Are you interested in creating an online business and discovering how to sell on Shopify? Shopify is a top e-commerce platform, used by millions of businesses to sell products online. But how can we make our store stand out from the crowd and attract customers?

The key lies in selling trending items to the appropriate audience and diversifying our store offerings. That’s why, we’ll provide some tips and strategies on how to sell on Shopify effectively. From optimizing our product listings to creating a compelling brand, we’ll cover everything we need to succeed on this platform.

What Is Dropshipping & How Does It Work On Shopify?

How Dropshipping Works On Shopify

Before we learn how to sell on Shopify, let’s define dropshipping and how it works on the platform. One of the easiest and most profitable ways to sell on Shopify is through dropshipping. As such, dropshipping is a low-risk and high-reward eCommerce business model.

We can partner with suppliers to handle inventory and shipping through dropshipping, allowing us to operate with minimal upfront costs. Then, we offer our products to customers through selling channels like Shopify.

Moreover, many dropshippers on Shopify that work with AutoDS gain a competitive advantage due to its vast market potential. AutoDS is an all-in-one dropshipping solution that can help provide efficient processes for our online ventures.

Meanwhile, Shopify allows us to customize our business thoroughly and enables listing products without limits. With the right strategies, Shopify dropshipping is a lucrative venture that promises high profits.

How To Sell On Shopify With No Inventory

Let’s pave the way for eCommerce success by learning how to sell on Shopify without inventory. Here are the proven steps toward a successful Shopify dropshipping business:

  1. Research Winning Products To Sell On Shopify
  2. Setting Up On Shopify: Create Your Dropshipping Store
  3. Promote Your Shopify Store
  4. Fulfill Customer Orders On Shopify
  5. Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Without further ado, let’s cover each step.

1. Research Winning Products To Sell On Shopify

The first step in how to sell on Shopify is to find winning products. Remember that Shopify has no organic traffic, so we need to offer products that customers are searching for. On that note, conducting product research provides valuable insights into market demand, customer preferences, and competition.

Here are tested ways to find best-selling items: 

Tested Product Research Methods For Shopify Dropshipping

In the following sections, we’ll discuss how to utilize these product-finding methods.

Spy On Your Competition

Spy On Other Shopify Stores

Essentially, spying on other sellers can give us insights into what products to sell and the strategies behind their successes. For example, we can utilize Koala Inspector to uncover what’s behind a Shopify store.

This tool provides information about Shopify stores’ ad campaigns and marketing strategies. Plus, it gives us knowledge of the sales volumes, top-selling products, and suppliers of other sellers. With these insights, we can adopt best-selling practices and improve other aspects that will help us create unique Shopify stores. 

AutoDS Winning Products Hub

AutoDS Winning Products Hub

The AutoDS Winning Products Hub provides diverse top-sellers from supported suppliers. Aside from finding trending items, the Hub gives us insights into the products’ popularity and profitability. The platform uncovers an item’s cost, retail price, and profit margin to help us set competitive rates when dropshipping on Shopify.

AutoDS Winning Products Hub Insights

Besides that, the Hub provides information on a product’s variations and shipping arrangements. It also helps us analyze the Facebook ad of another seller that is getting a lot of traction from a broad audience.

Additionally, the platform offers a sample target audience, identifying the individuals to whom we should promote and sell our products. On top of that, the platform uncovers the successes of a product’s current seller, so we can adopt good practices and identify room for improvement. 

Product-Finding Blog & Best Sellers YouTube Playlist

AutoDS Product-Finding Blog

Another way to discover what to sell on Shopify is by checking out the AutoDS Product-Finding Blog. Also, the AutoDS Best Sellers YouTube Playlist is an excellent source of the latest trends in the market. On these platforms, we can explore up-to-date blog articles and videos about top product ideas we can dropship on Shopify. 

Optimize Google Trends & Google Lens

Search Volumes On Google Trends

Optimizing Google Trends and Google Lens is a helpful way to explore winning products to sell on Shopify. Google Trends informs us about the popularity of relevant keywords according to customer web activities. Meanwhile, Google Lens is an image recognition technology that helps us discover item sources and other insights by scanning product images.

