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A payment gateway is an essential part of dropshipping business. It’s a tool that let customers buy something from your online store. The selection of a payment gateway depends on your preference and your target market. So, if you’re looking for how to choose a payment gateway for your dropshipping store, then you’ve come to the right place! Continue reading to discover points to consider when choosing a payment gateway for your dropshipping store.

Ease of Payment
A good payment gateway should bring convenience to you and the users (customers). There’s no point in integrating a gateway that makes checkout payments difficult for your customers. You’ll have reduced sales and increased abandoned carts.

Pay-out Times
Once the transaction occurs, the payment gateways take some time to send money to the merchant’s account. The timeframes vary for each. Do research the payout times before you integrate a payment gateway.

Transactions in Several Currencies
If you are targeting clients from around the globe, then this is a crucial point to consider. Make sure you integrate a platform that offers clients to pay in their local currency. Or at least provides options that are widely accepted in different countries.

Customer Service
For your good and peace of mind, it’s better to pick a payment gateway with excellent customer service. I often see some horror stories pass by of people claiming that their whole account has been set on hold while the customer service doesn’t even reply. Sometimes, they have to stop their advertisements because their cash flow has stopped. In conclusion, a good payment gateway puts your money on hold less quickly, and if it happens, should have great customer service to resolve the issue with you.

Consider Fees and Service Agreement Requirements
Payment gateway is based on the type of transactions a business conducts (online or in-person), and even business sales, revenue consistency, transaction frequency, and the markets served. It’s important to compare how the business model coincides with the payment provider, or a gateway’s fee structure. A few services may require setup fees and contracts, or they may charge transaction fees if a particular order and transaction volume aren’t met.

Ensure Effective Transactions
According to a survey conducted, more than 25% of customers will abandon a purchase if they are compelled to register for an account to complete it. If the checkout procedure uses a third-party shopping cart with an enrolment procedure, ensure that retailers can make it an optional factor that allows for a “guest” checkout.

Make Checkout Easy on All Devices
Studies show that 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile devices in the last 6 months and 83.72% of people own a mobile phone in 2022 and these figures are increasing steadily. As website owners evaluate their payment gateway options, you need to make sure to provide an adaptable checkout experience that is optimized for different mobile devices and network types.

Do you know that the time people spend watching videos online increases at an average rate of 32% per year? Research also says that the average person will spend 100 minutes a day watching videos. To put that in perspective, that’s 25 whole days. Dropshippers need to take note of this if they want to plan on developing their video marketing strategy for their business. Continue reading to discover 7 ways to develop the perfect video marketing strategy for your dropshiping business.

Set Goals for Video Marketing
At the beginning of any social media undertaking, you need to set goals. What do you want your videos to accomplish? Where in the marketing funnel will these videos fall? An example of video marketing is creating brand awareness. Videos are used heavily for advertising. They may start on a product page on the website and then branch out to land in a social ad. Setting your goals and identifying the funnel stage will help you create highly effective calls to action in your video content.

Decide On Your Platforms
Research and data prove that audiences on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat spend half of their time on the network watching videos. Choosing any of these three to begin your video marketing game would be a good step. If you’ve never used video on any platform, begin with the ones where you have audiences established. Another consideration for choosing the right platform is for you to understand what each one offers and what video dimensions can be displayed. This is essential as if you’d like to repurpose your videos, it’s best to choose platforms that complement each other.

Select Your Video Types
There are many types of videos out there, and we don’t mean where the videos will be placed. Social media videos can be used for many different purposes to support your overall content strategy. Determining the type of video that works best for your brand is an important step in your marketing strategy. Not all videos are made the same and that’s okay. What is most important is that they are supporting your key goals. The videos could be educational, behind the scenes, entertaining, customer reviews, and so on. Once you’ve determined which types of videos to tackle, it’s time to move on to planning the actual video.

Plan The Content Production
When you plan your content production, you will save time and money in the long run. Whether you plan it with a flowchart or old-fashioned pen and paper, you need to know how videos will be created and filmed. You have options for content production and post-production. As you run through the content plan, you’ll find some ways that you need to tweak it or things you missed earlier, especially if this is one of your first efforts in putting together a comprehensive video content plan. After a solid plan is executed, it’s time to move on to post-production.

Know What Post-Production Entails
You want to allow plenty of time for post-production, especially if your videos will be used for ads or have heavier editing needs. Post-production does not mean just cutting scenes and putting them back together to music. It also includes additions like closed captions, text overlays, call-to-action screens, and more. The more you film and the more polished you want it, the more time you’ll need.

