What makes a dropshipping business successful or unsuccessful depends on many factors. Some of them include a reliable supplier, a well-thought-out pricing strategy, and a robust marketing campaign. Product research, however, is also a crucial component for successful dropshippers.
Approximately $128.6 billion was the projected worldwide value of the dropshipping e-commerce business in 2020. From 2021 to 2026, the market is projected to reach $476.1 billion. Learn why product research dropshipping tools are crucial and which will be most useful in 2024.
Importance of Dropshipping Product Research
Because online retail is highly competitive, it’s crucial that you give your customers exactly what they want. Do not offer them content that originated from market research because the best dropshipping suppliers will have a suitable large inventory.
Since working in a dropshipping business requires time and money, use these two resources as productively as possible. The right approach to product discovery significantly maximizes the ROI of sales and marketing initiatives.
You need to conduct proper product research to maintain your ability to connect with potential customers. Take advantage of dropshipping opportunities to supercharge your profits with the right product selection.
What to Look for When Researching Dropshipping Products
Investing in dropshipping gives entrepreneurs a low-risk entry into the expansive realm of electronic commerce, which can be an exciting prospect. Thorough product research is the key to success in this ever-changing environment.
A critical skill that can establish the course of your business in a crowded marketplace is the ability to foresee which dropshipping products are worth investing in. Consumer preferences and market trends undergo a constant transformation in tandem with the e-commerce domain.
Maintaining a competitive edge requires the implementation of a methodical approach to the selection of products. After all, without comprehensive dropshipping product research, even the best-designed online shop and marketing methods would be ineffective.
Price
In dropshipping product research, pricing stands as one of the primary considerations. It is critical to comprehend the pricing complexity to obtain a competitive advantage and ensure profitability in your venture.
Consider the following:
- Competitive Pricing: Compare the prices of similar products sold by competitors. A good compromise between a competitive price and a reasonable margin is important in winning customers and maintaining your business.
- Calculate Profitability: This profitability calculator evaluates each product’s potential margins. Consider all costs, such as product costs, delivery charges, and any further expenses.
- Supplier Costs: Do a detailed analysis of the costs entailed with purchasing this product from your supplier. Negotiate with suppliers for favorable prices that guarantee a certain amount of profit.
Market Demand & Seasonality
You should seek out a product in high demand, as this will encourage more individuals to purchase it. To determine the nature of the demand for your products, undertake several procedures.
- Demand Analysis: To measure demand for the product, use tools such as Google Trends or market research platforms. Determine if the product is demand-stable, expanding, or seasonal.
- Marketplace Mastery: Consider examining the product’s best-selling rank on a marketplace such as Amazon. It will indicate the comparative sales performance of their products in relation to others.
- Seasonal Considerations: Remember to pay attention to seasonal patterns and fluctuations. Some products may face peak demand in particular seasons, and such changes should be anticipated carefully.
Shipping Costs & Availability
Let’s break down what you need to look at when researching dropshipping products, considering shipping costs and availability. These factors are underestimated yet powerful ones.
They guide what customers will make of the experience, reducing profit margins to trickle barely enough for one’s dropshipping venture. Thus, pay attention to the following:
- Evaluate Supplier Shipping Fees: Know your suppliers’ shipping costs. Shipping margins can tremendously impact the total cost of your product and eat into profit levels.
- Assess Supplier Shipping Times: Look at the estimated lead times offered by your suppliers. Longer shipping times may cause a customer to become dissatisfied and more likely to cancel the order.
- Explore Multiple Suppliers: Work with different suppliers to ensure a diverse product base. This ensures flexibility and minimizes disruptions in case one supplier has shipping problems.
Legal and Compliance Issues
In addition to deciding on popular products, a dropshipping assignment calls for a radical exam of legal and compliance issues. It is critical to ensure that the goods and providers you pick Comply with all the legal requirements.
Focus on the following:
- Research Product Regulations: Different merchandise may undergo different rules and standards. Research and identify the legal necessities associated with the products you want to dropship.
- Certifications and Compliance: Verify that your merchandise meets important certifications and observe enterprise requirements. Products adhering to rules are much less likely to encounter legal troubles.
- Restricted or Prohibited Items: Be aware of any limited or prohibited products from being sold in different regions.
3 Ways to Do Dropshipping Product Research
Discovering first-rate items to offer in a dropshipping enterprise is the first obstacle for each online service provider. Understanding client preferences is not easy. Occasionally, it’s more like a sport of guessing with no obvious final results.
