Guide to Identifying the Best Dropshipping Products

Identifying the Best Dropshipping Products

Perhaps you've heard the phrase 'dropshipping' bandied around your network, but you're unsure what it is.

If so, now’s your chance to dive into this area to see if dropshipping is something you want to explore.

So, what is dropshipping?

Put simply, it’s a way of selling products online without the hassle of warehousing and fulfilling orders. You run your eCommerce store, selling products sourced by dropshipping suppliers. Then, when you make a sale, the order is sent to your supplier, who picks, packs, and ships the product to your customer. 

Sounds good, right?

However, to enjoy dropshipping success, identifying high-quality products that customers actually want is a must.

So, to help you achieve that, we're revealing our top tips for pinpointing the best dropshipping products (and providing some real-life examples). 

Let's dive in!

Market Research

While it’s all very well turning your hobby or passion into a dropshipping business, when it comes to product selection, you need to gauge consumer demand, identify lucrative niches, and spot emerging market trends to increase the likelihood of success.

This is where market research is worth its weight in gold. Effective market research is critical to validating product ideas for high demand, low competition, and good profit margins. Not only that, but market analysis helps you stay on top of trending products, allowing you to capitalize on lucrative product categories and stay ahead of your competitors. 

So, to help you kickstart your market research, below we’ve listed a few resources:

Google Trends

Yes, you guessed it, you can use Google Trends to see which products/niches are trending. 

This free tool allows you to select (or type in) a category you’re interested in. Then, Google shows a chart mapping the category’s trend growth over time (and by region).

You can use this information to gauge whether the product or niche boasts a steady or increasing demand (if it doesn’t, you might want to consider a different product category!) 

You’ll also get a sense of whether demand fluctuates throughout the year and/or in different regions, allowing you to adjust your marketing strategies accordingly. 

To better illustrate how Google Trends works, here’s an example:

You can see interest in yoga pants in the US over a 12 month period has stayed reasonably consistent, with highest interest coming from New Hampshire, Alaska and New York. 

You’ll also see a list of ‘related topics’ for which users searching for your term also searched. You can filter results by ‘top’ (I.e., the most popular topics) and ‘rising’ (I.e., topics with the largest increase in search frequency since the last time period. Results labeled "Breakout" had a colossal increase). 

Similarly, you’ll see a list of ‘related queries’ (as demonstrated in the screenshots, these are more nuanced than ‘related topics’). Again, you can filter these results for top and rising.

Dropshipping Platforms

You can also use dropshipping platforms like Spocket to find products that are proven to sell. In Spocket’s case, apply the ‘Best seller’ filter to populate top-performing items. 

Simple, right?

Monitor Your Competitor's 

Success leaves clues. So, do some research into what your competitors are selling. What kind of engagement are they getting on their ads and socials? You can track competitor ads using Facebook Ads Library (it’s free!) and monitor influencers to see which products they’re being paid to promote.

Also, what do customers say about your competitors’ products? Take a look at reviews on their websites, socials, and third-party review sites to get a better understanding of what their customers:

• Love
• Complain about
• Want to see
• Overall sentiment toward the product

Then, use your findings as inspiration for your own product research.

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SurveyMonkey’s Market Research Panel

onsider using SurveyMonkey's market research panel to analyze your potential target audience and get better insights into their consumer preferences. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Choose your audience: Add custom screening questions to reach specific target segments or select demographics like age, gender, job, region, (and more).
2. Create and send your survey.
3. Collect real-time results and use SurveyMonkey’s tools to analyze responses (custom reporting, filters, and cross-tabbing).

The benefit of SurveyMonkey is that you can create ultra-targeted surveys specific to the product(s) you’re considering selling and receive responses from confirmed consumers. As such, SurveyMonkey is great for retrieving reliable and relevant data in a relatively quick amount of time. 

Please note: This isn’t a free service. You should expect to pay per response.