An ecommerce or dropshipping business is a business that can reach the rest of the world by leveraging the unlimited power of the internet. It can open doors to a completely new segment of marketing and promote your products at a minimum cost. Just like any business, you must first understand who your market or target audience are, and how your business will attract them. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. If you want to be among that 25%, pay attention to these ten tips. Continue reading to discover 10 essential tips to creating a successful ecommerce or dropshipping business.

Get Organize
To achieve success in your business, you need to be organized. It will help you complete tasks and stay on top of getting things done. An excellent way to be organized is to create a to-do list each day. As you complete each task, tick it off your list. This will ensure that you’re not forgetting anything and completing all the tasks that are essential to the success of your business.

Keep Detailed Records
To create successful ecommerce or dropshipping businesses, you must keep detailed records. By having records that are constantly uploaded and backed up, a business no longer has to worry about losing its data. Doing so will allow you to know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Then, you’ll be able to create strategies to overcome those challenges

Analyze Your Competition

How you analyze competition will vary between sectors. To be successful in your business, you should study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more sales.

Be Creative in Your Dropshipping Business
Be on the lookout for ways to improve your business and make it stand out from the competition. Understand that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and different approaches to your business. You could start with your photo photographs and video ads. That way, you’ll attract more customers to your store, and you’ll see your business on a success boat.

Leverage on social media
Another tip to create a successful ecommerce or dropshipping business is to have an active account on all of the major social media platforms. This allows you to better market your business and interacts with far more potential customers. When your business has an account that you update regularly on these platforms, people can find your business more easily and are more likely to share your business with their friends. You’ll also create a more engaging experience for your audience, helping them feel more connected to your brand and cultivating trust.

As a business owner, you have to be good at what you do for your business to be successful. Operations such as getting a good manufacturer, quality product design, prototype, product quality control, could be tasking and time-consuming. Know that hiring a sourcing agent is the viable asset your business needs to get such tasks done in time. It’s the most efficient way to scale up your business. Continue reading to discover some reasons why your business needs a sourcing agent.

Getting Efficient Manufacturers
Getting a good manufacturer is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s often difficult to ascertain whether the manufacturers you have found on sites are efficient and reliable. But a good sourcing agent will know exactly which province specializes in the product you are looking to manufacture. To verify whether the manufacturer is genuine, a factory visit is needed.

Alternatively, a good sourcing agent will have a list of reliable suppliers you can approach. Even if they don’t know a factory that can manufacture the product you want to be made; it won’t take them much time to find someone reliable and suitable. This is because they are present on the ground and have networks they can tap into.

Using an Agent Saves You Time
A sourcing agent does all the legwork for you. The fact that an agent is your local representative means that; you don’t have to travel to that country to look for manufacturers or suppliers. You probably don’t have enough time to keep traveling to source your products. To give you time to concentrate on other essential business operations, hiring a sourcing agent is highly recommended.

Product Quality Control
Insufficient quality control can ruin your entire business. This is because, the moment the consumers realize that your products are sub-standard, they will shift to your competitors. Also, your competitors might be offering high-quality products. Moreover, high-quality products always fetch a reasonable price in the market.

This is because buyers are always willing to pay for the best-in-class products. In most cases, you probably might not have enough time and resources to pull a thorough quality check yourself. Therefore, you need the help of a sourcing agent who is experienced and puts quality as a priority.

Order fulfillment is the complete process from when an order is placed, or a sale takes place to a customer receiving the package. Two of the top qualities customers consider when they shop online are cost and the estimated time of delivery, the latter influences 68% of customers’ decisions to purchase.

A successful order fulfillment process relies on a third-party logistics company (3PL) or a fulfillment center to complete all of the processes required. What goes on in the fulfillment center may seem to be a mystery, but it doesn’t have to be. The process of order fulfillment is about creating a brilliant experience for your customers. Continue reading to know more about the order fulfillment process, what it entails, and how it works.

Receiving Inventory
The first process to order fulfillment is receiving inventory from suppliers. Products may come from a third party, another company department, or a company warehouse. In any case, the incoming inventory must be counted, inspected, and double-checked to ensure the proper amount was received and the quality is acceptable. The bar codes on the arriving products are used in the receiving and storage processes, and to retrieve goods from internal storage later.

Inventory Storage
Once goods are received in the fulfillment center, they are inventoried. Then, they’re either immediately disbursed or sent to short- or longer-term storage. Products are ideally stored just long enough to help organize the orderly distribution of goods for existing sales, rather than to hold products for future sales.

