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Dropshipping offers all the opportunity of an eCommerce business but with far less of the traditional risk. With no need to buy and hold inventory, you can get started in business for less, you can pivot your venture quickly and easily, and concentrate your energies on selling rather than surviving.
If you haven’t heard of dropshipping before, this dropshippingguide will bring you up to speed on the concept, while we have an article that explains exactly how to start your own dropshipping venture. This particular guide, however, is written for those who understand the potential of dropshipping, and are looking to capitalise on it.
What types of dropshipping products sell well?
Before we get into the specifics of the best items to dropship, let’s first work to understand the product categories that best lend themselves to dropshipping.
The best dropshipping products are those that:
- Are readily available on the open market.
- Are able to be mass-produced.
- Are in-demand.
- Have a large target audience.
- Are small enough to be economically shipped.
- Are simple rather than complex (less likely to have faults, defects and other issues.)
- Are economical to buy, with a good potential for profit.
- Fill a gap in the market.
- Solve a problem or meet a desire or need.
- Are easily marketable.
- You have a genuine interest in and passion for.
What products tick each of the boxes above? Some inspiration might be found by looking at a few of the most popular product categories in the world of dropshipping. These include:
- Home improvement and décor
- Fashion (clothing, jewellery and accessories)
- Fitness
- Pet products
- Electronics and accessories
- Craft and hobby products
- Business products
- Consumables (food and drink, cleaning products, health and beauty)
How to research and find dropshipping products
Armed with a bit of inspiration, the next step on your journey to dropshipping success will be to find specific products to sell. Keep the following advice in mind to ensure you choose the most popular and profitable products possible:
- Look for products that you know there’s a market for, but that you can’t easily find elsewhere.
- Find a product that solves a problem and that is easily demonstrable.
- Check that your chosen products don’t have advertising restrictions (it can be complex to sell things like alcohol, tobacco and adult only material.)
- Consider the wow factor – think about the sort of ads that catch your eye as you scroll social media.
Armed with the considerations above, visit the following sites to gain a sense of the sort of products that are likely to prove popular:
- Pinterest: The world’s go-to site for inspiration, you can search all manner of products and collect the best up on boards.
- __Google Trends: Over 93% of Australian consumers go straight to Google when they’re searching for something. Google Trends grants you access to that search data, allowing you to find the hottest products on the market.
- __Amazon best sellers: Click on this link to find out what’s selling well on the world’s biggest eCommerce marketplace, which separates these popular items into handy categories.
- __eBay Watch Count: It might look like it’s straight out of 1995, but eBay Watch Count is an endlessly useful website for dropshippers, telling you what the most watched items on the world’s biggest auction site are at any given time.
- __AliExpress Dropshipping Centre: AliExpress is the most popular dropshipping site in the world, granting you access to endless suppliers of endless products. Sign up, then use this link to browse the site’s most popular items to see what’s trending.
Top 25 profitable dropshipping products
Without further ado, it’s time to find out which are the best items to dropship in 2022. In no particular order, here are 25 dropshipping products that offer that magical combination of popularity and profitability.
1. Toothbrushes
We all have teeth – well, almost all of us – and we all need to clean them. Between high-end electric toothbrushes, biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes and charcoal-infused bristles, the market for dental hygiene is surprisingly innovative and diverse. Add in the fact that these products are consumables, and you can build quite a successful and sustainable dropshipping business around tooth care.
2. Earplugs
Heavy machinery, live music, the temptation to watch movies at a truly immersive volume; our modern world can be a particularly noisy one, and once you lose your hearing, you can’t get it back. Earplugs are great for protecting your ears against noisy work, rock concerts and partners who snore, and are a consumable that will have customers coming back for more.
3. Yoga mats
To enjoy a proper session of yoga you’ll need a purpose-built yoga mat. When sourced well, this product can be cheap to buy and profitable to sell. Yoga mats are also easy to market – between bright colours and beautiful yogis, the content creates itself! – and are so simple that you’ll hardly ever have to deal with faults, defects and other issues.
4. Gym tights and leggings
There was a time when leg-hugging activewear was used for fitness and not much else. Now, however, the comfort and style of tights and leggings have made them the go-to item for coffee dates, beach walks, lounging and more. The growth of this product category has no end in sight, so it’s not too late to cash in.
5. Denim
Still on the topic of legwear, but in a far looser fit, the denim craze has extended far beyond what many thought would be a quick flash in the pan. It turns out that loose-fitting jeans are the latest trend, being really comfortable and kinda cool. There has been a steady rise in popularity over the last five years, and that trend appears to be continuing.
6. Sunglasses
There will always be strong demand for sunglasses. The good news for dropshippers is that with no need for inventory it’s super easy to stay on trend, and with high-end companies sometimes charging an arm and a leg, it’s easy to undercut the market leaders on price.
7. Pyjamas
Effortlessly combining comfort and style, silk pyjamas are very much in. The look, the feel, the warmth in winter and breathability in summer – it’s a magical combination. In the Southern Hemisphere, there’s also fairly constant demand, as sales go up in winter and towards Christmas in summer.
