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In 2022, the size of the global eCommerce market was €2.96 trillion. In 2023, the figure is expected to hit US$3.42 trillion and increase to US$5.33 trillion by 2027.
So, what does this mean for a budding entrepreneur?
It means online shopping has become the norm. Consumers are changing their behaviour. They are shopping online more and more, and so, the opportunities for turning a profit in eCommerce at present are at an all time high. And, that growth is projected to continue. So, if you’ve been considering starting your own dropshipping business, be it as a side hustle or a full-blown career move, now is the time.
But one thing to bear in mind, Amazon has set the standard for fast shipping. And you’ll need to keep up if you want to succeed in the world of dropshipping eCommerce.
So, if you’re looking to target the European consumer market, you’ll need access to EU dropshipping suppliers. And that’s where Spocket comes in. In this guide we’ll outline all the steps to build a successful dropshipping business - with EU suppliers.
What is Dropshipping?
Simply put, dropshipping is an alternative retail model. It’s an order fulfilment service with a twist – one where the retailer doesn’t need to carry stock or ship orders to customers themselves. Instead, the retailer buys products as and when needed from a dropshipping supplier (ergo a wholesaler or manufacturer) to fulfil any orders made by customers through their site.
The dropshipping supplier will then ship the purchased items directly to your customer.
The key difference between dropshipping and traditional retailing is that the retailer doesn’t actually stock or even own any of the products they sell. Instead, they act as the middleman between the customer and the wholesaler or manufacturer.
The Pros and Cons of Dropshipping
As with any new business venture, there are both pros and cons to adopting the dropshipping retail model. Let’s learn a little more to help you decide whether dropshipping is the right next move for you.
Advantages of Dropshipping
Let’s start with the pros of dropshipping. And with plenty of them, you’ll be able to understand exactly why so many people are considering it, either as a side hustle or a new career. Read on to see the best bits about dropshipping.
Easy to get started
Popular eCommerce platforms WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce and Wix all facilitate the dropshipping retail model. All you’ll need to do is install a compatible dropshipping platform.
And with a minimal entry barrier and minimal risk, you can start selling top trending products for a profit almost instantly.
Low-risk with minimal overhead costs
Dropshipping is associated with low start-up costs, making it a low-risk business model that budding entrepreneurs can get on board with. You can pretty much start from nothing. Build a following using the various options across social media platforms, and aim to invest in paid marketing methods within your budget on an adhoc basis.
Top tip: paid advertising is the quickest way to generate income in the short-term. Growing your following is the key to long-term success.
You can start dropshipping with any website building hosts as well. WooCommerce itself is a free eCommerce Wordpress plugin and you can opt for the free trial on Shopify, BigCommerce, or Wix to get a feel for the advantages before committing to a subscription on a long-term basis.
And Spocket is here to help make life easy. Simply download the plugin and start selling products from dropshipping suppliers instantly. What’s more, we have reliable sellers that are based in the EU and the USA as well as Asia. Sign up for free and check out the impressive product selection!
Skip the Supplier Screening
Conventional eCommerce stores need to source their products from suppliers or wholesalers based either locally or internationally. They will have to look into the viability of each supplier in terms of reliability, quality control and shipping speed.
And, that research takes a lot of time. In fact, just considering all the checks that will need to be made before launching their site is enough to put most people off before they even get started.
Dropshipping enables you to skip the entire process of finding and screening suppliers providing you choose the right dropshipping platform. And here, it’s worth mentioning that Spocket has a very rigorous verification process.
Here is a brief look at the requirements a supplier will need to adhere to before being approved to partner with Spocket:
And only after a supplier has successfully proven themselves across all of this criteria will they be approved. These requirements ensure that businesses using Spocket can sell high-quality products to their customers, offer efficient delivery services and maintain competitive pricing consistently.
So choose Spocket as your dropshipping platform and you’ll be able to get straight on with marketing and product research.
Skip Holding Inventory (and the costs associated with it)
Typical retail business models need to store and maintain their stock in a local warehouse (or similar) before they are sold. This equates to additional overhead costs, managing inventory, the potential need for additional employees and the time associated with maintaining this area of your business.
Dropshipping makes life much easier. Instead, entrepreneurs can skip this gruelling process completely. So, there will be no warehousing costs and a lot more time for you to focus on the building of your brand and marketing.
Easy Product Importing and Management
Dropshipping platforms allow you to automatically select and import products, descriptions and images. This saves the time and money that would otherwise be associated with photography and copywriting.
