Are you wondering if dropshipping is still profitable?
Well, you're not the only one.
In this article, we will tell you about our experience with dropshipping and whether we think it's still possible to start a profitable store.
Here's a little spoiler:
Dropshipping is still profitable in 2024. Yes, more people know about dropshipping now, but on the other hand, there is more knowledge and tools out there than ever before. It's much easier to find winning products, build a great online store, and start marketing than a few years before.
What exactly is dropshipping?
Imagine you want to start selling products online but don't have a warehouse to store all those products or the funds to buy inventory upfront.
Sounds like a problem, right?
Well, this is why dropshipping exists!
Dropshipping is a fulfillment method where you, as a store owner, don't keep the products you're selling in stock. Instead, when a customer makes a purchase from your online store, you forward the order to a third-party supplier, who ships the product directly to the customer.
You sell the supplier's product on your online store, take the orders, and then let the supplier handle the rest, including storage, packaging, and shipping.
Essentially, you're a middleman in this transaction, linking the customer with the supplier.
One of the best things about dropshipping is that you don't have to worry about stocking products or dealing with complex shipping logistics.
This makes it an excellent choice for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start an ecommerce store without massive upfront costs.
How popular is dropshipping in 2024?
Let's see if dropshipping is still alive in 2024 by checking Google Trends.
Google Trends shows us data on how often people have been Googling "dropshipping" in the past five years:
As you can see, dropshipping is still very popular.
In fact, dropshipping is around 150% more popular than five years ago!
Is dropshipping still profitable in 2024?
Even though many people know about dropshipping in 2024, it is still profitable. There are lots of dropshipping suppliers offering products at relatively low prices, allowing you to sell them at a profit.
Of course, there's much more to a profitable dropshipping store than just finding a cheap product you can sell. It is a real business, after all.
At the same time, a good profit margin is the foundation of a profitable dropshipping store:
If you're wondering if dropshipping will be profitable for you, it all comes down to your questions:
- What is your profit per sale?
- What are your marketing costs per sale?
As long as your profit per sale is larger than your marketing costs per sale, dropshipping is profitable.
And that's why dropshipping is profitable now, and will probably still be profitable for years to come!
Especially with statistics like these:
- The global dropshipping market is expected to grow at 23.4% per year from 2023 to 2030 (Grand View Research)
- By the end of 2023, one in every five retail sales will be made online (Shopify)
Is dropshipping saturated?
A significant reason why you're doubting whether dropshipping is profitable is that it seems that many people are doing it, right?
After all, if there are lots of dropshipping stores competing with each other, being profitable would get much harder, right?
And that's partly true.
A lot of people talk about how dropshipping is saturated.
Because, as you can see in Google Trends above, a lot of people know about dropshipping, and it is one of the easiest business models to start with.
But what do you think happens when a lot of people know about dropshipping and know how to open their own store, and 70% (just an example) don't put any effort into their dropshipping store?
I call that a recipe for failure!
The reason that everyone can open a dropshipping store doesn't mean dropshipping is saturated!
You don't know half how many bad dropshipping stores are out there.
See, for example, these 5 bad dropshipping store examples.
Another reason why people do this is that these "dropshipping gurus" advertise dropshipping as "super easy" and "easily make an extra $10,000 this month".
Well...
Let me burst those dreams for you; I’m sorry…
A lot of so-called “gurus” talk about this, but do you know what they all have in common?
They are selling a course!
Maybe you should buy their course and follow them step-by-step to get rich, right?
Please don’t!
Here is a great video about a so-called "guru":
What do you think happens to these dropshipping stores when their owner finds out it isn't a get-rich-overnight store?
I guess there is a chance that they quit now, right?
So, even though there are lots of dropshipping stores, it isn't saturated because you can stand out from other stores by putting in more effort.
If you want to learn more about these gurus, and why they sell courses, then I suggest reading the article I linked to below:
Are Paid Dropshipping Courses Worth the Money in 2024?
So what should you do to make dropshipping profitable? Let's find out:
5 Tips to make dropshipping profitable
If you want your dropshipping store to be profitable, you must treat it as a real business.
But what does that mean?
Here are our five top tips:
1. Have the right mindset and learn for free
I know it sounds cheesy and everyone says this nowadays, but it's still important.
Your mindset must go from "making some quick money" to "helping your customers have the best experience they ever had when shopping online." (If you do this right, you can still make money!)
You will need to start looking at what your customers want and not what your pockets want.
