Once you've decided to learn how to start a dropshipping business, you'll need to look into how to find dropshipping suppliers. But, what products should you be looking for?
You'll need to be able to identify the high demand products available in the dropshipping niches you've chosen to operate in. This is particularly important if you're learning how to ship wine, how to ship beer, or how to ship alcohol, because these products have strict legal requirements and ramifications.
Do this right, and you'll no longer need to ask "is dropshipping worth it?" and "how to make money dropshipping?"
Here are the most profitable dropshipping products, how to find them, and how to achieve long-term growth.
Best Items to Dropship: Top Dropshipping Products
With so many different niches and markets available to you, it can be hard to find the best things to dropship. You need to find products that aren't expensive to procure but are of sufficient quality to ensure customer satisfaction. Selling low-quality products is one of the biggest dropshipping beginner mistakes and can lead to short-term profits, but will ultimately lead many consumers to ask "is dropshipping dead?" and "is dropshipping legal"? Not to mention what it will do to your chances of long-term success.
With that in mind, here are ten of the best dropshipping products for 2021:
Business Products
One area that is showing strong growth in 2021 is business products. Things like pens, pencils, sticky notes, and paperclips are always good products to look at as their popularity sees little seasonal fluctuation. However, the shift to remote work and hybrid-style work has caused many other business products to see an increase in demand. Desktop microphones, pop filters, blue light glasses, mechanical keyboards, and more are all going through a surge in popularity. This new market is ripe for competition, and they look to continue to be popular for the foreseeable future. If you choose to pursue these products, make sure you know how to find dropshipping suppliers that are reputable and provide quality products. Customers expect these products to last a few years, so you need to meet customer expectations if you're going to succeed.
Hobby Products
Another industry that has been impacted by the COVID-19 shutdowns is the hobby industry. Products designed to help customers relax are always a good place to invest. Models, toys, gaming gear, and collectibles are all in the middle of sharp increases in demand. These are all great choices, as they offer varying margins, and you can often find a lot of low-cost options without sacrificing too much quality. This is also a good choice for testing out dropshipping automation and drop surfing as the price variations and large variety of products can help you make the most out of every sale. Just make sure not to invest in products that another company owns the copyright for. This is a good way to get sued and lose your eCommerce business license, eCommerce business insurance, and dropshipping business.
Recurring Purchase Products
If you're looking to add recurring payments to your revenue stream, look at products that customers tend to buy on a regular basis. Products like toothpaste, shampoo, and more all offer the promise of repeat purchases if your customers are satisfied with the quality and speed of order fulfillment. You can also try selling coffee online. This is one of the best products for repeat purchases, and you can even invest in this as one of many subscription box ideas that offer even more opportunity for recurring revenue.
If you are a BlueCart eCommerce customer, adding these product offerings to sell online and setting up subscription billing is a piece of cake. It's an all-in-one platform that is perfect for dropshippers. We take care of store design, eCommerce payment processing, and more, so you can focus on selling. Even better, all BlueCart customers also get listed in our online marketplace where their products can reach 95,000+ buyers in the U.S.
Clothing
If you're more interested in a market that rarely sees a change in demand, you'll do well to invest in clothing. These products may be seasonal or trendy, but by offering a wide array of options, you can get into a market with nearly unlimited upside. Many of the best dropshipping websites make most of their revenue off of clothing sales. These products are also good for personalization and your customers can help you market them. Instead of having to decide between affiliate marketing vs dropshipping, you can do both by providing influencers with some personalized and branded clothing.
If you choose to sell clothing, we highly recommend looking into getting your branding added to these items through private label dropshipping (see our post on what is private label). Pair that with a branded packing slip and RMA form in your eCommerce packaging for each order and your brand will be much more than just another dropshipping company.