Order Processing
An order processing management system dictates product picking and packing activities per each newly-received customer order. In the online marketplace, order management software can be integrated with the shopping cart on an ecommerce or dropshipping website to automatically initiate order processing.

Picking
A picking team or automated warehouse robots select products from the warehouse according to a packing slip’s instructions. The packing slip contains specific information, such as a list of product bar codes, product colors, sizes, number of units, and location in the distribution center’s warehouse.

Packing
Packing materials are selected by the packing team or automated fulfillment robots to achieve the lowest practical dimensional weight, which is calculated by multiplying package length times width times height. Since space on delivery trucks is at a premium, optimizing dimensional weight is important to speed transport while also potentially lowering shipment costs. Furthermore, packing teams often include return shipping materials and labels in case the customer wishes to exchange or return the product for a refund later.

Shipping
The order is sent to a shipping node or a transportation channel to be shipped to the customer. Shippers and carriers, whether freight lines or airlines, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, or other carriers, determine freight billable costs by whichever is greater: actual package weight or its dimensional weight.

Even if the actual weight is low, such as with a t-shirt, packing it in the lowest dimension is often worth it to keep the packaging from adding significantly to the overall package weight. Likewise, most carriers have packaging rules to optimize their profits from the shipping space they have available. Failing to meet those requirements can delay shipping if carriers refuse to accept the order.

Delivery
It is common for shipping routes to involve more than one carrier. For instance, FedEx may pick up a package at the fulfillment center that will later be delivered by the USPS to the customer’s home. There are many reasons for these hybrid shipping methods. One common example is that the USPS delivers even to remote areas where most other commercial carriers don’t. It’s simply just practical to use the USPS for the last mile of delivery in those cases.

How to Keep Up with the Constant Changes in Trending Industries
Here are a few tips to help you stay on top of the latest trends:

1. Keep an eye on social media. Social media is a great way to stay up-to-date on what\’s happening in the world of print publications. Be sure to follow industry leaders and influencers on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

2. Stay informed with trade publications. Trade publications like Folio: PARCEL, and Print Professional are great sources of information for staying current on industry trends.

3. Attend trade shows and events. Trade shows and events are excellent opportunities to network with other professionals and learn about the latest trends in the industry.

4. Join an industry association or professional organization. Industry associations offer members access to resources, networking opportunities, and educational programs that can keep you abreast of current trends.

Fulfillment drives success for ecommerce business owners and drop shippers. Hence, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve with the processes and tools you rely on to get the job done. As you consider maintaining efficiency at every stage of order fulfillment, you may ask yourself questions like: how do I ensure orders are always delivered on time? Are there gaps in my current process?

Answering these questions sincerely will help you save money, work efficiently, and guarantee satisfied customers who receive the right thing in the right packaging at the right time. No matter where you stand, there’s always room for improvement. Therefore, we’ve put together the top 8 order fulfillment best practices to help you step up your business.

Ecommerce business: Prioritize Your Inventory’s Accuracy
If you look at it from a customer’s perspective, which do you think is annoying? Seeing that a product is sold out before you order it, or ordering and paying for a product that’s listed as in stock, only to find out later that the product was not actually in stock.

Most customers would prefer bad news upfront. Inventory inaccuracies invite a host of customer frustration that your business would surely prefer to avoid. Have it at the back of your mind that the more accurate your inventory, the more success you’ll have in delivering the right products in time.

Increase Data Visibility
Before you can start improving, you need a vivid understanding of your team’s current performance. Real-time updates and visibility into operational efficiency, timelines, and supply levels mean accurate shipping times, consistent packaging quality, and clear expectations across the board.

Also, good internal visibility helps you identify critical process gaps that could negatively affect your business down the line. Data insights help you find patterns and anticipate problems, so you can mitigate challenges before they occur and provide better estimates of delivery times and quality.

Automate Key Processes
Manual operations may be the most feasible and cost-effective option for ecommerce and dropshipping businesses, but they can quickly become a risk as you grow. You’ll probably run into human error and still rely on manual processes that prohibit the same level of performance.

Replace manual tools like spreadsheets or pencil-and-paper lists with innovative automation tools. Automated tools help streamline decision-making for all inbound, warehouse, and shipping processes and rapid yet sustainable growth.

Organize Your Inventory And Warehouse Operations
To ship and deliver orders with maximum efficiency, you need more than a quick turnaround time or a centrally-located fulfillment center. End-to-end warehouse organization supports how well you store, pick, pack, and ship orders out to your customers. A great way to step up your shipping game is with order consolidation. Order consolidation will help you meet demands and optimize order fulfillment.