That’s why it is critical to do product research before beginning a dropshipping corporation. Your achievement relies upon finding the proper items to sell, and after you do, you’ll understand who to sell to.
Think about your demands, your budget, the tools’ usability, and the features they provide before settling on a product research tool. Find the right tool by researching, reading reviews, and taking advantage of free trials.
When researching products to dropship, here is how to do product research for dropshipping:
Use Social Media
Social media is a useful source of information for dropshipping product research. It provides access to the latest trends, consumers’ preferences, and possible opportunities. Here’s how to leverage social media for effective product research:
- Engage with Niche Communities: Join the relevant groups and forums associated with your niche on social media channels such as Facebook, Reddit, or specialized ones. Engage in discussions to learn about potential customer’s pain points, preferences, and needs.
- Monitor Social Media Ads: Watch out for sponsored posts and ads on Facebook and Instagram. Trendy items are commonly used to represent advertisers.
- Analyze Influencer Pages: Use Instagram or TikTok to follow influencers in your industry. Examine what they advertise, their level of endorsement received, and comments by the followers.
Use Marketplaces
Dropshipping product research thrives on online marketplaces as sources of information. Analyzing these websites lets you find out what is in demand among customers and read reviews about different products.
- Study Bestseller Lists: Scan best selling lists on sites like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. These lists show in-demand and popular products. Examine the product varieties and customer reviews to see where possible opportunities lie.
- Review Customer Feedback: Consider products similar to the ones you are interested in buying by reading what people say about them. Consider factors like recurring problems, praise, and suggestions for improvement.
- Analyze Competitor Offerings: Finally, examine the inventory of successful sellers in your niche. Observe their product description, pricing strategy, and contact with customers.
Use a Product Research Tool
Using a range of product research tools, you can minimize the time spent looking for suitable dropshipping products. Tools such as these provide data-driven insights that shape your decisions.
- Leverage Product Research Platforms: Find specialized product research tools like SaleHoo, or Jungle Scout. They provide details about product trends, competitive strength, and supplier information.
- Evaluate Profitability Metrics: Product research tools usually include profitability calculators. These devices enable computing profit margins, whereby product costs and shipping charges are included among the expenses.
- Track Product Trends with Google Trends: Google Trends is an extremely powerful tool for gauging the popularity of search terms over time. Know the current trends by transcribing relevant keywords for your niche.
At its core, this tool provides the ability to gain real-time insights into the interests and inquiries of individuals. Thus, you can learn professional and advanced strategies for making the most of Google Trends for dropshipping.
8 Best Dropshipping Product Research Tools
You may save time and energy by using a good dropshipping product research tool to discover popular items. For instance, you may find tools that compile a vast catalog of items categorized by price, category, sales, etc. You can also find tools that only include products that meet very specific product standards.
There are also product research tools with extra features that might be perfect for you. If you are looking for products for dropshipping in 2024, try using one of the following tools.
Koala Inspector
We might be biased, but, with over 90,000 users, our custome built tool the Koala Inspector is the ultimate dropshipping product finder tool, and the go-to spy extension for dropshippers. Go to any Shopify shop and enable the Koala Inspector Chrome extension.
You can see the immediate appearance of vital information like their top-performing marketing campaigns, best-selling items, supplier details, Shopify theme, and more.
The free version of Koala Inspector provides limited functionalities but offers product statistics, shop structure, and a view of the newest products and their best sellers. Its premium plans begin at $7.99 a month. The unlimited plan goes up to $19.99 a month.
Features:
- Product performance and dropshipping analytics.
- Supplier reliability ratings.
- Detailed product and dropshipping market research.
- Check out the inventory of competing retailers.
- Evaluate vendor records.
- Calculate monthly visitor count.
- Product title and description generator
- Automatic orders
👍Pros:
- User-friendly interface.
- Reliable supplier data.
- Advanced product analysis features.
- Consistent improvements and updates.
👎Cons:
- The free plan has limited features.
- For some users, the monthly subscription cost could be high.
DSers
The dropshipping DSers tool is specifically designed to work with different suppliers on AliExpress and other platforms. It helps users handle bulk orders effectively.
The basic plan offered by DSers is free, and its paid plans start from $19.90 per month. Next, there’s the Pro plan, which costs $49.9/month, and the Enterprise plan, which costs $499/month.
Features:
- Bulk order processing.
- Supplier management.
- Order tracking and fulfillment.
👍Pros:
- Efficient order processing.
- Multi-supplier support.
- Competitive pricing.