Read Dropshipping-related Blogs

Dropshipping blogs often discuss trending products and provide valuable advice on picking winning merchandise for your online store. 

For example, here are some of our most recent posts on those very subjects:

• Exploring the Best Dropship Baby Products for Modern Parents
• Exploring Profitable Niches for Dropshipping
• Mastering Dropshipping with Google Trends
• Sustainable E-Commerce: Eco-Friendly Dropshipping

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Criteria for Product Selection

In addition to conducting market research to validate dropshipping products for your eCommerce shop, there are several other points of reference to consider:

Profit Margin Potential

As you conduct your market research, you'll start to understand how much competitors are selling similar items. 

This begs the question: Will the product generate a healthy profit? 

Broadly speaking, you can expect to earn between 15-20% profit on dropshipping items. However, some niches are more lucrative than others. For example, watches (50-60%), jewelry (70-80%), and women’s clothing (40-60%).

When calculating a product’s potential profit margin, factor in the following expenses:

• The product’s base cost (I.e., what your dropshipping supplier is selling it for)
• Shipping fees
• Other outgoings, such as subscription fees to your eCommerce platform, marketing costs, etc.,

‍Pro Tip: Spocket offers a profit margin calculator to help with this. Be sure to take advantage of this free resource!

Target Audience

When picking dropshipping products to sell, it’s imperative to have your target audience at the forefront of your mind.

But to do this successfully, you first need to determine what problem(s) the product solves. Then, ask yourself whether the product’s benefits satisfy the needs of your target audience.  

So, what does your target demographic actually want? 

Creating buyer personas can help answer this question. These are essentially imagined profiles of your ideal customers. 

Personas should outline the following info:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Likes and dislikes
• Values
• Occupations
• Social media preferences
• Online behavior
• Income
• Pain points

There are free tools you can use to help with this. For example, Hubspot’s Free Persona tool. You simply complete seven simple steps:

1. Create your avatar and give it a name
2. Add their demographic traits (age and highest level of education)
3. What industry do they work in and what’s the size of their organization? 
4. Add their career details (job title, who they report to and how their job is measured)
5. Job characteristics and challenges
6. What tools they need to do their job
7. How they get information for their job

The tool then instantly generates a buyer persona template for you to refer to when creating campaigns.

You can also use the Facebook Audience Insights tool to flesh out your personas. This is great for gathering information about the people who like your Facebook page - for instance, their average age, gender, jobs, what they like, their location, etc., 

If you’re already selling online, use your eCommerce platform’s built-in analytics for more accurate insights into your target audience. For example, if you use Shopify, utilize Shopify Analytics. On top of that, there’s also Google Analytics and Facebook and Instagram’s Ad Manager - to name but a few of the many analytics tools out there!

Popular Product Categories

Now you have a better idea of how to validate potential dropshipping products, let’s walk through some of our favorite dropshipping items across a few product categories for you to research further (applying the advice listed above).

Apparel and Footwear

For women:

• T-shirts
• Tops and blouses
• Sweaters and hoodies
• Activewear
• Sleepwear
• Dresses
• Tank tops
• Boots
• Flats
• Heels
• Sandals
• Slippers
• Sneakers and runners

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For men:

• Sweaters and hoodies
• Dress shirts
• Pants
• T-shirts
• Jackets and coats
• Swim trunks
• Sneakers and runners

Beauty and Personal Care

• Diffuser oils and candles
• Towels and robes
• Essential oils
• Soap
• Aftershave
• Haircare products such as wax and shampoo bars
• Make-up products such as mascara, eye palettes, eyelash growth serum
• Nail products such as false nails and LED nail polish dryer lamps
• Men’s grooming kits
• Body butter
• Bath bombs
• Lip balm
• Facial spray
• Anti-aging serum
• Ultrasonic skin scrubber
• Ultrasonic facial skin cleaner
• Body wash
• Facial moisturizer
• Face rollers
• Healthcare products such as organic sunscreen, knee pillows, and massagers