Dropshipping could be a prevalent eCommerce commerce show that numerous business people have utilized to offer online without much effort. Today, around 27% of online retailers have embraced the dropshipping demonstration. And providers gain 18.33% more benefits in the event that they offer to drop shippers compared to making their claim deals from their online stores. The thought behind dropshipping is primary. You don\’t have to take any dangers by contributing in stock or item sourcing; instep, you offer things online, and your providers will dispatch them straightforwardly to your customers.
If you\’re new to dropshipping and want to start with a product that is easy to find suppliers for, then evergreen products are the way to go. These are products that don\’t become obsolete or out of style very quickly.

Evergreen products are products that sell consistently, year long. They don\’t necessarily have seasonal sales spikes, and they never go out of style. They are usually niche products, high-quality products, or products with limited availability.

When dropshipping, it\’s important to find these types of evergreen niches and avoid those that have a high risk of going out of style or becoming obsolete. You don\’t want to invest time, effort, and money into a product line that might not sell for months or years down the road.

Evergreen products are often referred to as \”best seller\” products or \”top seller\” items. They can be sold for long periods without becoming irrelevant. This makes them ideal for dropshipping since you don\’t have to worry about whether or not your inventory will sell — it will!

Evergreen products can be found in almost every industry and include things like home decor, kitchenware, clothing, jewellery, outdoor furniture, and many others.

Why are evergreen products so important?
Evergreen products are important because they provide you with consistent sales and hence, a consistent income stream that allows you to plan ahead and grow your business without worrying about sales fluctuations.

They can also help fill the gaps in your product catalogue.

You can also use them as a basis for other businesses or services, such as drop shipping or affiliate marketing campaigns.

What makes a product qualified as evergreen?
An evergreen product is one that will always be in demand by consumers. They have been around for years and have not lost their popularity among shoppers. There are several factors that make up an evergreen product:

It has universal appeal; this means that anyone can buy it without worrying about whether or not they will like it.
It is affordable; there should be plenty of budget-friendly options available so everyone can afford to purchase it.
It has multiple uses; this makes it easy to make multiple sales from one purchase – every time someone buys something else, they also buy what they originally wanted (e.g., people buying snacks like cookies and brownies need milk as well)
Difference between evergreen products and trending products

If you are new to dropshipping, you might be wondering what the difference is between evergreen products and trending products. As a drop shipper, it is essential that you understand the difference between these two product types as they determine how many sales you can expect to make and how much profit you can earn from each sale.

Evergreen products are those which have a longer shelf life. They might not be at the top of their category, but they have been there for years and will continue to sell year after year. Evergreen products appeal to a wide range of customers, and they are very easy to sell because they are in demand.

Trending products are those which have recently become popular due to a spike in demand or news reports about them. Trending products sell well at first but tend to lose their popularity quickly once the news dies down or demand for them falls.

Advantages Of Evergreen Products

High demand
A lot of people are interested in these products and would like to buy them. For example, a book about yoga or meditation is always in demand as it can be used by many people.

Low cost per sale
The cost per sale is low because you only need to invest in the product once and then sell it again and again. You don\’t even need to worry about shipping costs (you can use free shipping).

High-profit margins
The profit margin of evergreen products is very high because you don\’t have any additional costs like shipping or customer support.

Can be sold year-round
Evergreen products can be sold throughout the year without worrying about whether they will sell during certain seasons or not. For example, if you sell candles, then you can sell them throughout the year without worrying about whether they will sell well during the winter or summer months only.

Easy to find suppliers
You can find suppliers for these items online on sites easily. The key is to find the right supplier who is willing to give you a good deal on bulk orders.

Dropshipping may not be a novel business model. Discussions about whether it is obsolete or dead are still rife in overseas media. However, there are still many sellers operating in this format. But not all platforms welcome drop shipping. The analysts of E7dropshipping introduced to the brand factory that dropshipping is a violation on e-commerce …

Why do dropshipping need a Chinese agent? Read More »

You can’t list your products for sale just anywhere and expect sales to pour in. These days, the best and most sustainable model of success is choosing a few high-performing sales channels that empower the sale of your goods. This time-tested strategy is proven to result in better sales, better customer relationships, and better yearly profits overall—not something to be taken lightly.

Sales channels are one of the most powerful tools in the ecommerce world. Not only are they critical for boosting sales volume, but they help your brand remain competent and competitive in an increasingly complicated digital landscape. Leverage them to own every aspect of the customer experience—buying, returns, etc.—and reach end consumers in a way that makes a lasting impact.

