In 2024, the dropshipping market size surged to the formidable 351.81 million dollars. This is a 23.6% increase compared to 2023. This rapid growth will continue over the following years. Experts suggest the industry will hit the trillion-dollar mark as early as 2029.
With these stats in mind, one can see how profitable dropshipping can be. Yet, to succeed, you need to do thorough research on some business aspects. The most important one is the dropshipping product research.
So, let's discuss how to use some essential tools to your advantage. What are the common mistakes in dropshipping? Finally, let's see how to confirm your ideas.
But before we get to the "How," let's get the "What" out of the way.
Dropshipping product research is the process of analyzing and finding the products that will make the biggest profit. It focuses on various valuable stats:
This is all relevant data that will help you find the products that will become instant hits.
In other words, by investing time in dropshipping product research, you only save money on marketing random products to see how they'll do. But saving money is not the most important benefit. This research will help you beat the competition.
Moreover, it will boost your sales, credibility, and profits. For example, by using various tools, you can detect potential best sellers early on.
Following the trends, the product stats, and, of course, their ad engagement levels, you can determine whether a product has the potential to go big. The faster you add a product to your list, the better the chances of maximizing your profits.
Check out this treadmill.
Looking at the stats, you can see the product is mainly sold in cold months or during heatwaves. More importantly, it shows that the sales pace has been picking up since October. With four more cold months coming, we can expect the product to skyrocket.
With dropshipping product research, you'll get higher profits, more sales, and less stress.
Dropshipping product research requires extensive planning. You will use various sources to gather information. Then, a good mix of tools will reduce your work. You will have to add manual methods as well.
Finally, you must validate your assumption. Organize this in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step checklist for maximum efficiency. This will ensure you won't waste your time and efforts on dead-end products. Instead, you will be able to detect them early on, allowing you to move forward.
The first step is defining your workflow. Start by analyzing and selecting the tools for your dropshipping product research. Most people go directly to a generic trend-identifying tool like Google Trends.
Sure, it can do the job, but it can never give you the insides a dedicated dropshipping tool can. Copyfy, for example, will give you significantly more detailed information on any product. This will give you a competitive edge over others in your industry.
Pro Tip 💡 : Find a single specialized tool instead of using multiple generic ones to save time and money.
Still, tools are only one aspect of the research. You will also have to do some manual work. Analyzing competitors, reading customer reviews, and exploring niche forums.
Most importantly, do it within a strict time frame. This will keep you focused on the task at hand. There's nothing worse than going down the rabbit hole without any regard for the time spent. Worst of all, it often leads to nowhere.
Having clear deadlines ensures you don’t spend too much time in the research phase. Thus, you can move faster to product launches.
However, before you launch a product, you must validate your findings. The first step is to use tools like Copyfy's Top Ads. They ensure that all products you consider dropshipping have a high-performing ad. This is just as essential as cross-checking shipping times, profit margins, and reliable suppliers.
With nearly 8 million dropshipping operations worldwide today. So, dropshipping product research allows you to stay ahead of your competition.
It's the one thing that can guarantee you won't waste your time and money advertising pointless products nobody wants or cares about. Instead, you will always be on top of all trends, ready to capitalize on the next big thing before it goes viral.
However, dropshipping product research is not just to give you a competitive edge. It will also protect you from some common mistakes. Those drive many dropshipping businesses to bankruptcy before they can even start.
You can never trust the competition. Even if a product is broadly offered, it can bring minimal profits. To make things worse, many dropshipping businesses simply can't take the loss. So, they start price wars, diminishing their small potential profits even further.
This is where dropshipping product research shines. It allows you to prevent this negative outcome.
Naturally, going after low-margin products can spell doom for your business either way. Sure, these items sell fast and generate a lot of traffic. But ultimately stall your business growth. Furthermore, they divert a huge chunk of your focus and time for minimal proceeds.
With such irregular and small income, you won't be able to deal with the inevitable bad product.
Good To Know:
According to prof. Clayton Christensen from Harvard Business School, over 30,000 new products are launched each year. Unfortunately, about 80% of them fail. So, it's practically impossible not to hit a bad product if you rely on your intuition. As a result, 35% of businesses fail because they didn't do their marketing research. Another 34% went down because their products did not match the correct market accurately. These are landmines you must avoid if you want to have a big and healthy business life.