To utilize Google Lens, we’ll find an image of a product we want to uncover. Then, right-click on the image and choose ‘Search image with Google.’ In the right-side panel of the screen, Google Lens will appear, offering various options, such as search, text, or translate.

Search Product Source Through Google Lens

Once we click the ‘Find image source,’ Google Lens shows different sites containing the same image. We can explore these options and uncover insights about the product. For instance, we can uncover the suppliers that source the same product.

Analyze Supplier Best-Seller Sections

Manual Product Importing Method Add Products To Shopify

We can also analyze suppliers’ best-seller sections to learn about popular products. These sections showcase products with recent purchases and high-volume sales. Hence, we’ll know what items customers frequently buy and offer the same on Shopify.

For instance, we can search trending products to sell on Shopify from Amazon. On the platform, go to Amazon’s Best Seller section and find top-selling items to dropship. With the popularity and profitability of these trending products, we can surely expand our Shopify dropshipping business.

Keep Track Of Social Media Trends

Keep Track Of Social Media Trends

Keeping track of social media trends is an excellent way of exploring in-demand products. We can check social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, for the latest product hashtags or relevant keywords. Then, we can offer similar products on Shopify with enormous sales potential.

Tip: When dropshipping on Shopify, we can take advantage of TikTok marketing to promote our business on social media. By creating engaging content and leveraging TikTok’s algorithm to reach a wider audience, we can drive more traffic to our Shopify store and potentially increase sales.

Finally, we can summarize potential products in the AutoDS Product Research Spreadsheet. Then, we can analyze which items have the highest potential to generate maximum profits and add them to our Shopify stores.

2. Setting Up On Shopify: Create Your Dropshipping Store

When learning how to sell on Shopify, setting up an optimized online store is crucial. Here are the steps to create an enticing Shopify store:

  1. Sign Up For A Shopify Account
  2. Name Your Business
  3. Connect Your Domain
  4. Create A Store Logo
  5. Choose A Shopify Theme
  6. Connect To AutoDS 
  7. Import Products 
  8. Optimize Your Product Page 
  9. Customize Your Homepage 
  10. Select Your Store Currency
  11. Set Up Checkout Settings & Shipping Zones
  12. Generate Store Policies & Legal Pages 
  13. Create A Blog Page For Organic Traffic 
  14. Edit The Navigation Menu
  15. Configure Payment Providers

Since the quality of our items determines our sales potential, let’s dive into product imports and product page optimization.

Importing Products To Shopify

Once we have a great selection of products, we must import them to our Shopify stores. There are two ways to add products to Shopify: manually and automatically.

Manual Product Importing Method

Let’s review the manual importing of products on Shopify. Manual product imports require us to provide a product’s information individually.

To get started, we must access our Shopify account by clicking the ‘Login’ button. On the Shopify Dashboard, locate the ‘Products’ tab on the left-hand sidebar. To begin creating a new product page, click ‘Add Product’ and enter the necessary details for the item.

Manual Product Importing Method Add Products To Shopify

We’ll set the title, description, and product type to begin creating the product page. After defining the product, we must include images to showcase the item.

To do so, navigate to the ‘Add Product’ tab on the ‘Media’ page. From there, we can choose to ‘Add File’ and upload an image directly from our computer. Alternatively, we can click ‘Add from URL’ and provide a link to the image.

The next step is to set up pricing, shipping, and inventory details. Besides these aspects, we also need to add product tags and collections. Go to the ‘Product organization’ section to include product tags and collections.

Next, access the product page to modify and preview the search engine listing. Review the ‘Search engine listing’ section and improve the appearance of the product listing by selecting ‘Edit.’ At this point, we can establish SEO-related page titles, meta descriptions, and URL handles.

Once all adjustments have been made, click ‘Save’ to implement the changes. Ultimately, we are prepared to present our products to our intended audience.

Automatic Product Importing Method

The manual importing method takes much time and effort. Since we need to explore and add diversified product choices on Shopify, we must utilize a faster and easier way of listing several items. That’s why, the automatic product importing method is a more efficient method to establish comprehensive product listings in the shortest time possible.

