eCommerce has taken the world by storm enabling dropshippers to see a lot of personal and professional success. Among the various platforms available for dropshipping, Shopify has gained immense popularity. This is due to its user-friendly interface and robust features to set up your online store.
That’s why Shopify dropshipping is highly appealing to many dropshippers as it provides the tools necessary to build and launch a dropshipping store easily. In this article, we will delve into the world of Shopify dropshipping and cover a Shopify dropshipping review. Let’s get into it!
What Is Shopify Dropshipping?
To begin with, dropshipping is an eCommerce model where we set up an online store but don’t keep our products in stock. Instead, the dropshipper partners with a third-party supplier who holds the inventory and fulfills the orders directly to customers. Dropshipping is characterized by lower startup costs, reduced risk, and increased flexibility.
Shopify helps dropshippers create and manage their online stores with zero coding. In short, this means that Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform software. It has numerous tools that help online business owners grow. Their diverse customization options and themes allow us to manage our store to stand out from the competition. As such, Shopify has become one of the go-to platforms for dropshippers.
Dropshipping On Shopify: Pros & Cons
To go into detail with our Shopify dropship reviews, we need to look at both the positives and the negatives. With that said, let’s take a look at Shopify’s pros and cons.
Shopify Dropshipping Pros
Utilizing Shopify for our dropshipping business allows us to build a more customized store. This helps us differentiate ourselves from the competition and create recognition. But, as we go through this Shopify dropship review, we will see that Shopify has numerous other great features.
So, let’s take a look at the pros of Shopify dropshipping:
- Hosted platform
- Easy setup
- Customization features
- Content management dashboard
- Shipping discounts
- 24/7 customer service
- Shopify stores for sale
Since Shopify is a hosted platform, we can get the backbone of our dropshipping store with all the bells and whistles taken care of. With the host, domain, and backend covered, we can start designing our store. Plus, the setup is straightforward and intuitive, making it convenient to open our store.
Shopify also has ready-made templates that are designed for high conversion rates. This helps us start with a strong store layout optimized to convert viewers into buyers. Plus, numerous Shopify apps allow us to optimize our store and boost sales. We can also use the drag-and-drop editor to customize our store to our vision.
Shopify’s content management dashboard makes it easy for us to create web pages and upload text and media to those pages. This is essential if we want to maximize our reach.
What’s more, Shopify has excellent customer service available 24/7. We can reach their support team via email, live chat, or phone.
Lastly, we can also buy Shopify dropshipping stores for sale. By doing this, we can skip over the processes like system establishment, traffic, restricted cash flow, inventory sourcing, and customer generation. In fact, we can just go straight to the profitable aspects of operating a business.
Shopify Dropshipping Cons
Apart from the benefits of dropshipping on Shopify, we need also to consider the cons. So, let’s dive into the cons of this Shopify dropship review:
- No organic traffic
- Transaction and credit card fees
On Shopify, there’s no organic traffic. Unlike marketplaces, Shopify doesn’t have a readily available customer base already scrolling and looking for products. Because of this, we need to utilize paid online advertising to get traction around our Shopify store. For example, we can utilize pay-per-click ads or influencer marketing to appeal to our target market.
We should also consider that there are transaction fees, and we need Shopify Pay to lose them. To explain, the transaction fees cover the maintenance and cost of integrating Shopify with third-party payment providers.
There are also credit card fees that start at 2.9% + 30¢ for each transaction. But, no matter which channel we choose, we will encounter fees.
Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons of dropshipping on Shopify. As such, we can easily see the appeal of utilizing this platform.
Shopify Dropshipping Review: Full Overview
To fully understand if dropshipping on Shopify is the right fit for our business, we need to cover a Shopify dropshipping review. That said, we need to look at different aspects of Shopify.
Shopify Stats: Users & Revenue
As of March 2023, Shopify is used by 4.15 million online stores. This is just the number of Shopify stores that are live now. However, the entire number of online Shopify stores opened to date is 6.45 million. So, we can easily see that the Shopify dropshipping business is growing, with more and more people opening Shopify dropshipping stores.
Shopify’s revenue has been significantly increasing from year to year. In fact, the total revenue increased by 21% to $5.6 billion, compared to 2021. It’s important to note Shopify’s revenue because this is money that they’re getting from dropshippers to run their stores. This shows that Shopify is worth the investment as more and more dropshippers are using the platform.
By having these statistics in the Shopify dropship review, we can understand the enormous profit potential of dropshipping on Shopify. Thus, we can expect solid success based on the obvious profitability of Shopify dropshipping.
Shopify Pricing & Plans
Now, let’s look at the pricing in this Shopify dropship review. We can start our Shopify dropshipping business for free with their free 3-day free trial. Then we can take advantage of their $1/month for the first 3 months.
After that, Shopify charges $39/month for their Basic Plan. In the Basic plan, we have everything we need to create our store, ship products, and process payments. In fact, this plan offers basic reports, up to 1,000 inventory locations, up to 77% shipping discount, and 2 staff accounts. Moreover, credit card fees for this plan are 2.9% + 30¢ USD.
