5 Upcoming Trends that Will Shape Up the Dropshipping Industry in 2024
With the new year knocking on our doors, it’s time to discuss new trends that are expected to have a significant impact on the dropshipping industry in 2024. Regardless if you are a newbie who just entered the dropshipping industry or an experienced dropshipper with a developed business, you need to look forward to the new year with revived energy and a positive mindset.
Most importantly, you already should be on top of the trends that await the dropshipping industry in 2024. In other words, as a dropshipper, you should be familiar with everything that will certainly change and shape up the face of this industry in the upcoming 2024 and beyond.
Being one of the most profitable industries that don’t stop flourishing all year long, regardless of the season, whether it’s during peak season eCommerce or not, dropshipping will not stop intriguing and surprising us even in 2024.
The rise of mCommerce
With today’s rapid mobile penetration on a global scale, it’s almost impossible not to expect the expansion of mobile shopping. It’s, indeed, one of the trends that will be on the rise and that will mark the dropshipping industry in the upcoming 2024.
So, how to prepare your dropshipping business for this trend? When designing your dropshipping website, focus on developing a user-friendly mobile design so that your customers can freely and easily make a purchase. The challenge is to test user experience and come up with a design that is simple and easy to navigate. After launching your website, track and monitor your checkout process to see if everything is as smooth as possible and that you don’t have a high cart abandonment rate.
The year of omnichannel transformation
A seamless, unique, and fully integrated online shopping experience is something that you should strive to deliver to your customers. The growth of dropshipping stores in the upcoming 2024 will heavily rely on this trend which many business owners still take for granted.
Known by the term ‘omnichannel’, this approach is the only one that could bring a fully unified shopping experience. What does omnichannel mean exactly? Simply put, an omnichannel experience is an integrated experience that is intertwined across multiple devices and channels.
If there’s only one industry that mostly benefits from omnichannel, we can safely conclude that it’s the eCommerce industry. The accelerated use of omnichannel strategies in the eCommerce sector might be due to the Covid-19-related lockdowns which urged everyone to move from retail to eCommerce. Store owners started moving their operations online and buyers began to develop habits of online buying which will undoubtedly remain. This frequent online buying further imposed the need for a smoother shopping experience which requires a solid omnichannel strategy and business transformation.
As a dropshipper, you should invest time and money into this trend that will shape the dropshipping industry in 2024. Omnichannel transformation should include taking advantage of several channels in your campaigns rather than a single one. It is known that businesses that engage their customers in omnichannel marketing have higher conversion and customer retention rates. The first step toward establishing a proper strategy is identifying your buyer persona(s). The second step is determining which channels are best suited for their needs, requirements, and habits.
VR and AR for the ultimate shopping experience
‘Try before you buy’ has become the new normal in dropshipping. With the rapid growth of advanced technologies, dropshipping store owners are looking into virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as a way to present their customers with a more immersive personalized experience.
If you still haven’t explored the benefits that VR and AR hold for your dropshipping business, 2024 is the perfect time to do it. Particularly, if you are operating in the fashion eCommerce industry, adopting VR and AR features can really transform your customers’ experience with your dropshipping store and the products you sell.
Digital voice assistants are the new normal
Another technological advancement that is emerging at a fast pace is voice search. Amazon Echo, Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, or Google Home are more likely to be used for online searches in the upcoming 2024 while people are multitasking at home, work, or even while driving. Therefore, if you still haven’t optimized your dropshipping store for voice search, we ensure you that missing a golden opportunity because this trend will transform the dropshipping industry in 2024.
How to optimize your dropshipping store for voice search? First and foremost, research the most common questions in your niche that people ask search engines and digital voice assistants. Then, optimize your content to answer these questions and more similar to them.
Automation is vital
How to save time and money for your dropshipping business in 2024? One word – automation. Automation will be one of the trends that will shape up the dropshipping industry in 2024 and there’s no surprise about it. Instead of focusing on managing a hundred things at a time manually, you should employ a strategic plan for automating your dropshipping business.
Automation doesn’t always refer to advanced technology solutions. As a dropshipper, you can use a myriad of steps to simplify and automate your business activities. One thing should seek is a dropshipping supplier who can automate things for you by offering an automated integration with eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and WooCommerce. Additionally, when it comes to automation, the more aspects you try to automate, the better. Using tools for automating various tasks, including email marketing, SEO, tracking orders, and more, can help you run a smoother business without any hurdles.
In a nutshell
Keeping up with the upcoming trends that are forecasted to shape the dropshipping industry in 2024 is fundamental for establishing a profitable business. From the aforementioned trends, we can conclude that the dropshipping industry, even more, as the eCommerce industry as a whole depends on the advances in technology. In short, the ability to adapt your business and mindset to the latest practices that contemporary technology brings us is vital. Only by transforming your business to be in line with these upcoming trends, you can thrive in the dropshipping industry in 2024, achieve your company’s goals, and outperform your competitors.
About the Author
Kristina Gjorgievska
Kristina, Head of Content at BrandsGateway. Eternal inspiration: The Doors music and lyrics, Bernardo Bertolucci's timeless “Stealing Beauty”, and the dynamic and meditative Ashtanga Yoga.