But establishing a multichannel sales strategy takes a great deal of work—even in an ecommerce context. Today, 21% of marketers say that a lack of understanding of how to develop multichannel campaigns has kept them from leveraging a channel strategy.

Types of sales channels
Modern businesses have dozens of platforms to grow their brand, from traditional channels to newer, sleeker options. Each channel is used for a different purpose and has its own advantages and drawbacks. Here’s a look at some of the most popular channels:

Ecommerce: Ecommerce channels include almost any online storefront, from smartphone retail websites to online fashion shops. They’re easy to tap into, especially when companies like Shopify are powering their back end.
Traditional marketplaces: Third-party channels like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are great examples of traditional channels. They’re extremely easy to integrate with but sometimes very limiting with restrictive requirements.
Modern marketplaces: Modern or trendy channels like TikTok, Spotify, and Instagram capture the audience’s attention with newer features. These are great options for upselling and cross-selling, although content must be constantly published to remain relevant.
Retail: Any physical storefront is an example of a retail channel. Unlike digital channels, you can bring your customers face-to-face with your product. However, it will likely be far more expensive than other channels.
Wholesale: Channels like Handshake allow merchants to sell bulk quantities of their products. This option keeps costs down while moving lots of inventory.
Resellers: If you repackage, rebuild, or otherwise affiliate yourself with third-party products, you will own what’s called a “reseller” channel. This is a fantastic sales option that is both simple and cheap, although the legal guidelines surrounding reselling may be complicated.
White label: The term “white label” refers to sales channels that rely on printing your logo on generic products. While you can leverage white label channels for trendy products (think fidget spinners), this is an extremely competitive channel to utilize.
Mobile apps: Sales made from mobile apps make up 10% of all retail sales in the United States. There’s lots of opportunity here: it’s fast, convenient, and very flexible. But be warned—building an app is no cheap task.
B2B sales: If your business sells to other businesses, you’re a part of B2B’s $1.8 trillion sales channel. In this strategy, your likelihood of repeat customers is high. However, note that the sales cycle of a B2B channel is relatively long.
Partnerships: You can partner with individual companies or people to help promote your products (think influencers or sponsorships). This channel is perfect for building social proof, although it may sacrifice some of your profits.
Bear in mind that not all of these sales channels will be a good fit for your online business. Some may work better than others, while some may not work at all. It’s good to do plenty of research before choosing a platform.

The case for multiple sales channels
Many new brands focus on a single sales channel in the initial stages of their operation. However, scaling a business requires a multichannel sales strategy that increases the chances of a customer interacting with your brand.

The benefits of having multiple sales channels are well documented:

Companies that maintain multiple sales channels are able to retain 89% of their customers. That’s nine out of every 10 buyers!
Customers are 23 times more satisfied with brands that use multiple sales channels. This also enhances the customer experience, leading to repeat purchases.
The more integrative your sales channels are, the more customers are likely to spend. Research shows that customers spend 10% more with companies that have multiple sales channels.
A heavily curated multichannel strategy has the potential to take your brand to the next level. By applying all best practices and creating room for agility, businesses can push their way to the top of the ecommerce ladder.

Making your ecommerce store a center of operations
Diversifying your ecommerce channels is a must for any successful strategy. However, it’s your website—not external channels—that should be at the center of it all.

Whether you sell primarily through social media or through a distributor like Amazon, having an optimized online store is critical to scaling sales over time.

Here’s why it’s so important to make your ecommerce website the heart of your sales channel strategy.

1. Simple to use
There’s no doubt about it: website stores are just simple to use. More than 2.14 billion people are expected to buy goods online in the next few years, many of whom are already familiar with the online checkout processes on ecommerce websites and online stores.

2. Easy to build
Many online stores can be built cheaply, knowledgeably, and at scale. Platforms like Shopify allow individuals and companies to drag-and-drop elements into a field to be published. You can also use your ecommerce site to direct people to other sales channels, including social media platforms or apps.

3. Control restrictions
External sales platforms (the ones you don’t own) have strict requirements for listing or selling products. Internal platforms (such as your website) have far fewer. Easily list and sell whatever you choose, and add specific descriptions, product photos, or comment and rating systems that complement your needs.

4. Express your brand
More than 70% of customers want personalized experiences with your business. Make your brand voice count by sprinkling delight into your images, copy, voice, and tone. Try using different fonts, colors, and styles that bring out the best of your brand and its values.

This example from Fashion Nova highlights the company’s fun personality without compromising other sales channels.