Luckily, there is an easy solution. Just do product research.
Dropshipping product research is not just to keep you from making crucial mistakes. It also brings a lot of outstanding benefits that will help you grow faster.
First and foremost, there are the outstanding KPIs. High conversion rates, outstanding customer satisfaction and retention, and, of course, excellent profits. You will earn much more by selecting products that solve people's problems.
But more importantly, the right products will bring along positive reviews. They will transform into higher traffic and higher retention rates.
Indeed, data-backed decisions are all you need to climb on top of your industry. They will also help you build a long-lasting, profitable business.
To top it all off, you can expect and prepare for inevitable market changes and instabilities. This is the cornerstone behind building a stable business.
There are three key steps to consider when doing your dropshipping product research. Following them will lead you to the right niche, market, and product.
Analyzing Market demand is the next step in your Dropshipping product research. It will show you the potential of your selected niche and whether it is worth the effort.
For example, there can be a huge interest in 9-string bass guitars on Google. But that doesn't mean there is any market demand for such items. Thus, the niche is useless.
You can use Amazon's best sellers and Etsy's Trending Items to assess the marketing demand. You can see what the best-selling products in your niche are.
For example, go to Etsy's Trending Items and write "Trending now sport sunglasses". The best performance will come front and center.
The same goes for Amazon. If your niche is not featured in the best sellers list, just write your niche. There you can see how the products there are doing.
Start by Entering Google Trends.
Type several potential niches you would like to try.
Analyze the graph and assess the interest in that niche.
Explore related queries for additional sub-niches or related products.
Go to Copyfy and write the niche keyword into the search.
Check the product potential of the niche.
As you can see, there are only three products for cycling - sunglasses. So you might as well try out the sunglasses niche. You have to start from the very top to see how it trends in Google.
Keep in mind that the tighter the niche, the smaller the competition. However, it also means you will have a smaller market demand.
Analyzing Market demand is the next step in your Dropshipping product research. It will show you the potential of your selected niche and whether it is worth the effort.
For example, there can be a huge interest in 9-string bass guitars on Google. But that doesn't mean there is any market demand for such items. Thus, the niche is useless.
You can use Amazon's best sellers and Etsy's Trending Items to assess the marketing demand. You can see what the best-selling products in your niche are.
For example, go to Etsy's Trending Items and write "Trending now sport sunglasses". The best performance will come front and center.
The same goes for Amazon. If your niche is not featured in the best sellers list, just write your niche. There you can see how the products there are doing.
Pro Tip 💡: Check the best performers and analyze what drives customer satisfaction. This is easiest done through the reviews. There, you will find what makes people buy and what chases them away.
Finally, it's time to check out the competition. The best tool to do so is Copyfy. Here, you will find out how they perform. The tool will also show their pricing, markets, and even their ads.
You will also be able to visit the store's website and landing page. Most importantly, you will learn where are their marketing gaps.
The entire process is straightforward. Just find a winning product in your niche through the filters and click on Analyze Store. Then, go to Shop Analysis on the right sidebar and enter the store analysis.
Here, you will find their estimated weekly traffic, monthly sales, and communication channels. In this case, it's 78% from the United States, 8% from the UK, and so on.
However, we can also see that their website is not growing and is in the upper-middle range. This means they are not using their full potential. More importantly, we see the channels they use to gain traffic. Another invaluable piece of information when creating our own content strategy.
Finally, you can also see their ads and how they drive sales.
Researching your competitors will allow you to create a better user experience. This will generate significantly higher traffic in your online store.
Moreover, reviewing their winning ads will bring knowledge and inspiration. Thus, you'll be able to build an even better ad and drive more sales.
Effective dropshipping product research requires powerful tools. They are the ones that will help you find the best products.
Moreover, these tools will make the entire process faster and easier to understand. Finally, they will give you all the information you need in one place.
Now, there are many such tools, but just a few will make some real difference in your research process.
We already mentioned Google Trends as an irreplaceable starting point for your research. But, when it comes to in-depth dropshipping product research, you need an all-in-one tool. It will show you pretty much everything you need for a data-driven decision.
