Can Dropshipping Be Profitable? [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you are considering the launch of an online business, you might be looking at dropshipping business ideas. You might also be wondering: Is dropshipping worth it? This article and infographic answers that question and lists interesting statistics you should know...

How To Make Money Dropshipping

The idea, on the face of it, might sound too good to be true... Set up a retail store without the added cost of purchasing products or a warehouse to store them... What's not to like?

Shopify estimates there are around 1 million drop shippers worldwide, and 90% of these fail within the first month overall; only 10-20% of drop shippers go on to be successful.

Marketing

The onus is on the business to ensure they have done market research about their:

Target market

Platform

Suppliers

Before setting up shop.

Much like with any standard ecommerce business, you still need to:

Launch your website

Establish communication channels

Draft a marketing strategy

For your online store.

The reality is that your products won't sell themselves. You need to have your finger on the pulse of market trends in your niche. You'll also need to hit the ground running and have an effective online and offline marketing plan to reach your ideal customer.

Profitability

Can dropshipping be profitable for the long term? The answer is yes, it can be. But with a seemingly saturated market? That depends on how you manage your marketing.

But what are the profit margins like?

When you purchase stock from your suppliers and when the customer then purchases from your business, you need to put the proper markup on what you sell to guarantee you make a profit. BeProfit suggests that dropshipping profit margins are between 15-20%.

However, working with a dropshipping marketplace (dropshipping websites) provides multiple benefits. You get the most optimal profits and improve the customer experience with shorter delivery times -- More efficient than you sourcing products on your own from domestic suppliers.

This infographic below details what you can expect from working with marketplace organizations like Vendo that are redefining the face of dropshipping.

Infographic by Vendo on dropshipping