For the automatic product imports, dropshipping software manages the import process on our behalf. Thus, it minimizes input errors and takes only a few minutes to finish.

As our partner in Shopify dropshipping, AutoDS offers these easy-to-use automatic product-importing methods:

  • One-Click Importer
  • Single Product Uploader
  • Multiple Product IDs/URLs
  • Bulk Importer

Among these methods, let’s highlight the bulk importer. This method allows us to add multiple products under a specific category simultaneously. As a result, we can save time while enjoying a wide range of products to dropship on Shopify.

Bulk Importer

To utilize the bulk importer, we need to install the AutoDS Helper Chrome extension. Let’s begin by navigating the supplier’s website for the trending products to dropship on Shopify. 

AutoDS Bulk Exporter

Then, click the ‘Extract’ button on the page’s lower right corner to copy all the product IDs. Next, click the ‘Extract as CSV’ button to save the file containing all the product IDs.

Head to the AutoDS platform and select ‘Add Products’ from the left-hand menu. Then, choose the ‘Multiple Products/Stores’ option.

In the dialog box, select ‘Upload CSV’ and choose the file from the computer. Alternatively, we can drag and drop the CSV file into the dialog box.

Next, click ‘Add As Drafts‘ to upload all product IDs. Once the products are on the ‘Drafts’ page, the optimization process can begin.

Optimizing Dropshipping Product Imports

After optimizing the products, click the ‘Save’ button to update the items. Then, click the ‘Import’ button to publish the products on our Shopify store.

Now, our products will appear on the ‘Products’ page. Likewise, the products are now available on our Shopify store, and customers can begin checking them out.

For an easier way to add best-selling products automatically, we can directly import items from the AutoDS Winning Products Hub. Undeniably, automatic product importing methods save us from the tedious task of manually adding products to Shopify. In just a few clicks, we can offer customers a wide range of products on our Shopify dropshipping stores.

Optimizing The Product Page 

Creating a winning product list is not enough to attract customers. That’s why, we need to optimize the product page to ensure high conversion rates.

Product page optimization refers to enhancing various product listing aspects, such as the title, description, images, pricing, and more. The objective of the optimization is to improve the product’s visibility and search engine ranking. 

We can set search engine-optimized titles, descriptions, tags, and collections to achieve an attractive product page. Here, we can utilize ChatGPT, an AI writing tool, to help generate relevant texts that will help improve our product information.

Optimizing Dropshipping Product Variants

Another product aspect that we need to optimize is the variations. We have to choose what product options we want to sell on our Shopify stores. In addition, we have to set appropriate fees, profit margins, and other relevant costs to the product variants. 

Optimizing Dropshipping Product Images

Moreover, adding high-quality images will help highlight a product’s value and features. We can utilize supplier images and add suitable alternative (ALT) texts for better visibility on customer searches. Furthermore, we can check and revise product specifications according to the product needs.

Optimizing Dropshipping Product Specifications

On top of that, we can also improve our Shopify store’s appearance by adding customer-friendly layouts and themes. Plus, we need to arrange navigation links in such a way that they’re accessible to customers. Above all, ensure that policy pages are available on our Shopify stores, as these guidelines help us extend quality business to customers.

Optimizing the product page can make our products more appealing and informative to customers. Doing so can increase the likelihood of our products being purchased by potential customers.

All the above-mentioned optimization processes were achieved with the help of the AutoDS platform. This means all changes are immediately reflected on our Shopify dropshipping stores. 

3. Promote Your Shopify Store

Promoting Your Shopify Dropshipping Store

Promoting our business is essential in learning how to sell on Shopify. Marketing our Shopify products is crucial because it is how we build brand awareness and generate demand for our products.

Similarly, it helps us attract new customers, differentiate our products from competitors, and increase sales. Therefore, it is vital to market our Shopify products for the growth of our eCommerce venture.

With that said, here are effective strategies we can adopt to market our Shopify dropshipping business:

With more target markets reached and increased brand visibility, we can set apart our Shopify dropshipping business from the competition. Then, we will reap the rewards of substantial dropshipping sales.