Copyfy is an easy-to-use tool with everything you need to find that winning product. It has a database with more than 40,000 shops, 15,000 products, and 50,000 ads. Moreover, you have access to free, top-of-the-line courses.
With Copyfy, you can create your store and check out the top products and shops. Then, you can analyze them and choose the most promising ones. Moreover, you can see the top ads and their engagements. In other words, Copyfy can help even complete beginners. You will be able to create a fully-functioning, data-driven dropshipping business.
This includes building your online store, finding the right niche, market, and products. The best part - all the data comes in real time.
Sell The Trend is another widely used platform for trend analysis. It has various features, product explorers, and even AI help. However, it focuses on automating your dropshipping business. It lacks an in-depth analysis of competitors, markets, ads, and products.
Niche Scraper is the third big name in dropshipping product research. It also allows examining various products and spying on competitors.
So, while all these are excellent choices, they depend on your needs. If you are a well-rounded dropshipper, Sell The Trend will give you great value for your money.
If you want to go big in various directions - Niche Scraper is your tool.
However, if you want all the help you can get, you need Copyfy. It offers everything you need for a quick, pain-free, and successful start.
Using most of these tools is as easy as it comes. Copyfy is, without a doubt, among the most user-friendly.
Get to the Dashboard and go to the Learning E-commerce at the bottom of the menu. Here, you will find videos that will make creating an online store a piece of cake.
2. Use the filters to find:
3. Check the list
You can visit the store and see the product directly in the store by clicking on them.
4. However, to gain more information, click on <strong>Analyze Store</strong> on the right. Then, you will find much more information in the <strong>Shop Analysis</strong>.
If the product looks promising, you can see what ads they are using through Copyfy. Now you have a working product, a working ad, and know what channels to use to succeed. You can duplicate the whole campaign and start earning.
This tab lets you learn everything you need about the competitor's website. You will find its theme, fonts, colors, and other information.
More importantly, you can export the theme and use it as a basis of your own store. Just be sure to make it unique.
Of course, there are some free alternatives you can choose from if you're not ready to pay for convenience.
Still, you should know they will require more time and work on your part. Premium dropshipping product research tools offer you a quick solution. They've automated all the processes you otherwise will do manually.
Firstly, Social Media Platforms are great places to see what people are interested in. More importantly, you can see what ads are circulating in their feeds.
Pro Tip 💡: Before you go to the Social Media Platform, use your niche's keyword in a search engine. For better effect you can even visit popular websites related to your chosen niche. This way the cookies will flood your feed with ads.
Track sponsored posts and advertisements to see which products brands are actively promoting. High ad frequency usually indicates the product is good.
Furthermore, check some popular hashtags, like "#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt" or "#AmazonFinds," to discover trending products. These tags often showcase items gaining rapid popularity.
Actually, in 2024, TikTok had a significant influence on fashion trends. 63% of users found fashion products precisely through the platform. Items like bag charms and bodysuits gained popularity due to viral TikTok content.
Finally, follow some influencers that operate within your niche. Check out what they are promoting. Most of them do their own product research and assess what will bring them the biggest profit.
Finding customer preferences without a dedicated tool is hard but not impossible. Visit Amazon, Etsy, and AliExpress.
Once there, research the reviews and comments of their best sellers. Create a list of all common praises and complaints.
After that, try to find a way to enhance the positives and downplay the negatives in your own campaign.
Naturally, you must focus on products with high ratings and sales numbers. These are the products that have consistent demand. They're the ones you'd want to adopt in your own store.
You can also find unsatisfied market needs through customer feedback. Then, you can target them with your ads or find a better solution.
You can also research your competitors on their social media pages. There, you can follow how their products are doing. Also, check out their ads and what products they promote most often.
Exploring TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook will give you invaluable information about your competitors. You can use it to boost your own marketing strategy and product placement.
The comments below their posts are the most important piece of information. There, you will find the pain points they haven't fulfilled yet.
Example:
Problem: Their product takes 7 days to deliver.
Solution: You can try to do half that time.
Problem: They don't offer delivery nationwide.
Solution: Cover the places they can't.
Problem: Their packaging is often damaged.
Solution: Find a more durable substitute.
Don't focus just on your competitors. Visit niche-related fan pages and marketplaces as well. They are the perfect place to learn about the market, products, and customers. Still, it requires a lot of time and effort. Or you can simply get an automated tool where everything is done with a click of a button.