Spocket makes the whole fulfilment even faster as most products are from pre-vetted suppliers based in the EU including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania and Portugal. Spocket also partners with suppliers from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and some parts of Asia. And our vetting process helps to reduce shipping time from 3 weeks to just a few business days. Which means happier customers and happier retailers.
Plus, with fast and affordable shipping options, you’ll start off a few steps ahead of the competitors that source their items from China already. After all, keeping your customers happy will keep them coming back!
Flexibility
Have you ever wondered how the people who travel the world and work from anywhere do it? Well dropshipping is one of those liberating career options that allows you to do just that.
Provided you have a reliable internet connection, you can manage your business from anywhere at any time. Whether it’s on a beach, at your favourite coffee shop or from the comfort of your own home, the choice is yours.
Drawbacks
Well, there has to be some downsides to dropshipping or everyone would be doing it, right? Read on to learn a little more about the cons that are part and parcel of the world of dropshipping.
High Competition
Given the low barrier of entry and almost zero startup costs, dropshipping can be extremely competitive. And so, setting yourself apart from the rest is the key to kicking your competition to the curb. Choosing a trending niche is the key to having highly sought after products that will attract customers, help encourage those customers to convert, and generate significant profits.
It’s really that simple.
Returns and Refunds
Returns and refunds is a bug bear in any retailing model. But, these risks can be significantly lowered by providing the highest levels of customer service from the beginning of your customer’s journey and strong business relationships with your suppliers from the offset.
And where you choose to source your dropshipping supplier from comes into effect too. But with Spocket you can access dropshipping suppliers from the EU. Plus we ensure that all our partnering suppliers have a basic returns policy in place at a minimum. When sourcing products from within your EU, you and your customers will have access to easy, fast, and affordable shipping. Plus, it’ll help you build trust with your customers too.
High cart abandonment rates
Generally the less payment options available to your customers, the more likely they are to abandon the shopping cart. And if a potential customer clicks to exit your site rather than hitting the “complete your order” button, it's lost revenue for your business. This is a big problem, especially in Spain right now.
How to Choose Profitable EU Dropshipping Products
Dropshipping gives you the flexibility to experiment with various categories. But, choosing the right niche trips many dropshippers up. So explore our top tips for successfully filling your dropshipping catalogue with products that will convert below.
Find a niche that you love
The best way to choose a niche is to go with something you love. That way, your passion will shine through and you’ll be championing your brand with next to no effort consistently. Plus, you’ll find picking out new products fun too. Just remember to seek out those trending items and keep your catalogue eclectic so that you can tailor to different tastes and you’ll be onto a winner.
Choose Impulse Products
A great dropshipping product is something so exciting and novel that a customer won’t need to think twice about buying it.
Products within your niche are easy to find with a niche scraper. Then, all you’ll need to do is find dropshipping suppliers in the EU that have offer the products you want to sell. Niche scrapers can give you insights into potential trending products that you may want to start selling before anyone else does.
Google trends is a great tool that you can use to gauge how much demand there is for a particular item. Be on the lookout for a consistent or growing google trends graph. This indicates that a product is evergreen (or always in demand). Once you have an EU supplier lined up, you’ll be all set to get selling.
Do your research
If you’re looking to sell uncommon items, such as those found in hyper focussed niches, research is a must. It could be a great category choice, but you’ll need to make sure that your marketing efforts are well-targeted and your research is thorough.
Before deciding on a product, there are two tools that are useful when checking viability:
1. Google Trends
2. Google Keyword Planner
Once you’ve found what seems to be a great product, these two tools will come in handy. They enable you to check the item’s historic and current search popularity.
To be added to your dropshipping catalogue, each products needs to tick each of the below boxes:
To get an idea of current best-selling products, check out reviews and popular products on Amazon and Etsy. Keep an eye in particular on any items that have consistent sales and consistently good reviews.
And if you’d like detailed analytics, sign up with different niche scrapers. These will allow you to see how top dropshipping stores perform as well as how many orders they receive per item. This data can then be used to be better than your competitors and pinpoint those upcoming trends.
Why you should dropship from EU suppliers
Due to China’s massive manufacturing capacity and low shipping costs, China has been the top contender for dropshipping suppliers since the dropshipping model arose. Low prices allow dropshippers to increase profit margins without making the retail prices too high.
