Traditionally speaking, the concept of having a store means that you have to maintain a stock of inventory so that you could make the product available to the customer when he orders for it.
But in the online world, dropshipping is a bit different; you don’t have to maintain the stock of inventory. You just have to display the list of products from the suppliers’ catalog on your website. When customers place the order, you transfer the order to the supplier and he’s responsible for delivering the order to the customers.
Dropshipping business offers a lot of advantages like; low management cost, place flexibility, you can offer a variety of products, less capital, and online business. You should be aware of its disadvantages as well like; highly competitive, low-profit margin, and lower control over the quality of products.
The difference between dropshipping and ecommerce is that you don’t have to maintain the stock of inventory in dropshipping business. But you have to keep the stock of inventory in the eCommerce business.
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Ecommerce Platform Statistics
According to a study, the ecommerce sale would reach up to 4.9 trillion US dollars by the end of 2021.
- According to a study conducted by Harvard Business School, our subconscious mind makes 95% of the purchase decision.
- By the end of 2040, 95% of total shopping would be done online.
- 61% of the US online customers have made up their shopping mind through recommendation.
- 55% of online shoppers share their bad experiences with their friends and family about the product or company.
- 93.5% of internet users buy products online.
- 76% of people prefer to visit the real store during holidays shopping.
- The ecommerce industry is growing at the rate of 23% annually, while 46% of the American businesses don’t have their website.
How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Platform for Dropshipping
These statistics must have made your mind about the importance of ecommerce and dropshipping business. Now, the question is how to choose the best ecommerce platform for dropshipping, because there are various types of e-commerce platforms. Therefore, you should choose the platform based on the following criteria; user-friendly, ecommerce feature, time and cost, support, and scalability.
List of Ecommerce Platforms for Your Business
Here’s the list of some of the world’s best dropshipping ecommerce platforms;
- Magento
- WooCommerce
- Shopify
- OpenCart
- BigCommerce
Now, we’ll discuss them in detail one by one. Here they follow;
Magento
Magento is one of the world’s leading dropshipping ecommerce platforms. It has two versions available to the customers; Magento 1 and Magento 2. Whereas it offers 2 editions to its clients; free and premium service, now it’s up to the customer whatever they choose.
Some say Magento is a bit complicated for beginners. But it’s a user-friendly platform for developers because it involves the knowledge of programming. That’s why the majority of the drop shippers that are using the Magento platform have to hire a professional developer for this purpose.
Pricing. The pricing and startup cost Magento depend on the budget of the owner because it offers two editions; free and premium. But you’d need to hire a professional developer for your Magento website and it would cost you approximately 3000 to 5000 US dollars with the time duration of 1 to 3 months period.
User-friendly Platform. Magento is a very user-friendly platform for customers. But the back-end of the platform is very technical, and the admin must be very proficient with the technical knowledge. But with the frequent use of its users’ guide, you can become pro.
Support. Magento is not a new platform and many people are using it. Therefore, you won’t need to contact its officials in case of an emergency. Even if you do, you’ll find a plethora of tutorial videos on YouTube to guide you. If online material doesn’t help, then you can hire a professional Magento developer to fix your problems.
Ecommerce Functionalities. Some of the most common ecommerce features of Magento are; SEO, speedy loading, marketing tools, user-friendly product catalog page, highly secure, site management, and easy and smooth checkout from the dropshipping platform.
WooCommerce
Woocommerce is also a very famous and widely used world’s leading dropshipping ecommerce platform. If you’re new into this field and you want everything basic simple, then woocommerce is a great option choice for you. According to an estimate, the market share of woocommerce is comprised of 28% of total ecommerce stores.
If you compare it with Magento, then woocommerce is very simple and easy that you can install it in a few clicks. However, it also offers some advanced features like user friendly for non-technical users.
Pricing. Woocommerce is a feature and free plug-in of WordPress. First of all, you have to create a website through WordPress, and then install the plug-in of woo commerce from the store. The pricing and the setup cost of WooCommerce would be within the range of 1500 to 3000 US dollars, and you would have to buy some plug-ins if you want some additional customization.
