How to pick a niche for dropshipping is one of the most essential elements to think about when starting your dropshipping journey. Most new dropshippers believe that choosing a product to sell should be the first step, but this isn’t the case. Instead, think about what kind of customers you will be hoping to sell to – otherwise known as your target market.
Depending on the type of product you want to sell, the potential market for your online business can be huge. Therefore, it’s wise to narrow it down into a specific ‘niche’ when deciding what to sell and who to sell to.
What Is A Niche Market?
A niche market can be thought of as a segment of a larger market. This segment would be defined by the unique needs, wants, and preferences of the potential customers that differ from the larger market as a whole. Segmenting the larger audience down into a smaller niche allows for a smaller pool of potential customers that you can base your product selection, marketing, and branding on.
Often when beginning your dropshipping journey, it is wiser to target a smaller niche than to try and sell to the market as a whole. This is because usually there is less competition, meaning you have a much better chance of making sales. It also allows you to focus on who your ideal customers are, giving you critical information to help when deciding how to market the product.
To illustrate a niche market, we can examine the fashion industry. The customers interested in fashion would represent an enormous audience, so obviously it wouldn’t be practical to target all of those people. Instead, we can section the market into niches – for example, customers interested in t-shirts would be considered a niche market. It is still a subset of the larger market, but has its own unique set of characteristics.
If you were to open a dropshipping store targeting potential customers with an interest in t-shirts, you could use Contrado’s dropshipping service! Our service allows for endless customization in terms of design, and with our fast shipping methods, customers receive their orders in a flash. Check out Contrado to learn more.
How To Pick A Niche For Dropshipping?
When deciding how to pick a niche for dropshipping, there are many factors to consider. Many people automatically choose to sell products that they have an interest in. However, in many cases, this can be a poor decision if there isn’t enough of a market for their chosen products.
Passion vs Profit
New dropshippers must strike a balance between finding a niche that you are passionate about that also has the potential for profit. Some niche markets have fantastic potential – for example, knitting or comic book collecting. However, other niches don’t have the volume of potential customers that would make them a viable option.
So, what are some things a new dropshipper can do to choose a profitable niche? First, it’s essential to consider the level of competition within potential niche markets. The most saturated dropshipping niches are often challenging to attract customers. The established firms already benefit from economies of scale, and can usually sell products at a more attractive price without suffering financially. It’s wise to examine your potential competitors before deciding on a niche, and determine how you can differentiate yourself through either pricing, marketing, or product selection.
Trends
Another thing to consider when choosing a niche market is current trends. Suppose you can define a trend early enough; in that case, you have an opportunity to get in on the “hype” of the movement and provide an attractive product to customers. Remember the selfie-stick craze from a few years ago? Many dropshipping stores managed to create a profitable business by riding the wave of that trend and providing a product that customers wanted to purchase.
Reliability of suppliers
The third thing to consider deciding how to pick a niche when dropshipping is whether the potential suppliers who can service that niche are reliable and trustworthy. It’s all well and good defining a possible target audience, but what if there are no suitable suppliers out there to provide the product? It is crucial to perform supplier research when deciding on a niche, and there are certain things to look out for. Examples are how long the supplier has been in business, the feedback they get from other dropshippers, and how fast their shipping is.
Final Thoughts
Finding a profitable niche can be difficult, but it’s something that all dropshippers must research before delving into their eCommerce journey. Ensuring your target audience is viable and exciting is a crucial task – but it can be done. If you do your due diligence, your chosen niche will provide the foundations for your online business’s growth and success.
At Contrado, we can help you figure out how to pick a niche for dropshipping. Our Print-On-Demand model means that products can be created that appeal to a wide range of market segments, streamlining your niche-choosing process. Our dropshipping service integrates directly with your online store, meaning all you have to do is get the orders in. We will then create and send your product to the customer – easy, right?
Why wait? Get started with Contrado today!
