Thanks to a highly versatile and diverse market, online businesses are exceptionally booming in India. In the last five years, the Indian e-commerce industry has grown exponentially from $39 billion in 2017 to a staggering $84 billion in 2021. While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly played a big role in bringing online businesses to the forefront, the demand trends have transformed too. More entrepreneurs have been entering the e-commerce space and this has given a much-needed boost to dropshipping in India.
Only four years ago, in 2017, dropshipping was something known to be done by businesses in the U.S. and other western countries. However, this not the case today. Innovations in technology and rapid adoption of the same made sure dropshipping in India became a legit way of starting and scaling an online business.
If you are an aspiring e-commerce entrepreneur, it is totally normal to have the following questions in your mind:
- What is dropshipping? How is it different in India?
- Why to start dropshipping in India?
- What is the potential of a dropshipping business?
- How to start dropshipping in India?
So stop wondering as you’ve landed in the right place where we shall discuss the ins and outs of dropshipping in India.
Table of Contents
What Is Dropshipping? How Is It Different in India?
Dropshipping is a retail strategy for an e-commerce store owner with no inventory of products, instead, they ship it on demand from a supplier or wholesaler. The product reaches the customer directly from the wholesaler and the order is complete!
For any entrepreneur who’s setting out, it’s always a safe option to start with a dropshipping model of business. Dropshipping in India is mostly similar to how it is in the rest of the world. However, there are various differences in the way dropshippers in India operate.
India has its own advantages and disadvantages. High demand and a diverse market are direct advantages for dropshipping in India. As e-commerce is consistently evolving and digitisation is booming, online shopping habits are bound to grow exponentially.
But the disadvantage is the legal battles Indian dropshippers have to fight while importing goods in bulk from foreign nations. For example, importing products from China requires you to have import and export licenses which are not easy to procure.
So dropshipping in India typically involves selling in small quantities instead of importing in bulk. This significantly increases the cost of dropshipping business in India. In the West, however, import duty exemptions are of great help.
That being said, there are thousands of dropshipping businesses in India that have been doing exceptionally well.
Why to Start Dropshipping in India?
Dropshipping in India is an economical way to set up an online store or an e-commerce business. It facilitates selling products online without having to worry about procuring, storage and maintaining an inventory of products. Additionally, it eliminates the necessity to keep track of shipping and order fulfillment.
India happens to be one of the biggest suppliers of raw materials and products across diverse industries. So when you dive into dropshipping in India, you could actually choose to work with a local supplier or manufacturer who would also ensure an assured delivery time on orders.
Overall, dropshipping makes starting an online store a considerably low-risk business strategy. Here are the key benefits of dropshipping in India:
- Low upfront capital investment
- Wide variety of products to sell
- Easier to test out different markets
- High potential of scaling
- Easy to get started with
- Complete flexibility
- Independent of location
What Is the Potential of a Dropshipping Business in India?
India’s e-commerce sales are projected to grow at an annual rate of 51 percent, making it one of the biggest opportunities for business owners.
Dropshipping in India is a highly lucrative market due to the incredible growth potential, the ample market space available for experimentation, and the lower risk involved. The reason for this method’s popularity is that it has a low risk of failure as products in dropshipping are only produced when there is an increase in demand.
Is Dropshipping Profitable in India?
Dropshipping is a profitable business model adopted by a large number of people across the globe. Since you are not responsible for the costs of product manufacturing and shipping, you could start profiting from every sale you make early on. The sales margins vary from 15 percent to around 25 percent. However, that entirely depends on your volume of sales and your product niche.
All you need to do is to ensure you are selling a product that people really care about and need, and have the right set of suppliers by your side.
How to Start Dropshipping in India?
Step 1: Choose your ideal niche of products
When you look at some successful dropshippers, there is a clear pattern that emerges. They don’t waste their time dealing with widely available products. They crowd the market with niche products in specific categories in order to prevent competition.
Dropshipping will provide you with the flexibility to test how well these products sell and depending on how well they perform; you could always change your mind and choose a different product to sell. The stock of unsold products would not pile up and you’ll save a lot of money in the process.
Step 2: Find out the right suppliers
The next step to start your dropshipping business is to seek out suppliers who could provide you with the products at a profit while also having a credible and reliable track record in the industry.
There are two approaches you could adopt to finding your suppliers. Either you could make direct contact with them or use an online platform to connect with them. It is possible to find suppliers or wholesalers specialising in a specific niche of products by conducting a simple online search. There are many sites you could check out to find suitable suppliers for your product, i.e. Dropshipzone, DropnShop, AliExpress, Megagoods, etc.
You need to give your business a name, identity and address to begin selling dropshipped products.
Step 3: Set Up Your Bikayi Store
Set up your online store with Bikayi and get started with dropshipping in mere minutes. It provides you with an easy-to-use e-commerce platform that is packed with amazing user-friendly features.
Right from a simple dashboard that will help you design an impressive storefront to integration with dropshipping apps, payment gateways and more, Bikayi makes it all a matter of a few clicks.
Step 4: Market your dropshipping business
Once you have created your online store website and listed your products, you must make sure that your customers are aware of all of the pertinent information. Additionally, you must ensure that your product listing is seen by the potential customer. Marketing your brand is a critical step in achieving success in the dropshipping business world. If you have good marketing skills, you are bound to make a profit no matter what commodity you sell. The key is to communicate with the appropriate audience.
Advertising and marketing are all about spreading awareness of your company’s existence in the marketplace. You must be innovative and willing to take some risks. Social media marketing can be a great place to begin your marketing campaign. Make use of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Participate in groups where people who are interested in your products were likely to be found. Interact with people and be pleasant to them in order to entice them to check out your product or service.
- In order to attract customers, social media campaigns should be launched.
- A majority of social media platforms provide exposure for businesses and services. If one chooses appropriate plans on these platforms, one could easily attract customers.
- You could use online advertising services such as Google Adwords to showcase your products to the target audience.
- A well-written SEO strategy could be highly beneficial because it would attract interested customers by using the appropriate keywords and marketing techniques.
Summing Up
Research and analyse how to start dropshipping in India. Outline a possible plan and build strategies before executing the business to garner successful results. A dropshipper could always explore new markets and venture into new products as per preferences and trends in the market. If proper research is done for the products to be sold and the suppliers to be worked with, then there is no looking back in this business.
