Optimizing the Shopify Account Settings
Now, you need to optimize the settings of your Shopify Account. Setting up the correct settings is vital because it will help you receive money from your customers and guide everyone about the store policies and the shipping rates.
Payment Information
Add a payment option to the Shopify dropshipping store because without this, you will not be able to receive the money from your customers. Access the settings page and select the “Payments” tab on the left side of the page to add the payment information.
Source: Oberlo, features-of-shopify-dropshipping
If in case you do not have an account set up, the process for that is also easy and takes only a few minutes.
Add Your Store Policies
Always add necessary information regarding the store policies. Through Shopify, you can generate a privacy policy, refund policy, and even suitable terms and conditions for your store to run it more smoothly.
Source: Oberlo, refund-policy-of-shopify-dropshipping
On Shopify’s settings page, select the “Checkout” tab and click on the “Generate” button to create the policies for the fields mentioned.
Mention the Shipping Rates
When customers visit your eCommerce website, they want to know the shipping rates and be very clear about the rates. You can offer free shipping as well. Moreover, you can incorporate shipping fees into the price of your products.
Add the shipping rates by accessing the ‘Shipping” tab in the Shopify settings.
Launch the Shopify Dropshipping Store
Now that you have added all the required information, you can successfully launch your Shopify Dropshipping store. Go to the ‘Sales Channels’ option in Shopify’s settings page and select the ‘add an online store.’
Source: Oberlo, sales-channel-in-shopify-dropshipping
Congratulations, your online store is now up and running!
Design Your Shopify Dropshipping Store
Although your store is up and running, you must design your store in the best possible way because the design carries great importance while getting new customers.
Having a design aesthetic website is very important, and there are two vital aspects in your Shopify Dropshipping store that includes the theme and the logo.
Choose a theme
Pay special attention to your website design. Shopify has a built-in theme store, and that you can choose from a variety of themes. There are premium and free options available. You can start from the free options and later update with the premium options available.
Source: Shopify, Shopify-themes
Also, see that you choose the one suitable to your niche and has a more convenient user interface to cater to your audience.
Creating a Logo
A logo is a complete identity of a brand, and it helps the customers remember the brand. Take a reasonable amount of time to come up with a logo that represents your brand.
Experiment with different colors, icons, fonts and see the version which looks best for your brand. You can check out various logo makers to decide on a logo. With the help of a logo and theme, your store will start to look attractive.
Integrate the Shopify Dropshipping App
To add the products to dropship, you can start integrating the Shopify dropshipping app, which can help import dropshipped products to the store. Integrating the Shopify dropshipping app is very easy.
Source: Shopify, Shopify-app-store
You can also use the Shopify dropshipping app to search for the products you might be interested in selling. Just click on the import button on the products you like to sell, and they will be imported to your Shopify dropshipping store.
Make Your First Sale
Now that you have created your own Shopify dropshipping store, you are ready to start generating revenue and make sales. You can start by creating different marketing campaigns to drive traffic to your website.
Choose the best digital marketing channels available to market the website and increase the traffic to the store. Try different advertising styles, keep on testing, and soon realize which one is best for you.
Problems related to Shopify Dropshipping
Yes, while the Shopify dropshipping process can be sped up, and the risks can be minimized as you learn more and more about this process, but there are problems that you can face.
If you are not careful enough, there are specific issues that you might face related to dropshipping and can lead you to drop this idea.
Lack of Understanding of the Platform
If you are using Shopify to create a website, it is essential that you know the platform on the whole and use it wisely. Always try not to get stuck on technical issues and get through all the problems yourself.
Failure to Choose the Right Supplier
Shopify dropshipping might be a way to start your business, but it is not that simple; you need to choose the right supplier because they will be doing multiple jobs for you.
These jobs can include handling the shipping and logistical support and paying for the product as well. Imagine if they do not get the product delivered on time; that can be an issue. Ensure that you communicate with them and find the best one based on their reviews.
Lack of a Proper Budget
Before your online store starts magically making a lot of profits, you need to invest some money in it, ensuring that people will come and buy the products that you offer. If you do not have a proper budget and fail to get a good eCommerce website made through Shopify, Shopify dropshipping will not generate any profit instantly.
Failure to Choose the Right Kind of Store
A general store lacks a lot of features. For Shopify dropshipping to work effectively, you must have one-product or niche stores set up. This can help create a brand and develop excellent customer service, separating you from your competitors.
Final Word
Concluding the entire discussion that we had, it can be said that dropshipping might not seem like a perfect, stress-free plan for starting a business. It can be because it has its advantages and disadvantages, but this model is undoubtedly a better one than the traditional one benign followed for years.
With the right frame of mind and correct decisions, it is not impossible to start a dropshipping business and see it succeed as its pros surely outweigh the cons. Moreover, it is still better than traditional business in countless ways. So careful planning and evaluation can help develop a strong, thriving, and profitable dropshipping business.