SHOPIFY DROPSHIPPING NICHE VS GENERAL STORE IN 2020
Updated: Jan 2
The increasing number of Dropshipping start-ups in recent times has brought up the question of either to dwell on niche Dropshipping or rather involve more in the general stores. I am only going to guide and not choose for you, as the decision lies solely with you. We will explain the concept of both the niche Dropshipping and general store. To guide you in picking what works best for you as you begin your business in Dropshipping, here a few things you should know. Dropshipping as a concept has been around for a while now. I could summarise it to mean a retailer receiving customers’ orders and transferring them to the manufacturer or producer; the producer, in turn, ships the goods directly to the customer. So, in essence, the retailer does not get to handle the product. While it is a bit usual for a retail business, the single difference is that the Dropshipping retailer does not have to stock goods, but instead, rely on the orders of customers before transferring them to producers for purchase.
How then do drop shippers make money? Well, once they pass the customers’ orders to the manufacturer, they pay the manufacturer the agreed wholesale price which is often lower than what they charge the customers. Their profit is the amount remaining after subtracting how much they charge from how much they pay manufacturers. For example, a customer makes an order of a product and you charge say £25, you then pay the manufacturer £20, the remaining £5 is the retailer’s profit.
There are quite many Dropshipping wholesale companies you could work with, some of which includes AliExpress, DHGate, Oberlo, Doba et cetera.
Well, at this point, it is safe to say we have established what Dropshipping is and how it works.
What is Niche Dropshipping?
As earlier stated, you do not need to stock goods or keep inventories but rather turn customers’ orders to manufacturers. So, Niche Dropshipping is one of the two popular Dropshipping stores, the other being General store. In Niche Dropshipping, you focus on a precise niche such as “Woodwind musical instruments”. It is much more specific than simply basing the store on “musical instruments” which could be percussion, string, brass or woodwind.
Before deciding whether or not Niche Dropshipping is best for you, let me run you through its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Niche Dropshipping Stores
It Reduces Competition: Staying on a specific niche saves you unnecessary competition since the bulk of the struggle out there is mostly for people trying hard to squeeze themselves into the general store.
It is SEO friendly: Niche Dropshipping ranks easily for keywords on SERPs and search engines. Customers are always specific in their search, so dwelling on niche dropshipping places your website in a strategic position to pop up first when people search for the things relating to your niche.
Your brand snowballs: You can quickly build yourself a brand when on niche Dropshipping. You will be known for what you do in particular. You get people’s attention easily since you are not trying to take care of everyone.
You get increased buyer conversion: Since niche Dropshipping stores are specific with their target audience, your actual number of buyers will increase because people already interested in your niche they tend to keep coming back to you.
Disadvantages of Niche Dropshipping
It is not advisable for start-ups: It is relatively easier for beginners to start their business on the general stores than having a niche. You cannot gather enough experience beginning as a niche drop shipper, it is just like putting all your eggs in one basket, very unadvisable. Instead, put out a lot of products and learn which sells more, observe till you are can decide what niche you want to dwell on.
It involves lots of trials and tests: Just like any other business, niche dropshipping requires a lot of testing to achieve success, the uncertainty is, however, more pronounced here. It takes time to establish and make the business profitable adequately.
Your range of customers is limited: This is another major con of focusing on niche Dropshipping. You have already streamlined your target audience; hence, you might not get the large audience as it is in general store.
We have successfully outlined what Niche Dropshipping entails, the pros, the cons, and by now, you have an insight into what you want your store to be. However, hang on a little more while we dive into what General Store is.
What is General store?
The general store in simple terms comprises a collection of niches. A general Dropshipping retailer deals with products from various industries from tech products, to clothing, furniture, electronics and so on. Find below the advantages and disadvantages of the general store.
Advantages of general store:
Flexibility: Flexibility is a significant feature of the general stores, unlike the niche Dropshipping, there is no limitation to what number of industries to add. You can put up whatever number of products you want for sale, and of course, from whatever number of sectors you wish.
A wide range of audience: General store deals with a wide range of products from different industries and since different people need different products per time, you an advantage of reaching out to more people. Also, you can optimise your products with ease and make them rank in SERPs.
It requires no robust research: Unlike niche Dropshipping, you do not necessarily need to do an in-depth analysis of the markets and products to sell. A little research will do, and then, you are good to put up whatever products interests you for sale.
Disadvantages of general store:
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Low Conversion Ratio: Usually, people who visit general stores do so not with the intent of buy but to only view available products. So, in essence, the views and visits are much, but the ratio of visitors to actual buyers are much lower. Plenty views are therefore of little use when the conversion ratio is nothing to write home about.
Increased Competition: A lot of retailers are into general store dropshipping, for this single reason, the struggle to stand out and achieve success among all of these numerous retailers is strong. Hence, more work is required by retailers who are into general Dropshipping to make things work.
The difficulty with Search Engine Optimization: Selling almost everything all at once makes it quite impossible to rank high in SEO keywords. Your website might not come up first on customer’s search for products since the keywords you are likely to use, unfortunately, will bring up more established or niche-specific websites.
Management issues: Focusing on so many things at once will generate managerial problems because you have too many things to consider when it comes to building the brand. Also, it takes time before you get to know the essential products to keep selling.
To summarise it all, let’s make a quick comparison between Niche Dropshipping Store and General store
Niche Dropshipping is better with traffic due to the excellent conversion rates while General store generates traffic that does not necessarily translate into sales.
Niche Dropshipping has more profit margins than General store. However, profits are more stable in the General Store.
Niche Dropshipping is easier to scale than the general store where you target multiple stores.
My Verdict (For Beginners)
As earlier stated, for beginners, a niche store is more advisable than the general store. Setting up the best general store this year might be a little stressful for beginners since they do not have the expertise. It is wrong to test the depth of a river with both legs, so also is it wrong for beginners to invest all of their resources in a general store, so as not to be at a total loss in the event of mishaps.
Strategies to Benefit the Most Using Niche or General Products
Starting a Dropshipping business is quite simple. Find the products you wish to sell, select the niche (or niches, as the case may be) that interests you and then add all products relating to that niche.
Next, you go to your preferred platform, say AliExpress, select the products from merchants with the highest orders, add the products to your store using any suitable app plugin. When you complete this, and the store is ready, you can start test running these products with Facebook ads to see how each product will fair. Draw a conclusion from your study and determine which products sell best, those are the ones you probably should plan on trading in future.
Conclusion
You’ve done yourself a lot of good by hanging on till this point. I have been able to walk you through all you need to know about niche Dropshipping and general store. I hope, with this article, Ive been able to help your decision making as regards starting your Dropshipping business. I also do hope you
find success in your journey through the Dropshipping business.
I have also made a Youtube video regarding THE MOST PROFITABLE Dropshipping Niches In (2019)Click the link or picture to check it out: https://youtu.be/1hj_wxloJcI
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