How many calories should I eat daily to lose weight? Of course, you can’t answer, because you need information about my current weight, height, age, gender, body type, lifestyle, whether I exercise, and many more.
This is the case for every single thing, so it is for dropshipping! There’s no ideal answer about How many products you should start with when dropshipping with Shopify.
There are a lot of things to consider, like what’s your knowledge level about dropshipping business?
What type of store do you have, or you are willing to have one?
Is it a Niche store, a General one, or a One-product store?
Furthermore, you need information about your customers, what they want, what is their buying behavior, shopping quantities, money spent, etc.
You can sense it, right? It’s not a simple answer to be given.
Therefore, this article might be suitable for your question, because we provide you with a detailed guide through all these aspects mentioned above.
How many products should I start with for a General Store?
A general store does not specialize in anything. It can offer and sell everything! Everything from underwear to furniture. Yes, this sounds completely odd, but that is exactly what a general store is!
Most dropshippers do this to keep up with trends. They promote things that are popular at the time and have a high likelihood of selling.
So, here’s the “big” dropshipping question. How many products should I start with when building a general store?
If you choose a general store for your dropshipping business then we might say there’s no limit.
A general store should have between 30 to 50 products for the start.
For example, let’s say that you are walking into a grocery shop and find only one shelf with 15 goods and the rest of the store empty. You’d probably leave with a negative experience and go shopping elsewhere.
Maybe you will ask yourself whether this store is closing permanently or is not even a store.
If the number is less than 30, the shop will lack credibility in the eyes of potential consumers.
With a general store, you must ensure that you have enough items to give convenience to your dropshipping business. You should add additional goods in the future, but 30 to 50 products is a reasonable starting point.
However, we do not recommend a general shop. Because trendy products are the ones that many people purchased from other retailers before you began offering them. They are also more difficult to sell, and there is little room for branding.
Amazon and eBay might be leaders in this industry, and great examples of successful dropshipping businesses, but not as great examples for dropshipping newbies!
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How many products should I start with a Niche Store?
Niche stores have a distinct marketing approach and are focused on a certain product, category, or brand.
For example, if you want to target women of a specific age group, you may open a dropshipping store that solely sells fashionable women’s apparel.
A reasonable starting point of product quantity here might be from 5 to 20.
Customers will comprehend a limited product selection better in a niche store than in a general store because people believe that if your business is focused on a specific product type, it delivers better quality and it appears more legit.
If you offer swimwear, you’ll probably need 10 to 20 distinct models to feel like you’ve covered the market properly.
However, with anything more particular, such as one-piece swimwear, you may offer fewer as there are fewer options. You only need enough in a specialty store to seem authentic to the ordinary internet consumer.
There are various examples of niche dropshipping stores on Shopify, like, Warmly– a lighting niche store, Fashion Nova – women’s clothing, Taylor Stitch – men’s clothing, and many more.
Do you need help choosing a specific dropshipping niche? Or, maybe you need information on which one is most profitable?
Knowledge is power, so collect as much information as you can. Read about each dropshipping niche on our website.
One Product Dropshipping Store
Probably your question here would be, What am I going to do if selling only one product? How can I offer multiple choices? The truth is you don’t have to!
This type of store gives customers an image of a dropshipping business that is professional at its job and delivers high-quality products. Because you have all the time in the world to focus on it and master it!
Have you heard about Snooz? This dropshipping business sells one product- a portable noise machine called Snooz and is a great example of a successful one-product store.
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When starting a one-product store, all you need is a well-thought-out marketing approach and a specific viewpoint that customers circle. Your product needs to solve someone’s problem, and Baam, Sales!
One-product stores have great potential for success. The advantage of using a single-product approach is that you can focus your marketing efforts more effectively because they are time-consuming tasks.
So here we break the rule of “how many products is the perfect amount for dropshipping” because you can master the dropshipping market with even a well-established one-product strategy.
There are many other examples of successful one-product stores on Shopify, such as:
- Palmpress
- Neos
- Death Wish Coffee
- Pipcorn
- IDRAW
- Seattle Cider Co.
The one-product store is an excellent choice for beginners in dropshipping business.
It leaves you time to focus on important things, learn about this business world, explore markets, etc. This type of store is a great educational opportunity.
If you are successful, keep trying, maybe you will be able to establish a specific niche around the product with accessorized or similar products.
👉 Check out the 20 Best Dropshipping Suppliers For Amazon In 2023.
What do the customers want?
No matter what type of dropshipping store you have, whether is a general, niche, or one-product store, your target audience might be your greatest compass!
Uncovering the customer needs can lead you to the right answer How many products should I start with when dropshipping with Shopify?
If you want to build a brand and expand your business, you need to focus on your customers’ needs and wants.
So, what should you focus on when analyzing customers?
- Divide customers into market segments according to their monthly income.
- Consider your customer’s age range, because the needs and wants of customers differ according to their age range.
- Discover their lifestyle. This is very important, because in this way you will meet your customers closely, knowing their hobbies, how they spend their free time, what they will prefer to buy, whether products with affordable price, luxury products but with higher quality. This may tell you a lot about the number of products and categories you should start with.
- Search through their buying history. You can understand the buyer’s behavior by using data from previous and current transactions. You will know what things they buy and how much they spend.
More one-product store tips to follow
Balance the number of products
Having too many product options not only makes it hard to pinpoint your choices, but it may also give customers the impression that you aren’t confident enough to deliver the best.
It’s all about maintaining a balance between having enough to give them an option and not having so many that they become overwhelmed and go shop elsewhere.
Add new items from time to time
Your dropshipping business may benefit a lot from adding new items constantly. First, your existing customers will not get bored. Moreover, you can attract new customers to your store
Avoid the “paradox of choice”
You have probably experienced the paradox of choice. It doesn’t feel pleasant, right?
The variety of product options may sometimes produce tension and, eventually, a sense of sadness.
If you’ve ever bought something, you’ve encountered the paradox of choice. You stand in front of a shelf of clothes you don’t want to try on and wish there were only two shelves.
Just as the “Jam experiment” gives us a message, when there are fewer product options, more people make purchases. (30% of buyers purchased jam when there were 6 jam options, and only 3% of the buyers’ purchased jam when there were 24 jam options)
Instead of being Amazon or Aliexpress, and selling everything, maybe you should focus on curating your product list and select the ones that are the best options, and sell them!
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Knowing the right answer to: “how many products should I start with” is not easy at all!
There are a lot of things to consider before choosing the right amount of products, like the knowledge level about the dropshipping market, the type of store, whether is a general store, niche store, or one-product store.
Each of these types of stores has its challenges and a certain range of the best quantity that is recommended to sell.
Don’t forget your customers! They can also be your best compass when determining the quantity you want to offer.
And, follow our additional tips for adding new products from time to time, avoiding the paradox of choice, and balancing the number of products!
