Dropshipping - product selection

timer 7 min read

When setting up an online store, it’s crucial to pay special attention to selection of appropriate products. A thoroughly tailored product range means more profits.

What to keep in mind when selecting your dropshipping products? Below you can see a list of 8 rules that will facilitate the process of coming up with your offer.

  1. Target group - what customers may be attracted by your offer?

Start with defining your potential customers. What are their needs and how do you want to satisfy them? Answering these questions may help you advertise and sell items.

Should a store cooperating with a dropshipping wholesaler that distributes clothes for women sell pet products as well? That might be a risky decision. Combining two different offers in one store requires some expertise.

  1. Demand for a given product

Before starting a business, you should conduct thorough market research to estimate the demand for selected products and their sales potential. Will the goods sell well? How long will people want to buy them? Will you be able to expand the offer with new items? When comparing products with their substitutes, consider their prices and quality.

Benefit from tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends to check your development potential.

  1. Knowledge about the offered product

Let’s imagine you want to start cooperation with a dropshipping wholesaler distributing watches. Do you have necessary knowledge in this field? Think what kinds of enquiries you may get from potential buyers - can they be related to offered products, their functionalities or maybe watch repairs? This issue is particularly relevant as customers expect a professional approach. Each product group has its own typical features and crucial pieces of information - in case of clothes these may be size charts or fabric compositions.

  1. Cross-selling opportunities - selling products and complementary goods

How to improve your sales with the help of cross-selling? Imagine that you sell prom dresses. Expand your offer with elegant shoes and bags. Accessories offer a wide range of possibilities. Appropriate and thoughtful selection can undoubtedly bring you extra benefits. It’s a good idea to find a wholesaler offering a wide selection of accessories complementing your main products.

  1. Marketing activities - their costs and implementation

Properly conducted marketing activities will help you attract new customers. Take into account the estimated costs of such actions and the workload. It’s undoubtedly helpful to focus on: SEO, affiliate programmes, cooperation with auction sites such as eBay, price comparison platforms and social media. If you begin cooperating with a jewellery dropshipping wholesaler, it’s advisable to create a profile that will promote these products. At the very beginning, it might be beneficial to take advantage of the support of a specialist or person already experienced in the field.

  1. Market rivals

It’s never profitable to underestimate or ignore market rivals. Analyze their activities, methods of acquiring customers, strengths and weaknesses. You should be able to assess their market position and reasons why it looks like this in order to refine the strategy of your online store. It’s essential to analyze customer reviews devoted to your competitors. If you notice that market rivals are aggressive and advocate approaches such as dumping prices, you should reconsider the plan and the effectiveness of your activities.

  1. Opinions

Various people may see your ideas from a different perspective. Ask questions and discuss your project with people you trust. They can give you interesting pieces of advice and insights into various aspects.

  1. “Verifying” the online store

When is it possible to determine whether your store is a failure or a success? Selling a product equals completing a project. Therefore, it’s worth analyzing its three main aspects:

    • Objective. Expanding your product range may not only contribute to selling new products but it can also improve your brand image and increase website traffic.
    • Schedule. Plan all the activities (e.g. marketing) related to launching and selling new products. The online world is constantly changing and it’s worth taking it into account.
    • Duration. The defined time frames may be helpful in determining your possible success or failure. It’s suggested that first improvements in sales should be noticeable approximately after 3 or 4 months from introducing the product to the store.

“The more the better” principle doesn’t work here. Of course, the chances of improving sales increase together with the amount and diversity of offered items, however, the range should be well thought out. Sometimes the costs of purchasing and storing goods can exceed potential profits. This may also involve greater efforts to conduct marketing activities. Managing numerous categories isn’t a piece of cake as it’s also time-consuming. The high turnover of a store may generate a relatively small margin, as it requires more logistics or marketing activities. 

Dropshipping wholesalers solve the problem - the seller doesn’t store goods and isn’t responsible for the shipment.

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