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What is Dropshipping
Are you interested to start an online business but do not know how to go about it?
YES! I was also at the same place a few years back until I came to know about dropshipping.
What is dropshipping and what are the technical details to get started with Dropshipping? Should you go for Shopify or Woocommerce Dropshipping. We will explore these details and talk about Woocommerrce dropshipping in this article to get you started with an online business that is scalable and also very affordable to invest in.
To explain in simple terms, Dropshipping is the easiest method to get started with your online e-commerce business. It is a low-risk business model where the drop shippers have a commitment with the suppliers and just list the products on their store. When the customer places an order in the store, the drop shippers send the customer details to the suppliers who then ship the products to the customer, without the drop shipper even needing to seeing the product.
On a whole, the dropshipping model is today being considered by many businesses because they do not need to incur the additional costs of stocking the product and just take care of marketing the products. However, since the dropshipper does not own the product, he may face issues with late supplier deliveries, low quality of the product, and handling customer feedback for the products. Companies like Amazon, Myntra, Indiamart, etc are all examples of successful dropshipping businesses.
In a Dropshipping business, the dropshipper makes a profit by the difference amount between the wholesale rate and the retail rate. Sometimes, the dropshipper gets an agreed percentage as commission from the supplier for the sale of each product.
India’s e-commerce sales are growing at a rapid pace and hence dropshipping is still one of the profitable businesses you can start today with a minimum investment. The main factor in a dropshipping business is identifying the right suppliers for your business. If you can get a reliable and trustworthy dropshipping supplier locally, then you can provide better supplier delivery and also ensure the quality of the product.
Finding Best Dropshipping Suppliers in India
First, you need to identify your niche for selling. This can be done by identifying the most profitable dropshipping products using Keyword research. You can search on Amazon on what are the hot-selling products and identify the current trends using Google keyword planner and Google trends.
Once you have identified the products to sell, the next step is finding the right dropshipping suppliers for your products.
Finding the right Dropshipping suppliers for your business is half the battle won.
Some of the well-known dropshipping suppliers in India can be found at
IndiaMart
Hothaat
TradeIndia
ExportersIndia
Snazzyway
Coorgle Dropshipping
baapstore
Seasonsway
Just choose a network you wish and just search for the suppliers in your niche whose product you would like to dropship on your store.
Shopify Vs Woocommerce for Dropshipping
Shopify and Woocommerce are both the best options to start your dropshipping store and for that reason, the best way to start an e-commerce store.
Shopify offers you four options for starting your online store.
Shopify Lite – $9 per month
Basic Shopify – $29 per month
Shopify – $79 per month
Advanced Shopify- $299 per month
Shopify Lite is used by people who already have a website with a domain and just want to have an option to set up their store on a website. They are provided with a BUY option on their website and other features to set up a basic store on your website.
Shopify Basic comes with all options to start your store when you do not have a domain. You get 2 staff accounts, 24/7 support, unlimited products, and an online store with blog and sales channels.
Shopify is the best option to get started with when you do not already have a website or you are a beginner and you want everything set up for you. However, Shopify does charge transactions fees for using external payment gateways, and also it is not very customizable when compared to other options.
Woocommerce is the other option you can go for when you already have a website. If you already have a WordPress website up and running,
woocommerce is the best option to go for, as it provides several plugins which are free to set up your store.
The main plugin- Woocommerce is essentially free and you can get started right away. However, as you get started with your business, there are a number of other plugins (free and paid) that you need to install in your WordPress for better functionality.
How to set up a Free Dropshipping Store using Woocommerce
If you already have a website with a domain name and hosting running your site, the easiest way to get started is just by installing the Woocommerce plugin to get you started with Woocommerce dropshipping.
Woocommerce offers a wide variety of options to set up your e-commerce store.
Once you install the plugin, you will then be prompted to enter your product details with a photo of each product, and the payment processing details. You can then set up your store page as you wish where all your products will be listed. The entire process is quite easy and you will be guided through the setup process.
To set up drop shipping, this plugin has extensions like Woocommerce dropshipping which automates your dropshipping orders. Once an order is placed in your store, it sends details to your dropshipping supplier who then fulfills your orders.
Woocommerce Dropshipping Theme
The first thing that your customers notice once they reach your store is the look and feel of your store. For this purpose, WordPress has several Dropshipping themes, which you can use to make your store look attractive and also to help you with certain sales.
These are the top 10 Woocommerce Dropshipping themes that you can use:
Flatsome Woocommerce theme
Porto multipurpose Woocommerce theme
Storefront – The official Woocommerce theme
commerce WP theme for woocommerce
Avada
Uncode
Divi
DaVinci
Astra
Select the best Dropshipping theme for your dropshipping niche and test it out. The next thing you might probably need to look into is how to optimize your store page for better speed for the selected dropshipping theme.
Best Dropshipping Plugins for Woocommerce
These are some of the plugins that will help you in your Woocommerce dropshipping business. Most of these are free dropshipping plugins that you can install and activate on your wordpress website.
AliDropship – This is a dropshipping plugin that helps you get connected with Aliexpress dropshipping suppliers. Aliexpress is the largest portal to get dropshipping suppliers that many of them rely on. With a single click, you can get connected with all the suppliers and import any product directly into your site. After the plugin installation, you get access to the database of 50,000 + handpicked and top-selling Aliexpress dropshipping products and the first 50 imports are free.
Spocket – Spocket helps you source products from the top dropshipping suppliers of the US and EU. You also get several discounts to make your store more profitable.
Spreadr – This is your Woocommerce Dropshipping plugin for the Amazon affiliates program. Here, you market the Amazon products on your website as an affiliate. For this, what you need to do is first signup for an Amazon affiliates account and just add the products from Amazon stores into your site. When someone clicks on a product on your store, they are redirected to Amazon where the sale happens. This essentially works like an Amazon affiliate system and you have the added advantage of Amazon reviews to make an easy sale on your store.
Is Amazon dropshipping profitable
Amazon dropshipping is an e-commerce model where you list yourself as a seller on Amazon and send your products to Amazon. They hold your inventory and ship the products to your customers when there is an order. The benefit of this model is that Amazon shipping rates are faster and also they hold your inventory for you.
When you use this model, you need to be the unique seller of your products and mention your name as the seller on the invoice, and take responsibility for processing any returned customer orders.
Amazon usually takes 15% of the total revenue. Hence, if you have a margin of 30%, then you get returns of 15% which is decent returns. Essentially, you act here as a supplier for Amazon and it also helps you in marketing your products and increasing your business.
How to Market your Woocommerce Dropshipping Store
You can build trust by adding customer reviews to your site.
If you are doing amazon affiliate marketing, utilize the power of Amazon marketing and use Facebook ads to make your product well known. Try to run ads to get bulk orders.
Invest in video ads to better showcase your products and explain their benefits.
Utilize content marketing to help people understand the benefit of your products and retarget people who click on your links through email marketing.
Identify where your niche hangs around online and join those groups. Increase engagement by posting your links to these groups to get more likes and subscribers to your posts.
Use Buyer Intent keywords for SEO and encourage existing customers to buy more with offers and discounts
Last but not the least, use appropriate hashtags and create the right posts on Social Media to increase engagement.
Woocommerce dropshipping as a successful business model
Woocommerce dropshipping has several benefits. It is good to start with woocommerce dropshipping if you have a minimum investment in mind and want to learn the ins and outs of an online commerce business. As WordPress offers you the added advantage of having strong content marketing in place, you can use Woccommerce dropshipping as a business model and start your online business today.