You may have started a dropshipping business but you may have failed or you are thinking to start a new one but you want to know in advance why most of the time dropshipping fails?
Well, there is no particular reason why dropshipping fails. But there are some common mistakes made by people due to which they fail in dropshipping.
It’s always better to learn from the mistakes of others. Don’t sweat it, if you have already started a dropshipping in past but didn’t find success, everyone fails for the first time, what matters is you’re not giving up attitude.
Today I will tell you some of the most popular reasons why people fail in dropshipping. So you get a clear idea of whether dropshipping is worth it or not.
5 popular reasons why dropshipping fails? (Understand with examples)
1. No demand product
This is the most common reason why people fail in dropshipping. If you are trying to sell a product where there is no demand how do you expect people to buy it?
I agree with you that every product that has been made by the company for dropshipping has a demand but you may be selling that product to the wrong customers at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
Let me give you an example (1)
Let’s say you want to dropship jackets. Everyone loves to wear a jacket because it keeps you warm in winter. But if you will sell jackets in winter, that’s okay and you will find customers who will love to buy them.
But if you will try to sell jackets in summer, you won’t make any sales out of it because no one needs a jacket in summer. This is called selling products at the wrong time.
Let’s take another example (2)
Let’s say you understand that selling jackets in summer is a wrong idea but finally it’s winter and you want to dropship jackets. What could possibly go wrong? Why does dropshipping fail? Because it’s winter and people demand jackets. But why do people still fail at dropshipping?
The reason is pretty simple, it’s winter and people want to buy jackets but not in every state and place. Winter is not harsh in every state, most people don’t need to buy jackets because they come from such a place where the winter is not much cold and they can manage with just a sweater.
This is called Selling products at the wrong place and it could cost you your sales.
Last example to understand it much better (3)
Now you understand that selling products at the wrong time and wrong place matters. But what about selling products to the wrong customer, does it matter? Let’s find out.
Suppose you are selling women’s jackets but while adverting or while trying to reach your customer, you are targeting both men and women, what will happen? Men will not buy your products and you will waste your advertising budget and your time.
But if you will target the right customer which is the woman, in this case, you can increase your sales. This is called selling products to the wrong customer
Now you see there is nothing wrong with the jacket. The problem is in our marketing approach and our dropshipping niche and which is the most common reason why dropshipping fails.
So next time whenever you want to target your audience make sure you keep these things in mind so that you can have less chance of failure and a high success rate.
2. Competing with product image
The second popular reason why dropshippers fail is to go with the competition. Do you think it’s a great thing to dropship products that are highly competitive? If you think yes, then you are wrong.
What do you understand by competition? Does competition only mean competing with big firms?
No, I am not talking about competing with big firms I am talking about competing with product image. As a dropshipper you wouldn’t want to sell those products which are in competition with branded products, you don’t want to waste your time around those products where people prefer to buy brands.
Let’s understand by an example – One day I decided to dropship shoes, but little I was aware of the competition and failure I was about to face.
I decided to dropship XYZ shoes. When I reached my customers I didn’t see much of a response rate, people are not showing any interest in buying my products. So, why is this happening?
The simple reason is whenever it comes to buying shoes, people prefer to buy branded shoes like Nike, Adidas, Puma, or any other brand because people believe in the quality of these shoes and they have the past experience of buying local shoes and got them torn up within weeks.
Hell yeah, I even purchase Nike shoes and it lasts longer than you expect. So you can say it’s value for money.
Why would people want to buy your shoes? They aren’t branded and they don’t have a good image in the market. Even if you manage to find customers. They will bargain before they buy and which can cost you your profits.
3. Going against the trend
Another reason why dropshipping fails is that you are trying to sell products that are not in trend anymore. Is it a good idea to sell products that are not in trend anymore?
Simple Example – If I try to sell fidget spinners to customers will they even purchase it? The simple answer is NO! because Fidget spinner is long gone out of trend. It used to be famous a few years back but right now, it doesn’t even matter and people don’t even prefer to buy it.
Will customers prefer to buy CDs or DVDs? No, Because the trend is not there anymore. So it’s really important to find products that are in trend even if it is related to garments. You can’t sell 90’s pants, Hell, who would even buy them.
4. Non-beneficial products
Let’s take the example of the Fidget spinner. Why should buy them? What benefit will they provide to me other than spinning for a minute?
This is the common reason for failure in dropshipping. If you are trying to dropship products that won’t be beneficial to customers, then it may be difficult to sell them especially to mature people because they are the ones with the money.
So keep in mind before deciding on your products for dropshipping, that if the products can change your life, then they can change the life of others.
5. Easily available products
If the products, you want to dropship are easily available everywhere then it’s totally not a good idea to sell them.
Example – Dropshipping pens and pencils is the worst idea ever because they are available worldwide. Why would the customer want to buy from you and wait for the week and also pay for the delivery? When he can buy from the local shop within an hour.
Dropshipping such products is not a great idea at all. Try to find such products that are innovative and not easily available. Maybe a flying pen… Haha just kidding 🙂
But still, if you are still not sure about dropshipping products. I have covered the best products for dropshipping in 2021
What to do now? What things to keep in mind?
Now you know why dropshipping fails. So, before you start any business you need proper in-depth research about the market. Try to find your competitors and check them if they are doing any good in the market, If they are performing well in the market, copy their methods and come up with even better plans and ideas to outrank them.
I highly recommend using Tools like Ubersuggest and google trends to understand the market of any product. These tools will show you the demand as well as the trend of any product in the market.
Don’t spend more time planning, once you feel like this is the right product and strategy, then give it a go.
There are two possibilities either you win, or you fail and become wiser.
If you still have some confusion check out this article successful dropshipping stores by Oberlo at least it will inspire you to start your own dropshipping store.