Finally, your dropshipping product research finds a potential winner. Now, it's time to verify its findings.
However, before you go for a test run with the new product, it's wise to do some profitability analysis. After all, if you're going to lose money on a product, it's not worth even testing it.
The profitability analysis is a great way to determine how to price your new product.
Example:
Product Cost: $20
Shipping: $5
Marketing: $10
Total Costs: $35
Profit Margin: 100%
Selling Price: $70
Gross Profit: $35
Test your product before fully committing to it. This will save you a lot of money and work if the product fails despite all signs of success.
Start a small-scale ad campaign where most of the competitor's traffic comes from. Set a relatively small budget for several creative ads. Also, A/B test some target audiences.
Follow the CTR, conversion rates, visibility, and engagements closely. These are indicators that will tell you what's not working.
Pro Tip:
Solve and adjust these problems throughout the campaign. Cut off the underperformers during your A/B testing.
If the product manages to sell well, you can scale the operation and get even more profits. If not, go back to Copyfy and find a new product.
By validating your product, you will avoid the most common dropshipping mistakes. However, it's not the only one.
Errors are inevitable in any business. Still, when it comes to dropshipping product research, many mistakes can be easily avoided.
translate.mistake_label Mistake: People are often tempted to leave everything to the machines. However, while any tool's help is invaluable, it can't do everything. It still needs validation and live marketing testing.
Solution: Solution: Build your workflow with checklists and double-checking. Rely on research tools, but also do your manual research to ensure accurate results. If a product seems too good to be true (monthly profit of $1.5 billion), it's probably a mistake. Cross-check popularity on marketplaces.
translate.mistake_label Mistake: Taking a product out of context. For example, Tour De France-themed clothing is a trend in July, but replicating its success in August is unlikely.
Since Tour De France is held in July, it's normal for products with that theme to surge then. But this is only seasonal.
Solution: Solution: Check out Google Trends or Copyfy's Shop Analysis. See product patterns and seasonal interest. Moreover, check where and why these products are sold—it may be a regional thing.
translate.mistake_label Mistake: Sometimes dropshippers take copying a successful product and ad literally, using the same channels, pictures, everything the same. This destroys their chances of standing out.
Solution: Solution: Find a new angle to attract customers. Base your new ad on your reviews and social media research. Build your USP on your competitor's shortcomings and transform them into strengths.
translate.mistake_label Mistake: Offering all sorts of products from various niches may sound lucrative, but it leads to fewer sales, less credibility, and slower growth. You'll struggle to maintain quality content and ads for multiple niches on one site.
Solution:
Solution: Focus on one niche at a time. Once you crack the code in that niche, consider expanding or creating a separate store for a new niche.
Let's have a look at one successful product and how to spot it in real-life situations.
Baby Tula is a prime example of a product whose success relies on viral TikTok clips. In December 2023, influencer Gabby Lawson posted a video with Baby Tula, gathering over 43,000 views. Then Baby Tula went viral.
Checking in Copyfy, we can see that Baby Tula's website gained nearly 100,000 visits in December and generated about 1.6 million dollars in sales.
This trend proved not only steady but also slowly rising throughout the next year. Sales reached over 2 million dollars in August and over 2.15 million in November 2024.
On Copyfy's shop analysis page, we see this product is highly profitable and has untapped markets.
Currently, Baby Tula sales are in the US, UK, Canada, India, and Vietnam, leaving the large European market still largely untapped.
Scrolling down, we see that 65% of their traffic comes from TikTok, with another 27% from Facebook.
Not a surprise, considering the product launch was TikTok-based. Instagram hasn't been tapped yet, so there's potential to replicate their marketing strategy there.
Finally, we see their bestseller is significantly cheaper than the rest. All products do well, but price is clearly a driving factor for customers.
Next, we use Shopify to export the product, research ad campaigns, and find suppliers. We can also copy the website but keep it unique so you have your own brand identity.
The first step, however, is to get Copyfy. It's the one tool that can help you build your dropshipping business from scratch.
Remember, the only way to succeed in the dropshipping industry is to have a data-driven operation. Dropshipping product research is the first step to building your brand.
