Major retailers are constantly investing money in customer needs research. No doubt, such a way of doing business leads to positive outcomes. However, the constantly changing world has offered new rules: technology is advancing, trends are fading and values are being reconsidered. It all results in a higher risk of under-or-overestimating the product and its value. But thanks to the rapid development of technology, turning ideas into products or services has become available to everyone regardless of budget.
Researching products before selling them is the crucial step in the dropshipping business. Let's say you know how to create profitable online stores, you are creative in social networks, are good in dealing with Facebook, Google Ads and bloggers – this is worthless if you sell products that your target audience does not need. Even if your store generates some sales, you can spend a lot of money on advertising and work at a loss. After choosing and testing a product, you should calculate the break-even point and the required return on investment.
As soon as you decide which criteria a potential winning product should meet, you can start searching for it. When searching for products, first consider your advertising budget for testing. If you do not have much money, start from selling relevant products that are most likely to sell. On the contrary, if you have $1000-1500 to spend on ads, you can test various products that, in your opinion, fit the criteria of a winning one and have perspective. Such products may be unfamiliar to the majority of your potential customers. The first one to successfully sell such a product, turns out to make a lot of money on it.
You can also search for products that are in high demand. Thus, you can identify your potential competitors and gain access to their offers and the ways they promote the products. In other words, you can spy on them. All you have to do is go to Google, enter the name of the product or niche and add + myshopify.com (example: pet hair brush + myshopify.com). You will be shown a list of Shopify stores that sell the product you're interested in (usually a dropshipping model).