Kitchen and Dining

• Travel mugs
• Reusable water bottles
• Insulated mugs
• Corkscrews
• Wooden spoons
• Cutlery sets
• Silicone utensils
• Air fryers
• Portable blender
• Kitchen scales
• Portable barbecue
• Shaker bottles for protein drinks
• Metal drinking bottles
• Kettles
• Insulated mugs
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Slushy makers
• Reusable coffee filters
• Coffee machines
• Kitchen organizers and storage

Kids and Babies

• Baby bibs
• Diaper bags
• Babygrows
• Crib sheets
• Teething toys
• Diapers
• Newborn baby clothes
• Toddler/infant clothes such as dresses, shorts, and t-shirts
• Baby blankets
• Newborn floating bathpad
• Newborn booties and shoes
• Newborn swimwear
• Baby headbands
• Finger puppets
• Baby and toddler hats
• Baby bath products such as body butter
• Baby bath sachet
• Baby oil
• Baby burp clothes

Pet Supplies

• Dog toys
• Cat toys
• Dog and cat food dispensers
• Dog chews
• Dog brownie bites
• Dog crates
• Dog leashes
• Dog collars
• Cat collars
• Pet odor purifier
• Cat bed
• Dog bed
• Poop bags
• Cat carriers
• Cat litter mats
• Rawhide kabobs
• Dog dress
• Pet car net screen
• Disposable poop bags
• Cat and dog grooming brushes

Home Interiors

• Custom name signs
• Woven photo ropes
• Stainless steel adhesive vases
• Plant-themed wall art
• Fluffy rugs
• Geometric clocks
• Throw cushions
• Throw blankets
• Sofa covers
• Macrame plant hangers
• Clocks
• Bedside tables
• Nesting tables
• Media units
• Writing desks
• Dining tables
• Armchairs
• Gaming chairs
• Stools
• Sofas

Office Products

• Table lamps
• Ladder shelves
• Computer desks
• Bookcases
• Tape dispensers
• Pencil cases
• Gel pens
• Notebooks
• Journals
• USBs
• Multi-plug outlets
• Wireless presenters
• Mini desk vacuum cleaners
• Home office wall decor
• Alarm clocks/timers
• Office chairs
• Wireless mouses
• Home office desks
• Seat cushions
• Massage chairs

Tools and Home Improvement

• Robot vacuums
• USB air conditioners
• Air purifiers
• Hand tool sets
• Essential oil diffusers
• Safe lock boxes
• Handheld vacuums
• Retractable mops
• Humidifiers
• Wireless dust blowers
• Handheld ironing gadgets
• Can crushers
• Ice makers
• Remote control ceiling fans
• Electric insect rackets
• Sewing machines
• Fruit and veggie scrubbers
• Carpet and wall stain removers
• Silicone window cleaning brushes
• PH sensor lawn hygrometers

Phone Accessories

• HD optical monocular telescope with phone clip
• Headphones
• Fun chargers (e.g., SpongeBob-themed iPhone chargers)
• Docking stations
• Car chargers
• Wireless chargers
• Bike phone stands 
• Waterproof bags
• Selfie ring clips
• Phone stands
• Car cell phone holders
• Phone cases
• Custom Airpod cases
• Scratch removers
• Screen protectors
• Phone wallets
• Waterproof phone cases
• Smartphone tripods
• Wireless charging pads
• Mobile phone HD projection/3D magnifier with stand

Car Accessories

• Hanging dice
• Pet car seat covers
• Universal wireless chargers
• Car polisher kits
• Car aux audio cables
• Fun wireless car chargers (e.g., penguin-shaped)
• RGB voice control LED car and motorcycle glow lights
• Cup holders
• Carbon fiber vinyl film wraps
• Microfiber car cleaning cloths
• Car USB FM transmitter/ Bluetooth FM receiver
• Car care car cleaning brushes
• Dashcam car cameras
• Quick car USB chargers
• Car seat back protector
• Portable air humidifiers 
• Portable essential oils diffuser
• High-pressure cleaning tool
• Autoglass windshield repair tools
• Anti-skid chains

