Tips for aspiring dropshippers. Niche shop
Tips for aspiring dropshippers. Niche shop
What type of shop should I choose? General dropshipping store? One product shop? Or a store with just one niche product (niche store)? This is a question that many newcomers to dropshipping ask themselves.
With this article we start a series of texts dedicated to advising entrepreneurs who are about to take their first steps in e-commerce and dropshipping in particular. In the first part, Selpway Trading specialists told you about the types of online shops, their advantages and disadvantages. Today we are going to talk about niche shops.
As you can see from the name, this type of shop sells goods that are united by a niche. All items have a similar purpose (perfume, personal care, decoration, etc.) or relate to certain interests of people (fitness, pets, cars, etc.).
A niche can be narrow or broad. For example, an online button shop is a narrow niche. An online shop for sewing and needlework supplies is wide. Working in a narrow niche requires more knowledge about the product, its different features and subtleties. In a broad niche, there are more product positions and a higher level of customer coverage. But it also requires more money: for start-up, promotion, development and growth.
As you can see from the name, this type of shop sells goods that are united by a niche. All items have a similar purpose (perfume, personal care, decoration, etc.) or relate to certain interests of people (fitness, pets, cars, etc.).
A niche can be narrow or broad. For example, an online button shop is a narrow niche. An online shop for sewing and needlework supplies is wide. Working in a narrow niche requires more knowledge about the product, its different features and subtleties. In a broad niche, there are more product positions and a higher level of customer coverage. But it also requires more money: for start-up, promotion, development and growth.
Remember that setting up a business is a very responsible and complex process. It requires prior analysis and market research. Without sufficient planning, things can go completely different than expected and lead to the downfall of the business. Selpway Trading professionals will help you understand the nuances of dropshipping and make the right decisions.
Advantages of a niche shop
Disadvantages of a niche shop
- Ability to test multiple products at the same time. You can easily do this by adding new pages to your existing site.
- The average cheque is higher than a niche shop. Customers can buy different products displayed on your site. Up-selling and cross-selling are possible at different stages of the checkout. A one-product shop deprives you of the flexibility to work with your customers.
- The percentage of repeat visitors to the shop is much higher than in an opex shop. The reason is simple - a niche shop has more products. For example, a person browsed your site and was interested in several products. The first time he buys only one product. Later he may come back and buy other products that he likes. Single product shops also have a good percentage of repeat customers, but this is much lower than in niche shops. At the same time, niche shops are inferior to general dropshipping shops.
- Higher conversion rate than a general shop because the shop offers products from the same niche;
- If you test or scale advertising campaigns for a few specific products, you can reach a much larger audience.
- A niche shop is more stable than a single product shop: if certain products lose relevance, you can quickly import new products from the same niche.
- If you become an expert in a niche and its boundaries are tight for you, you can scale your online shop by including related niches. In principle, the scale of development is unlimited. By gradually mastering new niches, you can build an e-commerce site with a large assortment of goods.
Disadvantages of a niche shop
- Compared to a single product shop, an online shop requires more time and money to create. All pages of the site must be well designed and contain content that is useful to visitors. The site should be convenient for a potential customer, look professional and trustworthy.
- As with a one-stop shop, you will test one niche after another to find a profitable one.
- More money will be needed for promotion. If you are testing a one-product shop, one set of creative will suffice. You can start an advertising campaign with them. But if you want to test 3-5 niche products at the same time, you will need more resources. You will need to create and promote a creative for each product.
- It is harder to build a niche shop into a full-fledged brand. It is easier to create bespoke packaging, content and creative for one product than for all the products in a niche shop. However, this does not mean that it is impossible to turn a niche shop into a brand.