Things are always changing quickly for Dropshippers and although that’s no surprise there are monumental shifts taking place in the e-commerce dropshipping industry that you need to know and be prepared for. Below we are going to discuss the 3 biggest changes we believe all dropshippers need to make ASAP if they want to stay in the game and ensure a successful and profitable 2019.
1. Customers Want Faster Shipping Times
We live in the Amazon Prime generation and that means it simply is not logical for any e-commerce store owner to think that their customers are happy waiting 2, 4 or even 6 weeks to get their purchased goods from popular dropshipping places like Aliexpress. Even if you are being upfront about your long shipping times we promise your customers are still wishing and have been psychologically conditioned to expect that what they just purchased online will show up in a week or less.
2. Customers Want North American Based Goods & Shipping
For whatever reason there is still a huge stigma that many in North American markets like the United States carry when it comes to products produced overseas. This is even more of a problem when items are dropshiped to them directly from overseas facilities. We see it all the time on comments people leave on Facebook ads and posts warning others that goods are not shipped from the U.S.
This is not only preventing others who see these comments from purchasing items from your store, but it is also creating negative feedback and reactions on your ads, causing them to underperform and your advertising rates to actually increase which leads us to our next point.
3. Places Like Facebook Ads Want You to Have Faster Shipping and Better Customer Service.
Ever since the Cambridge Analytica instance Facebook has been actively pursuing any means it can to rebuild people’s trust in using it’s platform. One such initiative they have been doing for sometime now is to get feedback directly from customers who have purchased from your website.
You can read the full details about it here, but in a nutshell you need to know that Facebook knows who your customers are (thanks to the facebook pixel on your site) and they are grading your Facebook Page and Advertising Account based on the feedback they are receiving. It should be no surprise that one of the biggest contributing factors they are looking at are things like shipping times and whether or not your customers are happy with them.
We’ve seen first hand from running our own dropshipping stores that roughly 70 – 80% of all customer service related tickets that come in are people inquiring about their products shipping. Things like asking for tracking numbers, concerns about it taking to long or just plain mad because they haven’t received it yet and it was supposed to be a gift or something special, but the occasion has already passed.
The end result of all this is the less than desirable score you will receive from Facebook if you do not choose to proactively figure out ways to reduce your shipping times and create a better, faster and more streamlined experience for your customers.
And just in case you were wondering… Facebook has openly stated what a lower feedback score will result in.
“Your ads will receive a delivery penalty — meaning they will cost more and reach fewer people.”
So there you have it. Those longer shipping times are not just annoying for your customers, but they are very likely causing you to spend more on advertising. We fully expect to see traffic platforms like Facebook and Google continue to implement measures like this over the next few years that will slowly squeeze out the dropshippers who are unwilling to change and address the issue of shipping times.
How to Make Sure This Does Not Happen to You
It should be obvious to you after reading the above that figuring out how to decrease shipping times needs to be a priority for any Dropshipper who wants to survive and still have a thriving business in the coming months and years.
But how?…
Well, for many that might mean buying in bulk and shipping to yourself or a fulfillment warehouse closer to where your customers are located. For others it could mean finding other Dropship vendors outside of Aliexpress. In fact, places like eBay are quickly becoming a popular destination for dropshippers looking to drastically cut down shipping times compared to Aliexpress.
Here at Dropified we have been proactively gearing up for this shift in the way dropshipping is done for many months now and we are proud to announce that Dropified is now the first dropshipping software provider to integrate eBay as a fully automated dropshipping partner.
“The response from Dropified members has been tremendous, and over a thousand of our customers started using it right away. Many e-commerce entrepreneurs have been hesitant to cross-list or source on eBay simply because of the massive amount of time and work involved with updating manual listings. Our new integration makes it as easy as a few clicks, to get eBay products live in your store and selling”.
— Lowell Rempel, CEO – Dropified
Members of Dropified can find amazing North American (U.S.A.) based products and instantly add them to their e-commerce stores. Customers enjoy the convenience of fast-fulfillment and quick-ship orders that can arrive in days (rather than lengthy delays from offshore manufacturers).
“Recent trade disputes between the United States and China and increased tariffs have extended the delivery times provided by some international wholesale manufacturers. What is really great about our eBay feature, is that e-commerce owners can offer shorter delivery times for select products and offer their customers a variety of options”.
— Chase Bowers, Co-Founder – Dropified
Dropified’s new eBay automation feature streamlines sourcing from eBay, allowing e-commerce business owners to edit and customize product images, descriptions and variants. Once listed on the member’s Shopify, Woocommerce, GrooveKart or CommerceHQ store, the new eBay integration can automate much of the administrative processes behind order fulfillment, tracking, product research and more, without the store owner ever having to touch any products.
For years Dropified has been the leader for dropshipping automation for places like Aliexpress, but the way dropshipping is done is changing – for the better we think! The eBay integration and new tools are another expansion of Dropified’s mission to work smarter (not harder) when it comes to dropshipping business management.
Dropified provides the software and automation solutions behind successful six-figure e-commerce stores, and includes advanced training to help new and experienced members grow quickly and reach their monthly revenue goals.
To learn more about how dropified can help your dropshipping business thrive over the coming months and years just click the button below and get started with a FREE TRIAL today!
To Your Success,
Lowell & Chase
