Dropshipping During COVID-19

The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the world economy as well as eCommerce business. Figure out how to run your dropshipping during COVID-19 and to deal with many problems like delayed shipments, manufacturing losses, and a decrease in orders is a must thing to learn.

Beside the challenges that the pandemic has created, it has given dropshipping business owners quite a few opportunities to grow their business. Hence, today, we’ll explore several ways for you to maintain your dropshipping during COVID-19 as below.

The Impact on The Shopping Habits

Statistics from Statista’s COVID-19 Daily Barometer surveys show that there is a spike in online shopping, particularly 62% of Chinese respondents, 45% of Americans, 33% of those in the UK, and 26% of Germans increased compared to those before the pandemic.

On the other hand, as per SaaS platform provider Quantum Metric, there is an increase in online sales from traditional brick-and-mortar stores by 52% more than last year, and the conversion rates rose up by 8.8%.

There was a vast increase in sales in health products, face masks, instant food, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, vitamins, home cleaning tools, and other personal items as well during the pandemic.

The above figure may give you some clue about what you are going to do with your dropshipping during COVID-19. Since you will see the chances are still there. Increases in online purchasing and certain types of products mean that you can take those advantages for your dropshipping business.

Ads and Products Related to COVID-19

Since March, any content for personal protective equipment (PPE) connected with coronavirus has been ceased to display on many social media platforms plus search engines such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Shopify have complied with the rules by putting a stop to the sales of masks, hand sanitizer, and so on.

All advertisements related to COVID-19 were taken down from eBay and Shopify. In the meantime, Amazon still allowed the sales of existing stock but rejected to let customers upload new inventory.

Here are the reasons why all platforms have done that:

First, since those types of products are in high demand during the pandemic, many sellers are taking the advantages and putting up a much higher price to make a great profit from that.

Secondly, the purpose is to prevent a great number of products that do not meet the required standard for effective protection from COVID-19, hence should not be released on the market for use.

And finally, listing these products for sales online can lead to a shortage of resources while we can save them for health workers working on the front lines who need the most.

This can also be a great disadvantage since now you will be restricted more to those kinds of products. But it will not put an end to your dropshipping during COVID-19 and you can look for some other essential products which are also in high demand.

Shipping Fees and Delays: How these impact to dropshipping in COVID-19

An increase of at least 40-60% in shipping fees is one of the consequences of the pandemic. And it will be likely to go up more if the situation does not get better soon. The reason is that most of the commercial flights have been canceled. The remaining flights will be used for medical supplies transportation rather than non-essential products.

The demand for essential products is constantly increasing while the cargo space is quite limited. That helps to prevent the sellers to trade non-essential items. Moreover, governments around the world are trying to tighten their borders restricting incoming and outgoing flights which also are the reason for shipping delays.

If the coronavirus will not be contained, it is likely to create another increase in shipping fees as a result, which will also be a great challenge to your dropshipping during COVID-19.

How to Maintain Your Dropshipping During COVID-19

In this difficult situation, we have seen a lot of business closures and even bankruptcy since many dropshippers cannot carry on their dropshipping during COVID-19. In the meanwhile, others will seek a way to survive and take advantages of the pandemic where there is less competition. If you are among those, below are some suggestions for you:

Look For A Good Niche for your dropshipping in COVID-19

While selling PPE is restricted, you can look for another niche for your dropshipping during COVID-19 which is most likely to trade.

Amid the lockdowns, not only PPE is in high demand but also other products as people tend to purchase online more when they cannot go out. Groceries, toilet paper, home cleaning items, and other home apparel are among the products that are dramatically increased in sales. 

The reality that most gyms and spas were closed during the pandemic also lead to a rise in demand for home fitness and healthcare products.

Furthermore, since a lot of office workers are working from home, the demand for desktop accessories is increasing as well.

So, the pandemic and the lockdowns have put many businesses to suspensions, but you also have the choice to change your business structure and find another good niche to keep up your dropshipping during COVID-19.

Marketing campaign

It is understandable that with an increase in shipping costs and delays plus restriction on PPE, many sellers have chosen to cut down on the cost of advertising. However, we will give you some marketing suggestions before you take any action.

The first thing that can be named is email marketing. This is a productive way to sell products and to retain your customers. Especially to dropshipping, email marketing is effective in sending promotional information to your customers.

Next, try expanding to new territories. In case you cannot sell products in your area, change the target market then. However, remember to keep in mind language barriers while selling products to other territories.

Stay in touch with your dropshipping suppliers and your customers. It is critical to keep in touch with those to make sure everything is still under your control.

Conclusion

With many disadvantages as above, you can still see a lot of new chances awaiting you ahead. It is not easy to keep up your dropshipping during COVID-19 but it does not mean it is impossible. Your job is to think out of the box, make yourself ready to change, and grab the opportunities where available. Some suggestions we can give you are finding good products to sell in this situation, continue your marketing campaign effectively to retain your customers, and build their loyalty. Hope that this will help you a lot to your dropshipping during COVID-19.