Food and Groceries
Many businesses that sell food online often neglect dropshipping, but it's actually great for selling non-perishables. You can try selling alcohol online, selling liquor online, sell beer online, sell wine online, or even sell whiskey online using this model. However, it's not the best choice for anyone trying to sell baked goods online or other products that need to be shipped fresh. Feel free to experiment with food products to see what works for your market and where you can get a good dropshipping profit margin.
BlueCart is used by many food suppliers to sell their products B2B, DTC, or both. It's also a great way to find wholesale suppliers for your dropshipping business.
Self-Care Products
Though the demand for facemasks is dwindling with the end of lockdown in the U.S., other health and self-care products are thriving. Skin cares, hair cares, lotions, and other products have all benefited from people spending more time at home. There are also more dropshipping jobs appearing on the market in this field to help resolve customer questions and market these products. Look for quality products that are made to U.S. health and safety standards to ensure you provide the best for your customers and avoid any problems down the road.
Jewelry
Not all jewelry purchases have to be thousand-dollar diamond rings. Many consumers prefer to buy lower-cost jewelry that they can wear on a daily basis. Look at purchasing rings, necklaces, earrings, and more that are on-trend and popular. If possible, try to get matching sets, so you can start kitting the products and make even more sales of these bundles. This also gives you a great opportunity for cross selling and will let you increase your average order value without having to put in too much effort to source additional products.
Electronics
Electronics covers many types of products in the dropshipping industry. You can go with lower-cost items like electric toothbrushes, radios, phone chargers, and more. Or you can opt for more expensive items like phones, televisions, and computers. The former offers you the chance to sell a higher quantity, but have lower margins. The latter is difficult to sell but has a higher price tag. Look at your market and determine what would work best for you.
Expensive electronics are a particularly good line of products to sell if you are operating a reverse dropshipping business. You can export high-quality electronics to emerging markets and build your brand as one of luxury with accompanying markups and margins.
Home Goods
Bedding, curtains, kitchen utensils, fake potted plants, etc. Home goods is a huge segment of the eCommerce market and dropshipping gives you the chance to explore various niches without wasting money on warehousing and inventory for products that you can't sell. This is also an area where a few large businesses dominate. Try to focus on products that are unique in some way, or will set you apart from your competition. These may be sheets made of bamboo fibers, ethically sourced towels, or another product with a good story. This will give you a great place to start with your organic and eCommerce PPC marketing efforts.
Pet Supplies
The final segment of the dropshipping industry that offers great returns is the pet supply industry. Pets are a big part of many people's lives, and they need everything from food to toys to beds. In fact, The U.S. pet industry sees around $232 billion in annual revenue and is expected to grow by 6% each year. You can focus on a particular type of animal or offer a more holistic set of products. Make sure to pay attention to product materials and ingredients, as customers can be very particular when shopping for pet supplies. This also gives you more useful information for your dropshipping ads.
Google Trends Dropshipping
One of the best ways to perform product research is to use Google to find trending dropshipping products and new dropshipping business ideas. Product research is a vital step in procuring the right products for your business, demand planning, and spotting emerging markets. Luckily, Google Trends offers insight into search terms that are growing or show a change in customer interest. Best of all, it's an entirely free service, so product and eCommerce keyword research are easier to perform than ever.
When using Google Trends to research dropshipping products, start with the general industry you're in and then get more specific. This will help you identify overall trends, as well as individual types of products that people are seeking. Also, take note of the seasonality of certain search terms. For example, ugly sweaters are a good investment only for about a quarter of the year. Outside of that time, they'll just be wasted product pages on your website.
You're the Best Around
Finding the right products for your dropshipping business can be tough. Look at the industries above, pick quality products, invest in eCommerce marketing, provide superior customer service for dropshipping, and you'll be well on your way to profits and sustainable growth. Just make sure to include all of your product types in your drop shipping business plan.
For more tips on how to dropship and grow your business, read our free drop shipping for dummies guide, or take a look at some of our favorite dropshipping books, eCommerce books, and dropshipping courses.