Over the years, the growth of eCommerce around the world has reached the sheer heights. From clothing to electronics, people are shopping for everything online. The days are gone when you used to go to the store and buy. With every passing the popularity of eCommerce is only getting higher; according to online statistics portal Statista, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to 2.3 trillion US dollars and prophesied to grow to 4.88 trillion US dollars in 2021.

What Is Dropshipping?

Witnessing all the rise of eCommerce, many new business ideas and models have entered the arena and one that has gained a lot of traction in recent time is Dropshipping. So, if you don’t know what is Dropshipping, in a nutshell, it is a business model where the seller doesn’t keep any inventory of goods nor process the orders. Rather, it contacts a manufacturer, retailer, or a wholesaler and transfers the customer orders and shipment details to get the order delivered directly to the buyer.

For example, there is a seller who is selling t-shirts online (let’s call it S1) and there is a buyer who orders a t-shirt (let’s call it B1). So, when B1 places an order, S1 collects the order details with the delivery address and gives it to a manufacturer or a retailer (let’s call it M1). And then M1 delivers the product to B1. How does S1 make a profit? When S1 showcases a t-shirt on its website, it increases the price, and when someone places an order, S1 keeps its commission and pays M1 the actual amount of the t-shirt.   

We all know that people only care about the product, the price, and the reputation of the store; they don’t actually dig deep about the products are sourced and who does the shipments. And this is the major reason why Dropshipping is gaining so much popularity — anyone can run a Dropshipping business as it eliminates the need of an inventory.

Some of the big names such as Amazon and Zappos have also stepped into the Dropshipping, making the business model way more popular. Furthermore, it is prophesied that Dropshipping is going to transform the eCommerce industry — it might be the future of eCommerce.

Talking about the dropshipping in India, there are plenty of platforms that enable Indian dropshippers to source product. Some of the Indian dropshipping platforms are Bafulia, Hothaat, Tradeindia, and IndiaMart.

Here Are  Some Of The Reasons That Makes Dropshipping The Real Deal

Product Sourcing

This is the prime reason that makes Dropshipping such a sought after eCommerce business model. Generally, starting an eCommerce business is not an easy task; you need to buy all products that you would sell and buy it in large quantities, and to store them you need to have an inventory that requires it requires huge investments.

However, the scenario is completely different is in Dropshipping — it is the ultimate solution. With a platform like Shopify, one can have a storefront and using Oberlo, it is easy to import products from suppliers into Shopify store and ship directly to customers. Also, one can use AliExpress to get in touch with manufacturers. Compared to a traditional eCommerce business model, Dropshipping is way better.

Cut Down Photography and Catalogue Cost

To be honest, when shopping online most of the people check the catalogue or the photos of the products. And if you are running a traditional eCommerce business, you need to hire photographers for taking high-end photos of the products.

However, Dropshipping solves this challenge too. When you use a platform like Oberlo, you can import photos of products from places like AliExpress to your storefront. This not only cut down the cost but also saves a lot of time.

Packaging And Shipping

Running an eCommerce sounds really fancy, but in reality, it is a tough process. Talking about fulfilling orders, packaging and shipping are always hectic. Even though one can outsource services, it requires a significant amount of investment. But in Dropshipping, one doesn’t need to take care of packaging and shipping. When you receive an order on your Dropshipping store, you just pass it to the manufacturer or the wholesaler, and they take care of the entire process.

Bottom Line

eCommerce is transforming, it will definitely continue to get better in the coming years and Dropshipping will be a significant part of it. Traditional eCommerce businesses have marked their territories in several verticals and several nations and are tremendously successful.  However, there are companies that failed too. We cannot deny the fact that there are risks in setting up an eCommerce business.

Talking about the Dropshipping’s role, it eliminates a significant amount of challenges and risks to a great extent. And for newborn companies and startups, it can be a great option to kickstart.