Supplier Relations

Picking winning dropshipping products isn’t enough. Instead, we can’t stress how vital it is to do your due diligence to ensure your dropshipping suppliers provide the following:

• Great quality products
• A reliable order fulfillment service
• Excellent communication 
• Competitive discounts on their retail prices
• No minimum order quantities
• Their own warehouses

All the above forms the basis of a partnership you can rely on. The last thing you need is customers contacting you about products not arriving or being poor quality. This is where working with a platform that connects you with dropshipping suppliers who are stringently vetted for product quality, order processing, and shipping times is handy. Pro Tip: If the dropshipping supplier platform you’re using provides a rating system for its suppliers, that's even better. Be sure to check these out before working with them!

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Marketing Strategies

You likely have little or no budget to invest in marketing. However, making some headway with your dropshipping marketing is still possible. 

Here are a few tips:

• Do some digging to see what (if any) marketing features your eCommerce platform offers. For example, analytics, discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, customer segmentation, and marketing automation tools. Take advantage of any tools you have at your disposal!
• Use social media like Facebook and Instagram for targeted advertising. You can also use ad retargeting to re-engage potential customers who have already visited your online store and might be on the fence about purchasing. 
• Influencer partnerships in eCommerce are standard, with 31% of social media users discovering new products through influencers. To keep costs low, consider working with smaller-scale nano and micro-influencers within your niche (these are influencers with 1-10,000 and 10,000-100,000 followers, respectively).
• Embrace content marketing to improve search engine rankings and attract organic traffic. For example, you could write SEO-optimized blog posts highlighting the products you’re selling, providing commentary and insights into topics relevant to your niche, publishing listicles, etc. 
• Similarly, optimizing your entire store for SEO, including meta tags, titles, and descriptions, is wise. Again, your eCommerce platform should offer SEO tools to help you improve your SEO, so be sure to check those out!
• Lastly, ask customers to leave reviews and testimonials on your storefront. This kind of social proof is excellent for building trust with new customers and establishing credibility.

Case Studies

Let’s round this guide off by exploring a couple of dropshipping success stories. Hopefully, these will give you a flavor of the limitless possibilities dropshipping offers. 

…However, it’s essential not to ignore the amount of hard work and strategizing successful dropshippers must do to achieve the results we’ve shown here.

Let’s take a look: 

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Kyle Borawski was a college student when he initially considered setting up his dropshipping business in 2018 as a side hustle. He chose to partner with Spocket and began selling in 2019. In just three months (August 1, 2019 - October 31, 2019), he made $224,923.70; in October of that year alone, he made $85,205.31. Fast-forward to today, Kyle runs multiple stores, so his average monthly revenue is $75,000 to $100,000!

‍Erin Rafferty also launched her dropshipping store in 2018 and partnered with Spocket. She started out selling women’s clothing, later expanding to pet products and baby clothes. Within six months, she had made $208,861.86! Fast-forward to today and Erin has moved from working alone to employing a team she describes as “family.”

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Are You Ready to Pick the Best Dropshipping Products for Your Store?

If you’re aspiring to become a successful entrepreneur, hopefully, our guide has given you enough information to kickstart your search for the best products for dropshipping. 

To summarize: 

• Do your research to find profitable, high-quality products from reliable and closely vetted suppliers. 
• Use tools like Google Trends to identify popular products within your niche. 
• Establish fruitful relationships with dropshipping suppliers, boasting reasonable order fulfillment rates, fast shipping, and decent product reviews. 
• Use affordable tools at your disposal to market your online store.

Choosing the right dropshipping products isn’t easy. Lots of research is involved, but partnering with a reliable dropshipping supplier platform is a great way to streamline this process! If you’re interested in how Spocket could help you find the best dropshipping products for your store, sign up for our free 14-day trial and try us out!