Put your time and effort into it instead of opening a store in a few hours, importing a few products, and starting advertisements already without trying to be unique at all.
If you're interested in learning more about having the right mindset before opening your dropshipping store, then check out these six tips here.
Plus, I talked above about how dropshipping courses are not worth it.
So, what can you do instead?
You can learn dropshipping for free!
See, for example, our articles below that will give you a lot of resources to learn dropshipping for free!
- Top 10 Dropshipping & Ecommerce Blogs
- The 17 Best Free Dropshipping Courses
- Where to Learn Dropshipping for Free?
2. Be unique
This tip is for you in case you're not yet impressed with why being unique and "taking it slow" is better than opening a dropshipping store in a few hours and looking like 70% of all the other dropshipping stores out there.
Do you see how popular dropshipping is in 2024?
Everyone wants a piece of it because so many of these “gurus” advertised it as an easy way to earn money online.
But do you know what the sad thing is?
Most people don’t put any effort into their dropshipping stores.
Just like I said above, they open their store, import some products without changing anything and start advertising.
And then, it looks far from a unique dropshipping store, like this one:
This means that a lot of people who are dropshipping are selling the same products with the same information they got from maybe even the same dropshipping suppliers.
Of course, having the same product is not a bad thing yet, but also having the same images, descriptions, and so on will definitely not help you grow your online business!
If you want to learn how to be more unique than your dropshipping competition, then I suggest reading this article!
Plus, here are some examples of unique dropshipping products!
3. Think about your customers
Customer service is one of the most important things that you need to do at your dropshipping store.
And more importantly, you need to do it right!
You don’t want any bad reviews, trust me. (Although, it can have its benefits if you handle it correctly)
But I know you’re probably skeptical.
That’s why I have some examples below for you.
You will see what will happen with your review or Facebook page after giving bad customer service to your customers:
Status dropshipping store: Offline
Status dropshipping store: Offline
Do you see the trend?
All dropshipping stores that get negative reviews are shut down eventually!
4. Build a brand
Branding a dropshipping store gives you the opportunity to create a long-term online business.
It is a great thing to do because it allows you to stand out and increase the percentage of customers returning to your store.
And did you know that, according to Forbes, the probability of a sale jumps from 5–20% for a new customer to 60–70% for a returning one?
Plus, according to Yotpo, almost 40% of loyal customers will buy the brand’s product even if cheaper options exist, and 60% of customers tell others about brands they’re loyal to!
5. Learn about more ways to make dropshipping profitable
If you want to learn more ways to beat your dropshipping competition, then I suggest reading the articles I linked below:
- 7 Tips to Beat the Competition of Your Dropshipping Store in 2024!
- 12 Reasons Why Most People Fail With Dropshipping in 2024 | Beat Them!
Dropshipping success stories in 2024
In case you're still not sure if dropshipping is worth it, then I suggest reading some of these awesome dropshipping success stories!
They can help you get motivated, and hopefully, you get some inspiration from them as well.
Here are some success stories:
- How I made $178,492 in three months by dropshipping US and European products by Spocket
- 23 Most Successful Shopify Dropshipping Store Examples by Do Dropshipping
- Tze Hing Chan: $19,000 in profit over two months by Shopify
- 9 Ecommerce Stores That Started With or Use Dropshipping by Do Dropshipping
- Dropshipping Success Stories From Real Entrepreneurs by AliDropship
As you can see, dropshipping is definitely not dead yet!
Conclusion
So, what is the conclusion?
From our experience and research, dropshipping is still profitable in 2024, but you must invest significant time and effort into building a real ecommerce business.
A lot of people start with a dropshipping store only because they want "Easy money."
They probably never had that thought, "Wait, I'm building a real business".
So if you want to succeed, then please treat it as a real business, and don't forget that failures are okay!
The best way to learn is to learn from your own mistakes.
If you have any suggestions for this article or if you have any questions regarding dropshipping, then let us know by commenting below!
Also, let me know what you think about dropshipping in 2024. Do you think it's still profitable or not?
I wish you the best!
Want to learn more about dropshipping?
Ready to move your dropshipping store to the next level? Check out the articles below:
- The 40 Most Insightful Dropshipping Statistics in 2024
- How Fast Can You Make Money With a Dropshipping Store?
- How to Find out If a Dropshipping Niche Could Be Profitable in 2024?
Plus, don’t forget to check out our in-depth guide on how to start dropshipping here!