4. Fulfill Customer Orders On Shopify

Fulfill Customer Orders On Shopify Quickly

When we begin getting sales on our Shopify stores, we must fulfill customer orders quickly. Generally, there are three ways to fulfill customer demands on Shopify:

  • Manual Order Fulfillment
  • Automatic Orders
  • Fulfilled By AutoDS

Manually fulfilling orders on Shopify can be time-consuming and error-prone. This process involves purchasing products from suppliers and entering customer details individually. Moreover, this method is tedious, especially when dealing with numerous daily orders.

To address this issue, automating the order fulfillment process is a more efficient approach to serving customer demands. With AutoDS, we can enjoy the benefits of automatic order fulfillment features: Automatic Orders and Fulfilled by AutoDS.

With Automatic Orders, the system utilizes our buyer accounts to meet customer demands. Buyer accounts are the payment methods we set on the suppliers’ websites. Additionally, this method provides updated tracking information to monitor customer orders properly.

On the other hand, Fulfilled by AutoDS (FBA) allows us to fulfill customer demands using auto-order credits, eliminating the need to worry about purchase limits. FBA also offers real-time order tracking updates. Besides that, it has managed shipping fees and cashback for supported suppliers.

Automating the order fulfillment process helps us serve customer demands efficiently and run our Shopify stores smoothly. All in all, fulfilling orders promptly leads to customer satisfaction and business growth.

5. Provide Exceptional Customer Service

Extend Excellent Customer Support

Besides product research and marketing, customer service is integral to business success. Providing exceptional customer service is the act of going above and beyond to exceed our customers’ expectations. We can extend a positive shopping experience by offering timely assistance, resolving issues promptly, and maintaining open communication.

With that in mind, here are proven ways to achieve maximum customer satisfaction with our Shopify dropshipping business:

  • FAQ page
  • Ticket submission
  • Live chat
  • Email
  • Phone

Outstanding customer service is essential for building customer loyalty, fostering positive relationships, and driving repeat business. Providing excellent customer support can create a favorable impression of our business, increasing brand awareness.

What Products To Avoid Selling On Shopify

When mastering how to sell on Shopify, we must remember the restrictions on some product categories. As such, Shopify has strict policies regarding selling certain products on the platform.

The following are examples of product categories that are prohibited from being sold on Shopify:

  • Branded products
  • Copyrighted items
  • Dangerous products
  • Supplements
  • Illegal products
  • Tobacco and related products
  • Age-restricted goods
  • Adult content

Offering these products can lead to store suspensions or legal sanctions. It is vital to review Shopify’s policies regarding prohibited products before setting up an online store on the platform.

In line with that, AutoDS has a VeRO system, which is also applicable to our Shopify dropshipping stores. The system is designed to immediately detect when a product falls into a category that is not dropshipping-friendly. Then, the system gives us a warning so that we can avoid adding prohibited items to our Shopify stores.

6 Best Shopify Apps To Increase Your Product Sales

Do you know that Shopify offers top-notch apps to help us optimize our stores? Let’s explore the best Shopify apps that will help increase our product sales.

Frequently Bought Together

Discover the potential of upselling by providing tailored recommendations and discounts. Frequently Bought Together simplifies the process for our customers to purchase complementary items in one go, thereby boosting our sales revenue. This Shopify app’s algorithm has been fine-tuned over the years to optimize conversion rates, making it an unparalleled tool.

Key Features

  • AI-powered product recommendations that are proven to be intelligent and effective
  • Customize product bundles by personalizing suggestions specific to each product
  • Incorporate four distinct types of bundle discounts to boost conversion rates
  • Obtain unique and unconventional styles for themes
  • Effortlessly handle any volume of products, orders, or website traffic

Pricing

  • Free trial: 30 days
  • Unlimited: $9.99/month

ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell

Boost earnings by implementing various upsell strategies, including checkout upsell, one-click upsell, post-purchase upsell, and cross-sell features. With ReConvert, we can incorporate discounted upsells to our checkout pages, enhancing our conversion rates. This Shopify app is designed to improve our average order value and maximize profitability. 