Alternatively, we can opt for the Shopify Plan, which costs $105/month. This plan allows us to level up our business with professional reporting and more staff accounts. It also gives us a 88% shipping discount while the credit card fee goes down to 2.6% + 30¢ USD.
Lastly, we have the option to choose the Advanced Plan, which costs $399/month. With this plan, we get the best of Shopify with custom reporting and the lowest transaction fees. We also get 15 staff accounts and credit card rates at 2.4% + 30¢ USD.
Apart from the mentioned key differences, the eCommerce automation feature is only available for the Shopify plan and above. This feature automates aspects of the marketing and fulfillment process.
However, regardless of which plan we choose, if we opt for an annual plan, we can save about 25% of the price. All in all, we can start with a lower-tiered plan and move up as we scale our store.
Beginner’s Tip: Use the AutoDS Winning Products Hub for easy product research before you start the Shopify trial. Then during the trial, you can use AutoDS to quickly import your high-profit potential products.
Shipping Zones & Payment Gateways
A valuable characteristic that Shopify has is the numerous markets and shipping zones it covers. Most Shopify stores are based in the Americas, with the largest market being the United States. In April 2021, around two-thirds of Shopify’s online shops were based in the US. Europe accounted for roughly 17% of Shopify’s market, with the UK being the second largest Shopify market.
With Shopify, we have access to a worldwide market that we can dropship and ship to. In fact, we can ship to over 150 countries with Shopify’s global regions. For example, we can dropship to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and more. This makes it easy to target a global audience and maximize our sales.
Additionally, let’s look at some of the payment gateways and their characteristics in this Shopify dropship review:
- Payment Methods: We can opt to use Shopify Payments, which is Shopify’s built-in payment system. Otherwise, the transaction fee is 5% per sale.
- Credit Card Rates: In the US, the rate varies between 2.4% and 2.9% per sale. The fees will vary depending on the country.
- Third-Party Payment Gateway: The transaction fee per sale starts at 0.5% and goes up to above 5%.
By understanding the shipping and payment options we have with Shopify, we can easily find which options are best for our store.
Shipping Rates
Shipping rates are the additional charges that customers pay for the delivery of their ordered products. These rates are added to the total cost of the order at the checkout stage.
As dropshippers, we have the flexibility to offer different shipping rates and methods to our customers. On the other hand, we can also keep it straightforward by providing only a single option.
While creating shipping rates, we can also set specific conditions or regulations that determine the available shipping methods. This is based on the items in the customer’s cart. Similarly, in this Shopify dropship review, we have a few shipping options that we can offer.
Generally, shipping rates are based on a specific metric. They can be based on the product price, weight, shipping distance, etc. With that said, there are different Shopify shipping rates we can offer:
- Flat shipping rates
- General rates
- Price-based rates
- Weight-based rates
- Free shipping rates
- Calculated shipping rates
- Local delivery methods
- Customer experience choosing shipping rates
Offering free shipping rates can give our Shopify store a competitive edge and provide numerous benefits. By offering free shipping, we can attract more customers and increase our customer retention. As a result, we can boost our sales and improve customer loyalty. Plus, it will give us a competitive edge and improve our brand image as it shows our dedication to customer satisfaction.
Shopify Themes & Apps
Shopify makes it easy for us to create our dropshipping store. With a good number of themes available, we can open our own store fast and easily. In fact, Shopify has 126 themes available that are categorized and optimized based on industry.
In addition, we can also choose our theme based on catalog size and features. On Shopify, there are both free and paid themes. The paid themes start off at $180 and go up to $350. However, it’s perfectly fine to start with a free theme and upgrade later on once we start to scale.
Additionally, the platform has its own Shopify app store that houses numerous dropshipping apps that help optimize our business. In fact, these apps are designed to help improve business operations, increase sales, and provide a better shopping experience. The Shopify apps improve and optimize key aspects of our store, like marketing, order fulfillment, customer service, product research, and more.
With that said, let’s look at some key Shopify apps with high ratings:
- AutoDS – Dropshipping Automation
- Omnisend – Email Marketing
- Klaviyo – Email & SMS Marketing
- Tidio – Customer Service
- Judge.me – Product reviews
Ultimately, Shopify themes and apps can help Shopify store owners improve the design, functionality, and capabilities of their online stores.
Content Management
With Shopify’s content management system, we can easily categorize products. As a matter of fact, we can place group products into categories and collections for better organization and legibility.
On top of that, Shopify has various content management features that help us optimize our store and product catalog. When the editing dashboard opens after we click on “Online Store,” we can edit the theme, description, product organization, and title. Additionally, we can also edit any media and publishing details.
With Shopify’s content management, we can organize and run our blog seamlessly. Actually, we can create our blog posts, optimize them and add images in one place. Solid blog posts are important for our Shopify dropshipping business because they are a source of free traffic.
Lastly, we can edit our website organization by choosing which page goes where. We can also edit headers, footers, and menu bars to create a user-friendly website that is sure to convert viewers into buyers.