User-friendly Platform. It’s a very user-friendly platform for non-tech users, and the user guide offers comprehensive answers to all the questions. But from the developers’ point of view, its customization is very different and you can’t do it without plug-ins.
Support. If you come across any trouble, then you can find the answer from the user. Or you can watch the tutorials on YouTube for visuals guide.
Ecommerce Functionalities. Some of the glaring features and functions of the woocommerce are; preinstalled payment method, product catalog, geographical location, auto taxation, inventory management, sales report, discounts and coupons, shipping method, and shipping calculation, etc. Furthermore, WooCommerce offers 75000 plug-ins to its user for various types of customizations.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most powerful and best dropshipping ecommerce platforms. According to an estimate, Shopify has approximately more than 600,000 dropshipping websites and ecommerce stores over the internet worldwide. The company acquired the Oberlo (dropshipping plug-in) in 2016, which helps the users to complete the order and make the product imports easy.
Pricing. The pricing of Shopify is a bit different from other dropshipping ecommerce platforms. Shopify isn’t free, you have to pay round about 29 to 299 US dollars per month depending upon the types and variety of features you’re using. Shopify offers only 10 free themes. If you want more, then you have to buy it from Shopify.
Most importantly, the payment method of Shopify is free. But if you want an internal/external payment gateway, then Shopify would charge you a certain commission on per sale.
User-friendly Platform. If you’re a non-tech person, then Shopify is a great option for you. You just have to create your account, select your payment plan, choose the theme, and start building your dropshipping website. You can get used to its platform very easily.
Support. Shopify provides 24/7 support through many ways like emails, phone, text messaging, etc. some critics say that its live chat and text messaging are robotic and it doesn’t help you on some occasions. However, sending emails would get you a real answer.
Ecommerce Functionalities. Some of the prominent features and functions of Shopify are; orders and customers management, product catalog management, themes setting, multiple languages and currencies, taxation system, SEO, hosting, payment via credit cards, etc.
OpenCart
Opencart is one of the few free and easy to use dropshipping ecommerce platform that one should consider. Both Magento and Opencart are two such powerful platforms that have great resemblance like easy to use for tech-savvy and open source. However, Opencart doesn’t have a large customer database. It’s not more robust and famous like Magento.
Pricing. Having said that earlier that it’s a free open-source platform, it also provides you a lifetime free support and free updates. The only cost that comes from using the OpenCart is if you hire any developer to manage your dropshipping platform.
User-friendly Platform. Opencart is usually preferred for the Tech-savvy personals. It doesn’t mean non-tech persons can’t learn it. The interface of opencart is user friendly.
Support. If you come across any trouble or you have any questions, then you can email it to their support team. You can also join their social media platforms to discuss with likeminded people.
Ecommerce Functionalities. Some of the functions and features of the dropshipping ecommerce platforms are; multiple currencies, unlimited product categories, shipping methods, coupons creations, payment methods, sales reports, backup and restore, etc.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is one of the world’s leading hosted dropshipping ecommerce platforms. According to estimate approximately over 500000 ecommerce platforms and dropshipping websites are using the big commerce.
Pricing. Bigcommerce offers 15 days of the free trial period. You must choose any of the company’s provided packages (standard, Plus, and Pro) after the free trial.
User-friendly Platform. Bigcommerce is a very user-friendly and easy to use hosted platform. Even if you’re a non-tech person, just install any of your favorite themes and start using it.
Support. Like Shopify, Bigcommerce also provides you 24/7 support via email, phone, live chat, or discussion forum.
Ecommerce Functionalities. Some of the features of Bigcommerce are multiple payment methods, inventory management, product catalog, shipping HQ, taxation, marketing features, etc.
What Next
Different platforms offer different features and functions, and the requirements for different product categories are different. Therefore, you should choose the ecommerce platform relevant to your product category and budget and business
