Dropshipping has become a popular strategy for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start an online store without making a heavy front-end investment. With a dropshipping business model, sellers purchase products from suppliers only after they make the sale, making this a low-risk gateway to the e-commerce world.
In fact, the dropshipping industry has boomed over the last five years: The global dropshipping market was valued at $226 billion in 2022 and is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4% from 2023 to 2030 (source: Grand View Research).
The question now is, how can entrepreneurs harness the benefits of this dropshipping boom and stay competitive in a saturated e-commerce market?
They’ll need to find the best dropshipping products to engage customers and drive revenue. They’ll also need the right marketing strategies to effectively scale their reach and promote those products to their target audiences. (You can also consult our dropshipping guide and list of the best dropshipping platforms to get started.)
In this article, we’ll uncover the best items to dropship along with a roadmap for advertising them to improve sales. Whether you’re a fledgling e-commerce entrepreneur or a seasoned online business owner looking to expand, these insights will help you steer your dropshipping venture towards success.
Identifying the Best Dropshipping Products
The backbone of a successful dropshipping business is a well-researched and carefully selected product catalog. These products will not only define your brand but also play a crucial role in attracting and retaining customers.
The best dropshipping items should be in high demand yet unique enough to stand out in a crowded e-commerce marketplace. The best products for dropshipping should also offer clear value to your customers, helping them solve a problem or fulfill a need in their everyday lives.
Here, we’ll explore trending dropship products that have proven to be successful — from dropshipping niches for specific customers to high-ticket dropshipping products — so you can find the right fits for your venture.
1. Tech Gadgets & Electronics
Tech gadgets and electronics are among the most popular products on Amazon, making them a great option for dropshippers. From smartwatches to Bluetooth earbuds, trending Amazon products like tech gadgets offer a vast array of options for e-commerce sellers. These items often have a high perceived value and can yield substantial profits due to their technological appeal.
Electronics also span a broad range of categories, including cameras, mobile accessories, and gaming consoles. These products often have a dedicated and passionate user base of customers who are ready to spend on the latest releases. Across the Taboola network, for example, readers are flocking to content about the new Apple Vision Pro headset, according to data pulled on March 21, 2024:
2. Activewear
Health and wellness trends have been skyrocketing since the pandemic and, as part of this movement, customers are embracing activewear of all kinds. With more people adopting healthy lifestyles and fitness activities, products like yoga pants, performance shirts, and gym accessories are in high demand.
As our keyword data shows, activewear brands like Adidas are also driving increased traffic for publishers across the Taboola network:
3. Beauty
The beauty and cosmetics industry has been steadily growing for roughly two decades, with skincare and personal care products dominating sales (source: Statista). Influencer marketing has also played a significant role in this sector’s growth, making products like makeup brushes, skincare tools, and niche beauty devices highly profitable.
Across the Taboola network, content with the keyword “makeup” alone has generated over 1.2 million pageviews in the last 90 days:
4. Fast Fashion
Clothing trends can be short-lived, which makes fashion apparel — especially fast fashion items — a tricky yet potentially profitable category for dropshippers. With the rise of influencer culture, for example, certain clothing styles can become overnight sensations, offering significant returns and great dropshipping business ideas for apparel dropshippers who stay on top of industry trends.
Just look at how readers on the Taboola network are driving up pageviews for content related to fashion trends:
5. Home & Kitchen
With more and more people spending time at home, customers are investing in products that improve their living spaces. Just look at the increase in pageviews for IKEA-related content on the Taboola publisher network:
Home items that offer convenience and accessibility, such as kitchen gadgets or smart LED lighting, or those that add aesthetic appeal, such as floating shelves and artsy posters, can be ideal contenders for dropshippers.
How to Advertise Your Dropshipping Products
After selecting the type of products you want to feature in your dropshipping store, the next step is to craft and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy. It’s important to identify strategies that not only drive traffic to your e-commerce platform but also effectively engage visitors and turn them into loyal customers.
Remember that, to ensure profitability, you’ll want to launch campaigns that achieve a break-even return on ad spend (ROAS) above 2. You’ll also want to set a well-defined budget and clear objectives to guide your marketing efforts.
To help you get started, we’ll dive into some of these to e-commerce marketing strategies for dropshipping:
1. Understand Your Audience
Before you launch any advertising campaigns, it’s essential to understand who you’re selling to. Conduct market research to identify your target audience and pinpoint their content preferences and behaviors. This way, you can build ads that are tailored to their interests, helping to increase brand engagement and performance results.
2. Leverage Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms are modern-day marketplaces that sellers can use to gain brand visibility and drive purchases — all in one place. Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, for example, allow you to showcase your products through targeted ads and even set up shoppable pages directly on their apps. You can also drum up social media engagement with compelling images and copy, and then direct users back to your e-commerce site to make a purchase.
3. Launch Native Advertising Campaigns
Native advertising is an effective way to seamlessly introduce your dropshipping products to potential customers without interrupting their online experience. Since native ads match the form and context of their surrounding content, they can be more user-friendly and effective than traditional advertisements.
For instance, your ads might take the form of sponsored content on new websites, recommended products on e-commerce platforms, or paid posts within social media feeds. Each of these innovative formats can help build awareness and interest in a way that’s non-intrusive.
Leading native advertising platforms like Taboola can also help you significantly boost engagement rates and drive conversions while maintaining a trustworthy, brand-safe experience. Going further, you can use Taboola’s templates from Wix, WordPress, and Instapage to easily build high-quality landing pages for your native ads.
4. Create Advertorials
Advertorials are key to building brand awareness across social and native channels. These innovative content placements combine the high-quality storytelling of editorials with the compelling promotions of ads. As such, dropshippers can use advertorials to engage new audiences on platforms like Meta and Taboola, and share valuable pre-click information that motivates customers to keep moving through the funnel.
5. Optimize for SEO
Use proven SEO strategies to enhance your on-page content and boost your website’s ranking in search results. For instance, you can build copy, blog posts, and video content around keywords and search queries that are relevant to your audience. This SEO strategy can help potential customers find your content via search engines and drive website traffic.
6. Use Email Marketing Strategies
Nurturing leads through email marketing can be an effective way to convert prospects into customers and build long-term success. Once you’re able to capture email addresses and establish a list of subscribers, keep those users engaged with regular newsletters, special promotions or discounts, and exclusive access to new products.
7. Develop Content Marketing Assets
Build creative content experiences that educate and inform readers about the products you’re selling. You can choose from many types of content marketing, including blog posts, podcasts, infographics, and videos.
A strong content marketing strategy won’t just help build credibility and trust with your audience. It can also expand your reach and drive organic traffic, especially if your content is high-quality and easy to share.
Final Thoughts on Best Dropshipping Products
Dropshipping can be a lucrative e-commerce model when paired with the right products and a strong marketing strategy. As you launch or expand your business, remember to choose hot-button items that are trending among today’s shoppers and promote them with innovative advertising tactics, so you can build a thriving e-commerce store that fuels long-term success.
Native advertising, for example, is essential to the dropshipping business model. By fine-tuning native ads to the interests and content experiences of your target audiences, you can drive valuable engagement that leads to website traffic and ultimately conversions for your thriving online store.
Start launching your native ads with Taboola.