- Simple and straightforward UI.
👎Cons:
- Certain elements are restricted in the free mode.
- The interface could be daunting for beginners.
Niche Scraper
Niche Scraper is an analytics tool that identifies winning products and trends. It provides data on product development, social media engagement, and overall market potential.
There is a free plan, a monthly plan for $49.95, and an annual plan for $199.00 for the PRO Membership. If you sign up for Niche Scraper’s monthly or annual subscription, you’ll get access to limitless “scrapes” and useful Facebook and TikTok market research tools. You’ll also be able to uncover other shops’ projected earnings and “scrape” their top-selling goods.
Features:
- Successful product recognition.
- Social media interaction analysis.
- Recommendations for everyday items.
👍Pros:
- A comprehensive analysis of the production process.
- Regularly updating product recommendations.
- A dashboard that is easy to use.
👎Cons:
- Monthly subscription fees may be high for some users.
- There are limited features in low-level systems.
Sell The Trend
Sell The Trend is a comprehensive dropshipping tool that provides insights into trends, market saturation, and potential profitability. In addition, they provide a dropshipping website builder that consumers may utilize to create fully functional dropshipping businesses in a matter of seconds.
Pricing options include a free 7-day trial, a monthly subscription for $39.97, and an annual plan for $32.97.
Features:
- Recognition of trends.
- Product analysis and operations.
- Facebook ad analysis.
👍Pros:
- A comprehensive process analysis.
- Ad analytics from Facebook.
- Profitability indicators.
- Simple and straightforward UI.
👎Cons:
- Expensive membership.
- A learning curve for beginners.
Jungle Scout
Jungle Scout is a flexible product research tool designed for Amazon dealers, but it could also be useful for dropshippers. It provides data on product traits, opposition, and profitability.
The $29 “Basic” subscription will allow you to use the browser extension to test out potential items. The $49 “Suite” plan will help you discover new products and manage your Amazon shop more efficiently. Meanwhile, the $84 “Professional” plan is ideal for seasoned online merchants who want more sophisticated capabilities.
Features:
- Product trend evaluation.
- Competitor tracking.
- Profitability calculators.
👍Pros:
- Established and respectable tool.
- Comprehensive product and marketplace evaluation.
- Simple and straightforward UI.
- Consistent assistance for clients.
👎Cons:
- Pricey monthly subscription.
- More targeted on Amazon sellers.
Ecomhunt
Ecomhunt is a product discovery tool that identifies potential prevailing merchandise for dropshippers. It offers insights into product performance, Facebook Ads records, and marketplace capability.
With the free edition, you may access a limited number of features, including three product tracker sessions, 10 live trending items, and Ecomhunt’s product database. There are also three paid tiers of service: Basic, PRO, and Suite.
Plans start at $23 per month for the Basic plan, $39 per month for the PRO plan, and $49 per month for the Suite plan.
Features:
- Winning product identification.
- Facebook Ads Analytics.
- Market ability assessment.
- Simple and straightforward UI.
👍Pros:
- Regularly updated product pointers.
- Facebook Ads insights.
- Affordable pricing.
👎Cons:
- The monthly subscription cost may be high for some users.
- Limited functions inside the lower-tier plans.
Dropship Spy
Dropship Spy is a dropshipping research tool that offers information on triumphing products, competitor strategies, and Facebook Ad insights. With only products that have received their seal of approval, Dropship Spy displays an item that has undergone exhaustive testing.
The only pricing tier offered by Dropship Spy is a $39 per month plan that provides unrestricted access to the most recent products and features. An annual PRO membership costs $119.
Features:
- Winning product identification.
- Facebook Ad Analytics.
- Competitor studies.
👍Pros:
- Affordable pricing.
- Facebook Ad insights.
- Competitor evaluation features.
- Updated product suggestions on a regular basis.
👎Cons:
- Limited capabilities inside the lower-tier plans.
- The user interface may be less intuitive for beginners.
Final Thoughts
In the competitive arena of dropshipping, having an edge is non-negotiable.
When it comes to dropshipping success, the ability to see the future isn’t just a catchphrase—it’s a cornerstone of strategic planning. Utilizing product trend charts arms you with a crystal-clear view of where the market is heading, ensuring superior dropshipping research prowess.
Product research is the mantra for dropshippers who don’t just want to survive but thrive in an e-commerce world where research, research, research, holds the key to profitability.
Hopefully, now you understand the best approach to look for products, how to carry out product research like a pro, and the best tools to suit your drophsipping ambitions.
