Think about owning a shop that you started without thousands of dollars of capital cash investment. This may sound like a pipedream to some people because it is too good to be true. Well, the truth is it is possible to open a shop with very limited cash injection on the internet. However, even some online business models need to have a considerable amount of cash to buy the stock they will sell. With dropshipping though, you don’t have to worry about having stock on hand and Shopify has made it very easy to pursue this business model. How can you use Shopify’s dropshipping feature to boost your online business concept?
What Is Dropshipping
The main characteristic of the dropshipping business model is that retailers selling products on their online shops never have the inventory they sell. How is that even possible? Through dropshipping, the shop owner only orders something from the supplier when it gets ordered in the online shop. Even then, the shop owner doesn’t see the package or handle it, rather the package gets delivered directly to the customer from the supplier. You can widen your horizons by using various suppliers to improve your product line.
If you are new to eCommerce this business model is tailor-made for you. It is easy to start, manage and has very limited risk. There isn’t much capital investment required and you can run this type of business when you’re free. That means you don’t have to quit the day job you currently have to focus full time on this business.
Shopify and dropshipping
Using Shopify to drop ship products is very practical and efficient due to its interface which is easy to use and easy to set up. Shopify is the industry leader in eCommerce platforms and is one of the most used in this industry. You can build your own online shop with Shopify without having to know all the technicalities of eCommerce business development. That also eliminates the risk of making mistakes when you try to build your online store without any experience. The overall appearance of the website and store will be improved dramatically because you will have access to thousands of themes and applications that are available on their online platform
Your online dropshipping business will run just like regular online shops without any complications. To source products that you will dropship you need to use third-party applications or platforms that are easily integrated with your Shopify online shop. You don’t pay extra if you will implement the dropshipping business model using this online platform.
Why should you use Dropshipping on Shopify?
Shopify is the best online platform for aspiring dropshipping business owners because it is very simple to set up and it will make your store user-friendly. It is also very affordable so you won’t break your bank when starting off your business. Those are just some of the reasons that make Shopify the most suitable platform for dropshipping. How can you use the services of Shopify dropshipping?
Choose the name
Keep the name of your shop simple but creative and memorable. To ensure that you don’t use a name that’s already being used by other businesses, you can do a Google search of that name. If you can’t come up with one you can use an online business name generator that will come up with one suitable for your niche.
Join Shopify
Once you have chosen the name that will be used for your online shop, you will be required to open a Shopify account. Some personal details will be needed like your email, names, address and other essential information. To measure your eCommerce experience, there is a form with questions about eCommerce and what you know about it. Upon completing this step you will be ready to optimize your account, which is the following step.
Optimize your online shop
This step consists of various important factors that will ensure the success of your online dropshipping business. They include payment details, store policies, and shipping costs. You need to configure a payment method that is used by most of your target market, there are quite a few in the market now like PayPal, Moneygram, Mastercard payment system, etc. Store policies are also needed to govern the online business and those policies are the privacy policy, refund and return policy and terms and conditions. Lastly, you will need to figure out how much shipping will cost with your suppliers and where they ship.
Start building your online shop
After completion of optimizing the online shop, you will need to start building the appearance and functionality of it. This step is very important because this is what the clients will see so it has to be attracting and user-friendly. The most important parts of this step are choosing the best logo and using a visually appealing theme. You can choose a theme from the built-in store that has a wide range of themes for different types of businesses.
There are free themes that can be used right away and then premium themes that have to be purchased prior to using it. To start off, using a free theme is the most logical option and we’ll prevent overspending the little capital you have. Also, take careful consideration of the logo you will use as it forms part of the visual part of your brand.
The bottom line
Using Shopify for dropshipping is very easy because it doesn’t have added technicalities to it, rather it follows the same process of setting up a regular online shop. You can start this business at a very low investment and with limited knowledge about eCommerce. However, you should learn more about this business before jumping into it to avoid any future problems that may arise. Source appealing themes from the in-built store and then use third-party dropshipping platforms. Ensure that you use dropshipping platforms that are compatible with Shopify to get the best experience for your clients.
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