AliExpress offers a range of EU delivery options but the fastest delivery service is 0-14 days via UPS. And given it’s one of the premium shipping options, it’s not exactly cost-effective.
If you factor in foreign logistics and international law, Aliexpress products can take anywhere from 0 to 90 days from dispatch to arrive. This is a deal breaker for most EU-based customers who are now well-accustomed to speedy Amazon delivery.
And then there’s the quality issue. The EU has much tighter rules surrounding quality standards than those in China. As such, many dropshippers purchasing from marketplaces such as Alibaba are being subjected to poor and low quality products which will reflect badly on their business.
And so, choosing EU suppliers for your dropshipping business is wise given that delivery will be much more efficient and the quality of products higher.
Partnering with dropshipping suppliers from the EU allows you to:
And, while the base costs might be higher than dropshipping from China, generally customers are happy to pay more for items that arrive faster and are of higher quality. Plus they’ll be supporting local suppliers and the EU economy as a whole.
Finding EU Dropshipping Suppliers with Spocket
Two of the major downsides to dropshipping are the low quality products and slow shipping times. Spocket was created as a solution to these common issues dropshippers face.
First off, Spocket's features enable dropshipping automation that can easily be managed by one person, meaning you save time and money from the offset.
And, with 70% of Spocket suppliers based in the EU and US, delivery time is cut to an average of just 2-7 days. With EU suppliers, refunds and returns are fair and can be processed much faster too. This increases customer trust, confidence and satisfaction.
With higher perceived value of EU-manufactured products, dropshippers can position their store as an upscale brand if they choose. This enables them to increase profit margins.
And continued quality performance will see the brand's value rise which increases customer trust even further.
Spocket is the leading dropshipping platform for US and EU products and suppliers. And with Spocket, there’s more advantages for individual entrepreneurs targeting B2C markets and dealing directly with suppliers.
So, low prices and high profit margins aren’t always the necessary ingredients to build a successful dropshipping business.
Ultimately, your success depends on four important factors:
If all those four elements of best practices are well presented, success will soon follow.
And, with your success in mind, Spocket Help Center offers comprehensive and detailed tutorials on navigating its dashboard, connecting with an online store, and uploading and updating stock information.
Building Your New eCommerce Store
Before launching your new dropshipping eCommerce store, secure it as a high converting dropshipping website with a good customer acquisition plan. That starts with the overall appearance of your site. Remember: first impressions are everything.
And so, try to select a theme that comes with lots of white space (aka margins) between products, images, and texts. The less busy your site is, the easier it’ll be on the eyes of your customers.
Choose just a few featured products or collections. Avoid cluttering up the pages with too many items that are distracting. You want to achieve a page layout that entices visitors to click through the pages and products as it will enhance the user experience (often abbreviated to UX).
When adding CTAs, call on The Rule of Thirds. By placing a simple grid that divides the image into nine squares, you’ll be able to add the CTA buttons right where your customers eyes will naturally drift: the "focal points." These “focal points” are the parts of the grid where the lines cross.
And when planning for customer acquisition, it should cover both organic and paid strategies. In the ideal scenario, most traffic will come from the organic efforts directed to your site from earned media, both online and offline.
SEO Optimization
Start by optimising your store pages with SEO keywords related to the products you are selling. Free tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and UberSuggest are handy for SEO Optimisation.
SEO keywords are vital for driving organic traffic. And a blog is the ideal way to expand your organic traffic reach. When developing your blog, remember that each post should target between one and three SEO keywords that track with both your products and your intended target.
This may be a task you decide to delegate. If so, a digital marketing strategist with strong SEO writing skills would be your ideal candidate.
And, if your site is brand new with zero organic traffic and almost non-existent external links, paid ads will help boost brand awareness. PPC, sponsored ads, paid blog posts or paid network posts detailing your store and/or your mission are all great ways to gain visibility.
A Final Word
If you’re eager to get started with your dropshipping business plan, why not seize the day. Sign up for a free trial of Spocket and one of our partnering eCommerce platforms and give it a go. But remember to check back here regularly. We’re always adding new and informative blog posts featuring top tips to succeed in the world of dropshipping.
Dropshipping is a hot topic and the eCommerce sector is booming so, if you've been considering this business venture, here's why you should seize the day.
Gemma has a passion for writing, an enthusiasm for eCommerce, and a flair for creating informative content that drives others to follow their dreams. Her work foundations are built on thorough research to allow you to find all the need-to-know info in one place.
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