Key Features

  • Implement checkout and post-purchase upsell funnels
  • Elevate average order value by effortlessly presenting one-click upsell offers
  • Offer surveys, birthday collection, and product upselling on ‘thank you’ pages
  • Create and manage checkout upsell strategy with a drag-and-drop editor
  • Leverage deep segmentation to activate various upsell strategies

Pricing

  • Development Stories: Free for 30 days
  • Upsell Basic: $4.99/month
  • Upsell Premium: $7.99/month
  • Upsell Premium Pro: $14.99/month

PushOwl Notifications

PushOwl Notifications Shopify AppPushOwl Notifications Shopify App

With PushOwl Notifications, we can drive more sales by utilizing targeted web push notifications and recovering abandoned carts with ease. This Shopify app’s web push feature allows us to effortlessly convert store visitors into subscribers without needing personal information. Web push notifications are an ideal marketing channel for instantly capturing and marketing to anonymous shoppers

Key Features

  • Boost sales by using targeted web push notifications
  • Gather subscribers through the app’s native opt-in feature
  • Recover abandoned carts by activating the app’s automated sequence
  • Gain insights into customer behavior and utilize cart details to personalize marketing strategies
  • Monitor the effectiveness of web push marketing campaigns

Pricing

  • Basic: Free for 14 days
  • Business: $19/month
  • Business $38/month

Vitals

Let’s elevate our conversion marketing game with Vitals, an all-in-one Shopify app for reviews, upsells, pop-ups, and over 40 other powerful tools. Collect product reviews, boost margins with upsells, and grow email lists with eye-catching pop-ups. Plus, this app transforms our website into a sales-driven store with tools like push marketing, live chat, currency converter, and more.

Key Features

  • Gather product reviews, with options to collect and import them
  • Create bundles, volume discounts, BOGO, gift promotions, and goal-based offers
  • Record and playback customers’ clicks, scrolls, and typing interactions
  • Engage with audiences through email and push campaigns
  • Unlock features like wishlist, sticky add to cart, trust badges, and size chart

Pricing

  • Free Trial: 30 days
  • Hobby: $29.99/month
  • Business: $49.99/month
  • Pro: $89.99/month
  • Plus: $299.99/month

Sticky Add To Cart Booster

Enhance customer experience and reduce cart abandonment with the Sticky Add to Cart feature. This Shopify app includes easy-to-find buttons, quick buy, and cart sliders that follow customers around the website. Moreover, we can optimize our Shopify stores with attractive button animations, brand color customization, seasonal theme options, and more.

Key Features

  • Elevate conversion rates with the Floating Bar Feature, ensuring easy access to purchase options
  • Simplify the checkout process with Sticky Cart, a floating cart that allows minimal navigation while shopping
  • Streamline the purchasing process with the Quick Buy Button, enabling direct purchases from the homepage
  • Enhance the user experience with Cart Slider, an interactive cart drawer that offers upsells and cart reserve options
  • Ensure a smooth checkout process with the Sticky Checkout Bar/Button, making the checkout process easy and fast 

Pricing

  • Free Trial: 14 days
  • Basic: $8.99/month
  • Shopify: $14.99/month
  • Advanced: $24.99/month
  • Shopify Plus: $39.99/month

Volume & Discounted Pricing

Boost average order values (AOV) with Volume & Discounted Pricing. This powerful Shopify app allows us to create quantity breaks and spend discounts across multiple products and collections. Additionally, it helps maximize sales with features like time-sensitive quantity breaks, volume discounts, cart page upsells, and tiered pricing based on tags.

Key Features

  • Add upsell messaging in the cart to promote discounts for adding more items to the purchase
  • Design custom pricing offers to match the look and feel of the product pages seamlessly
  • Provides round-the-clock support to assist us with the setup process 

Pricing

  • Free Trial: 7 days
  • Basic: $7.99/month
  • Professional: $15.99/month
  • Advanced: $23.99/month
  • Plus: $31.99/month

How To Scale Selling On Shopify With Automation

Yay! After learning how to sell on Shopify, it’s time to take our online business to greater heights. To scale our Shopify business, we need these helpful tools and tips:

  • Product Variations
  • Advanced Image Editor
  • ChatGPT
  • Dropshipping Automation

Let’s find out how these factors can help us manage our online stores efficiently.