8. Non-precious jewellery
Selling traditional jewellery – i.e. that is made from precious metals and gems – can be a real challenge for a dropshipper as it’s a super crowded market where you need to build a lot of trust to succeed. So why not go a less precious route? Wood, ceramic, silicone and plastic are just a few of the materials used to make unique modern jewellery that a dropshipper can sell.
9. Scented candles
Smell is one sense that can often go ignored, at least until it alerts us that something bad has happened. The ever-popular scented candle is a fantastic product for dropshipping, as the endless scent options can allow you to build a unique brand, the size is perfect for shipping, and the simplicity means that few things can go wrong.
10. Diffusers
Oil diffusers tick almost all the boxes that scented candles do, while also adding a more interesting aesthetic element. They come in powered or reed forms and offer a similar opportunity to build a unique brand around an aroma theme.
11. Air fryers
If you don’t already own an air fryer, you will have probably been told that you should. These gadgets are so wildly popular that it’s tempting to write them off as nothing more than a fad, but this particular kitchen appliance is showing all the signs of long-term success.
12. Manual espresso makers
While Nespresso machines remain popular, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their impact on the environment and are therefore looking at ways to use less power and avoid unnecessary packaging. By using nothing more than loose coffee beans and elbow grease, manual espresso makers tick both boxes (and look cool while they do it!)
13. Wine fridges
While they’ve always been used in bars and bottle shops, the COVID pandemic pushed purpose-built wine fridges into the home. Built to keep wine and other beverages at a very specific temperature, they make for a classy addition to a kitchen, butler’s pantry or cellar, and are a perfectly on-trend dropshipping opportunity.
14. Fake plants
The problem with indoor plants is that they’re fickle. If you offer water or sunlight in too small or too large a quantity, they pass away, leaving only a brown husk behind. You’ll have no such problem with fake plants though, which are also becoming more and more lifelike every year. Fake greenery is particularly popular with businesses and Airbnb hosts.
15. Blankets
Blankets are more of a year-round purchase than you might give them credit for, as while they’re functional in winter, they’re also stylish in summer, adding beauty to a room while draped over a couch or folded at the foot of a bed.
16. Dog beds
From toys to fashion, the pet accessory business is thriving, and with canines spending over half their lives sleeping, there’s no more worthwhile investment for a dog owner than a comfy dog bed. While they can be bulky to ship – unless you supply a beanbag-style bed minus the beans – the markup is healthy and the market is big for this particular product.
17. Lamps
Perhaps no piece of home décor combines form and function quite like a lamp. A bright and beautiful addition to a bedside table, a bit of aesthetic interest in a home office or the source of a gentle glow in a lounge, lamps are the ideal product line for dropshippers who have a passion for interior design.
18. Decorative lighting
Why stop at lamps? There are a wealth of decorative lighting options, including cable lights, fairy lights, mirror lights, photography umbrellas, outdoor solar lighting and fibre optic cables, each of which can add real interest to a home, office or backyard.
19. Light rings
More people than ever now find themselves looking into camera lenses, whether for professional or personal purposes. Light rings are designed to cast an even glow across your face, making your selfies and recorded monologues more professional and aesthetically pleasing than ever!
20. Phone cases
While we’re on the topic of technology, there’s no more useful and valuable a device than the modern smartphone – which is why almost every single one is protected by a cover. Phone cases are available in every imaginable design for every imaginable phone – the challenge for dropshippers is to identify the combinations that will sell.
21. Soap dispensers
There’s perhaps never been a greater focus on soap than during the pandemic, and on the wealth of ways that it could be dispensed. From soap trays to hand pumps to automatic dispensers, these refillable receptacles can add both cleanliness and style to your bathroom.
22. Beard balms
While facial hair trends are forever evolving, we haven’t yet reverted to the clean-cut and beard-free 90s and early 2000s (give or take a few ill-considered goatees.) Moustaches come back into vogue every Movember, while you’ll always find a beard at your local craft brewery. This makes beard balms a trendy consumable product with a lot of sales potential.
23. Moisturisers
The skincare industry can be a gold mine for those who navigate it well. While many skincare products turn out to be nothing more than fads, one will forever be popular: moisturiser. Unlike some of the more fleeting skincare offerings, moisturiser is proven to work, and this consumable and evergreen product category can offer real profitability.
24. Oat milk
Who knew oats produced milk? Ten years ago, probably not many people at all. Fast forward to today, and oat milk is a staple of supermarket shelves, offering a healthy and guilt-free alternative to the traditional stuff. Oat milk also doesn’t go off quickly, making it a particularly consumable opportunity ready to be exploited by dropshippers.
25. Organic teas
Over the last few decades tea, like beer, has evolved from a narrow and largely homogenous industry into a sprawling landscape of premium products and specialty blends. This dry good is in fashion, while also being long-life and particularly light, making it ideal for shopping!
These 25 dropshipping products offer just a glimpse at the wealth of opportunities you have at your disposal. As long as it ticks most of the boxes mentioned earlier, the products you choose to sell are entirely up to you.
And if you need help in your venture, from creating your dropshipping website to getting paid, Square’s complete suite of business tools is here and ready to help.