The Final Verdict: Is Shopify Dropshipping Worth It?
Of course, Shopify dropshipping is worth it! Shopify is an ideal option for dropshippers since it is a fully hosted platform with all the necessary features. With the hosting, domain, and backend already managed, getting started is effortless.
Plus, Shopify allows us to fully customize our store. We can easily use ready-made templates optimized for conversions that we can customize to fit our brand identity.
Moreover, Shopify lets us focus on customer satisfaction by choosing from different shipping options. In addition, it offers shipping discounts which is a great focal point for customers.
Overall, Shopify offers an exceptional platform for dropshipping websites. With many features and benefits, it’s a great choice for businesses looking to establish an online presence. From its user-friendly interface to its robust inventory management system and customizable storefront templates, Shopify offers everything needed to create a successful dropshipping website.
Moreover, with its reliable hosting and secure payment processing, businesses can rest assured that their customer’s data is protected. This makes Shopify a reliable and worthwhile investment for any dropshipping venture.
The Best Shopify Dropshipping Review Apps
Reviews are important because they provide valuable insights and feedback from customers. They offer a way to gauge the quality of a product or service before making a purchase. Additionally, they also help to build trust between businesses and their customers.
Moreover, they can also help businesses to attract new customers. This is because positive reviews can serve as powerful endorsements that encourage others to buy a product.
With this in mind, there are a number of Shopify reviews apps we can integrate into our stores to build trust and social proof:
Opinew Product Reviews
To begin with, Opinew helps collect reviews from current and past orders. It collects them from multiple channels like review emails, review SMS, and Printed QR codes. It can also import reviews from Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress in bulk and in one click.
Plus, the review widgets are customizable and responsive. It has a 14-day free trial and a free plan available, while the paid packages start at $19/month.
Fera Product Reviews
Next, we have Fera, a reviews app that allows us to import reviews from platforms like Google, Facebook, and Etsy and set up automated review requests. The app offers customization options for our reviews to fit our brand and supports multiple languages. Fera has a 14-day free trial and a free plan available, while the paid packages start at $9/month.
Growave
Growave is a marketing app that offers numerous tools. For example, wish lists, loyalty programs, gift cards, referrals, rewards, and user-generated content (UGC), along with reviews.
Additionally, it supports multiple languages for cross-border selling and offers round-the-clock live support. Growave has a 30-day free trial, while the paid plans start at $9/month.
Vitals
Lastly, with Vitals, we can import and collect product reviews, offer upsells and bundles, and grow our email list with pop-ups. Vitals offers features like Instagram shoppable feeds, urgency & scarcity notifications, email & push marketing, live chat, etc. It can help us make our store more engaging and sales-driving for $29.99/month with a free 30-day trial.
How To Easily Start Dropshipping On Shopify With Automation
As we consider this Shopify dropshipping review, we also need to think about scaling our business. On that note, manual dropshipping is a laborious and time-consuming task. From spending hours on finding the hottest products to manual order fulfillment, it can take up a lot of our time. This will slow us down and limit our profit potential.
Alternatively, we can seamlessly run our Shopify store by using AutoDS to automate our entire dropshipping business. Most of the work is done by AutoDS’ automation software, reducing errors in all of the processes. AutoDS does all of the work for us while we focus on marketing our store to boost sales.
As a matter of fact, AutoDS has a myriad of dropshipping automation tools that will allow us to enjoy a lot of freedom with our business:
- Quick Product Imports
- Advanced Image Editor
- Complete Order Fulfillment
- Price/Stock Monitoring
- Automatic Price Optimization
- One-Screen Inventory Management
…and more!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Benefits Of Using Shopify For Dropshipping?
The benefits of using Shopify for dropshipping are that Shopify is a hosted platform and has everything already set up for us to open our store. Plus, it has a lot of customization options that will help us differentiate our store from the competition. Lastly, it has numerous shipping discounts available.
Is It Easy To Set Up A Shopify Dropshipping Store?
Setting up a Shopify store is super easy. Once we register, the process is intuitive, and the steps are easy to follow. Plus, with dropshipping automation tools, we automate most of the dropshipping processes and run our store with ease.
Is It Better To Use eBay Or Shopify For Dropshipping?
eBay is an open marketplace that lists products from multiple sellers. On the other hand, Shopify is a customizable website that runs a store from a single vendor. Either platform could work well for dropshipping, it just depends on our needs.
Conclusion
To sum up, Shopify dropship reviews can be incredibly valuable for anyone considering venturing into the world of dropshipping. These reviews provide a balanced view of the platform’s strengths and weaknesses and help entrepreneurs, like us, make informed decisions.
Despite any drawbacks, Shopify continues to offer exceptional profit potential and essential features that enable businesses to scale quickly. Whether we’re purchasing an existing Shopify store or setting up our own, the platform’s user-friendly interface and comprehensive support make it an excellent choice for entrepreneurs at any level of experience.
Armed with the right knowledge and insights, you can confidently build and grow a thriving dropshipping business on the Shopify platform. As such, check out these articles to learn more about how to scale your Shopify dropshipping store:
