If you’ve been researching about dropshipping, it’s almost impossible not to come across Shopify and Oberlo, a Shopify-exclusive dropshipping plugin. Shopify made it easier to create dropshipping stores, thanks to its intuitive interface and a massive library of apps. From importing your products from your preferred supplier to setting up payments and fulfillment processes, Shopify made it possible to set up a dropshipping store in less than a day. And since you don’t need to store your inventory or hire someone to process shipments, it means lower startup cost, too.
We take a look at the most popular themes, dropshipping products, suppliers, and stores to inspire you as you start building your own Shopify dropshipping store.
Shopify Dropshipping: Popular Free Themes
| Theme | Narrative | Brooklyn | Minimal | Simple |
 |  |  |  | |
| Styles | Earthy, Warm, Light, Cold | Classic, Playful | Vintage, Fashion, Modern | Light, Beauty, Toy |
| Ideal For | Small Catalogs | Modern Apparel Stores | Fashion, Accessories, Furniture, Consumer Tech | Fashion, Sports, Accessories |
| Home Page Video | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Product Zoom | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Slideshow | Vertical | Header | Standard | No |
| 14-Day Free Trial | Try Shopify for free | Try Shopify for free | Try Shopify for free | Try Shopify for free |
Popular Dropshipping Products in 2020
Whether you decide to create a general Shopify dropshipping store or want to focus on a niche, the list of popular dropshipping products below will help you narrow down your list
Finding a winning product, paired with effective marketing, is among the crucial factors for a successful Shopify dropshipping store. You also need to decide whether you want to build a general dropshipping store or a niche-specific one and strategize how you can market your chosen product/s. Whichever you decide on creating, it is important that the product you choose is of high-quality and can be shipped easily by your dropshipping supplier as well. Here are some of the most popular and profitable Shopify dropshipping products you can start selling:
- Print-on-demand t-shirts: this has recently gained popularity among Shopify dropshippers. We discuss selling print-on-demand shirts in more depth in the next section
- Cellphone cases: they can be bought from suppliers for as low as $1 and can be sold from $15 USD or higher. Watch announcements on phone releases and search volume increase so you know which phone case is in demand.
- Jewelry, everyday watches, and smartwatches: just like cellphone cases, they can be bought for a low price and sold with a high mark-up. They are also lightweight and it’s easy to find reliable suppliers for these products. There are Shopify-friendly print-on-demand companies such as JetPrint that can customize watch faces for your brand.
Photo Credit: Blingy- Pet products: many beginner dropshippers start stores in the pet niche, and if you find a winning pet product, it can yield high-profit margins.
- Swimsuits: unlike regular clothes, swimsuits have a lower chance of getting returns. Apart from hygienic reasons, swimsuits and their stretchy material tend to have a more versatile fit than regular clothes.
- Gadgets: if you find a reliable supplier for gadgets and electronics, there are many high-ticket gadgets that can yield significant profits
- Trending dropshipping products: You can use tools such as Phirst, Sell the Trend, or Google Trends to check which keywords are getting a higher search volume and get an idea on products that are in-demand. Another way to find out the trending dropshipping products is through going on Amazon’s list of best sellers. You can further check out each category if your store is niche-specific. You can do the same thing on eBay or your competition stores.
Print-On-Demand T-Shirts
Print-on-demand t-shirts and items are some of the most popular Shopify dropshipping products today
Shopify’s app store has an array of print-on-demand apps that you can easily integrate into your dropshipping store
What is print-on-demand?
Dropshipping print-on-demand products means you can design and sell your own products and have a print-on-demand fulfillment company send the custom product to your customers. You don’t even have to be an expert graphics artist as free tools like Canva make it easier to design texts for shirts, mugs, and the like.
These companies offer tools that can generate professional-looking mock-ups with your uploaded design. You can then upload these to your dropshipping store for your customers to choose from. T-shirts, hoodies, and caps are among the most popular print-on-demand products, but mugs, socks, blankets, bags, cellphone cases, watches, and a lot more products are available as well.
Top Print-On-Demand Apps on Shopify
It’s imperative that the print-on-demand company you choose to work with offers high-quality products, fast shipping, user-friendly interface and can help you generate beautiful mock-ups for your store. We recommend ordering their print-on-demand t-shirts first for yourself to see what their actual products and shipping times are like. Here are some of the most reliable print-on-demand companies you can integrate to your Shopify dropshipping store:
- Printful: Printful has an extensive catalog of products you can sell. From jewelry to iPhone cases, Printful can customize them for you. Plus, they ship products within 2 to 5 business days.
- Teelaunch: Teelaunch can customize more than just print-on-demand t-shirts. They offer laser-etch printing on tumblers, coasters, power banks, and chopping boards as well, to name a few.
- Apliiq Print-On-Demand: What makes Apliiq stand out from the rest of the print-on-demand companies is they attach woven tags with your brand’s label to strengthen your branding. Their liners and pocket-tees are hard to find somewhere else.
- JetPrint Fullfillment: JetPrint lets you customize watch faces with your brand’s logo or any other design you prefer. Their design software is user-friendly so you can start customizing an array of products easily.
Dropshipping Suppliers for Shopify
Among the top dropshipping suppliers are Salehoo, AliExpress, and Chinabrands
Salehoo prides its list of suppliers as among the most reliable options for dropshippers
We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to research the most trustworthy suppliers for your Shopify dropshipping store. These are the companies that will be fulfilling your orders, thus you want to make sure that their brand names and the original price won’t show up in the products they send your customers. The print-on-demand companies mentioned above are examples of reliable suppliers. But where else should you look for if you’re not selling print-on-demand products? We narrowed down the list to the following three platforms where you can find suppliers for your Shopify dropshipping store:
AliExpress (through Oberlo)
AliExpress is perhaps the most popular platform to find dropshipping suppliers. It houses one of the biggest directories of suppliers and items, so no matter what niche you’re in, AliExpress will have the product you’re looking for. Oberlo makes it easier to import your chosen products from AliExpress to your store in a few clicks. It further lets you add descriptions, tags, varieties, and fulfill orders directly from its dashboard. It’s exclusive to Shopify, thus it works seamlessly with Shopify dropshipping stores.
Salehoo
Not only does Salehoo provide a directory of suppliers and around 2.5 million products, but it also has market research tools that can guide you when deciding which ones to sell. You can also filter your search results to US-based or international suppliers.
Chinabrands
Chinabrands is one of the biggest dropshipping suppliers and feels similar to AliExpress. In addition, they have more than 40 warehouses around the world and partnerships with the most reliable carriers in different countries to deliver your products.
Shopify Dropshipping and Amazon
You can add Amazon as one of your sales channels on your Shopify dropshipping store, but dropshipping on Amazon comes with many restrictions
The Amazon channel Shopify app is not very user-friendly, thus its low review ratings
Many dropshippers are curious to know: can you dropship from Shopify to Amazon? The short answer is yes, but it is tricky water to navigate. Amazon has put many restrictions on dropshipping within its platform, and one of these is the use of Oberlo to import your dropshipping products. Also, you need to make sure that the items that will arrive on your customers’ doorstep bear your name and not the store where you ordered the item from.
Another downside to dropshipping on Amazon through Shopify is the Amazon channel plugin has very limited features that render it almost useless. It also requires a monthly payment of at least $39.99 on top of the selling fees. There are other apps like Zonify and Spreadr that let you import products from Amazon, but practice extra caution when using them as certain violations of Amazon’s terms of service can get your seller account banned.
Apps
Specific apps for your Shopify dropshipping store can help provide your customer with a better shopping experience
We’ve covered some of these dropshipping apps earlier in the post, but here’s a quick list of the top plugins you should install in your Shopify dropshipping store:
- Oberlo: for conveniently importing dropshipping products from AliExpress
- Printful or Teelaunch: if you want to start selling print-on-demand t-shirts, hoodies, tumblers, and other customizable items
- Free Shipping Bar: so your customers can see right away if you have any free shipping offers (e.g. Get free shipping for orders of $50USD and above
- Swell Loyalty & Rewards: for starting referral campaigns and offering rewards to customers
- ReConvert UpSell & Cross-Sell: this app will automatically show customers other related products they might want to buy with the items in their cart
- Trust Hero – Trust Badges: gives your customers the security that your site and payment systems are secure
- Growave + Reviews, Loyalty ++: for showing product reviews (the first 100 orders are free)
- Loox: similar to Growave, Loox lets you display product reviews with photos (they offer a free trial for 14 days)
Successful Shopify Dropshipping Stores in 2020
DoDropshipping rounded up 19 Shopify dropshipping stores that have become successful. Here are our five favorite e-commerce stores from their list:
General Dropshipping Store: Bluecrate
Bluecrate is an excellent example of a Shopify dropshipping store that managed to keep its store clean despite offering a wide array of dropshipping products. From face masks to customized face skins (yes, they exist), Bluecrate offers unique dropshipping products. If you’re looking for a way to explain the long shipping times to your customers, you can use Bluecrate’s as an example as well.
Home Improvement Niche: Warmly
Warmly is not your run-of-the-mill Shopify dropshipping store. From its homepage to every single product page it has, Warmly’s store design is elegant and looks professional.
Pet Niche: Meowingtons
If you’re looking to create a Shopify dropshipping store in the pet niche, look no further than Meowingtons as a model. Just like Bluecrate, Meowingtons kept its store layout clean and well-categorized. You’ll also notice that they sell print-on-demand t-shirts, too.
Gadget Niche: Gadgetox
Apart from its range of products, Gadgetox’s detailed product descriptions provide a good example for those who want to build a Shopify dropshipping store in the gadget and consumer tech niche. Gadgetox’s shipping time and refund policy are also among the things that make customers trust the brand.
Apparel Niche: Shopepie
Shopepie is a great example of a dropshipping store that offers print-on-demand products. While apparel is a tricky niche because of the higher risk of returns, there are still many successful Shopify dropshipping stores in the fashion and apparel niche. Having a clear and user-friendly sizing guide can help lower the return rate.
Summary
Shopify offers all the dropshipping tools you need within its platform and it offers a 14-day free trial to boot
Shopify’s three core pricing plansIt’s not yet too late to start a dropshipping store on Shopify. With the proper product and market research, tools, and marketing strategies, you can create a profitable Shopify dropshipping store. In addition, Shopify made it easier to build a dropshipping store even for users who don’t know how to code, so that’s one less thing to worry about.
With its available themes, apps for importing products from suppliers, and payment systems, you can start dropshipping print-on-demand t-shirts and other products right away. Some dropshippers take advantage of Shopify’s 14-day free trial and start selling within that time frame so the monthly fee is deducted from their sales. You can start your free trial here.