Product Variations

Diversifying our Shopify product listings is crucial. Fortunately, when our suppliers offer multiple product variations, AutoDS automatically adds them for us. Additionally, it is possible to include products from various suppliers within the same variation. 

Add Product Variations

We can easily add a variant on the AutoDS product page by hovering over the URL. As a result, our product page becomes more unique, as no other dropshipper will offer the exact item variations.

Remember to explore more products and add over 20 variations. Also, we must add similar variations to best sellers and remove slow movers. By doing so, we can ensure the maximum sales potential of our products on Shopify.

Advanced Image Editor

AutoDS' Advanced Image Editor

By partnering with AutoDS, we can enjoy the benefits of a built-in image editor. Here, we can generate high-quality images to highlight our products’ features. Plus, we can add texts or icons to make images more distinctive.

Remember that product images showcase the value of our items visually. Hence, they must be unique and creative to attract customers to check out our products.

ChatGPT

Utilize ChatGPT For Optimized Texts

Another game changer in Shopify dropshipping is ChatGPT. This AI writing tool helps generate enticing and SEO-relevant texts. With this tool, we can create optimized product titles, descriptions, and other relevant content.

All we need to do is grab all product descriptions from the suppliers’ websites and input them on ChatGPT. Then, we can prompt ChatGPT to optimize the texts by including bullet lists, emojis, and more. Optimized texts will make our products more organized and professional on Shopify.

Dropshipping Automation

Scale Your Shopify Business By Dropshipping Automation

Above all, dropshipping automation is the key to success when selling on Shopify. With dropshipping automation, we can efficiently run our Shopify business. Integrating with top dropshipping software like AutoDS is essential to automate our business processes fully.

With AutoDS, here are the features we can automate:

  • Quick Product Imports
  • Advanced Product Research Marketplace 
  • Complete Order Fulfillment
  • Price/Stock Monitoring
  • Automatic Price Optimization
  • Inventory Management
  • and much more!

With dropshipping automation, we can increase efficiency, save time, reduce errors, improve scalability, and streamline repetitive tasks. Ultimately, it can lead to optimized Shopify stores and massive profits.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Sell On Shopify? 

To sell on Shopify, you must conduct product research and set up your online store. Then, add items to your Shopify store and optimize your product pages. Also, you must remember to effectively market your business, fulfill customer orders quickly, and provide excellent customer support.

Is Selling On Shopify Free?

Shopify offers a 3-day free trial. After such, you can opt for paid subscriptions to continue selling on Shopify. The subscription plans include Basic at $25/month, Shopify at $65/month, and Advanced at $399/month.

Is It Hard For A Beginner To Sell On Shopify?

Shopify provides ample support, including email, chat, phone, a community forum, and an online Help Center to assist beginners in getting started. Despite a slight learning curve, Shopify’s resources make it accessible for beginners without technical knowledge. Plus, you can access the AutoDS Free Shopify Course for a comprehensive step-by-step guide on dropshipping on the platform.

How Do I Optimize My Product Listings To Increase Sales On Shopify?

You can utilize Shopify apps to enhance your product listings. Aside from that, you should explore different item variations, use an advanced image editor, and utilize ChatGPT to improve your product pages. 

What Is The Best Way To Drive Traffic And Sales To My Shopify Store? 

Above all, dropshipping automation can help optimize your product listings and drive huge sales. You can partner with AutoDS and enjoy automation features that streamline your Shopify store’s processes. Moreover, the right marketing tools can help expand your market reach, maximizing your Shopify dropshipping store’s sale potential.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, learning how to sell on Shopify is a breeze. With its user-friendly platform, beginners can confidently leverage Shopify’s abundant features.

Knowing what and how to sell on Shopify doesn’t end here. We must continuously alleviate our Shopify business through dropshipping automation. Then, we can drive more sales to our stores and achieve eCommerce success.

Start dropshipping on Shopify today and unlock a world of possibilities for successful online selling. To help us expand our know-how on Shopify, here are insightful articles to check out: