Do you know it? Even the answer will always be “now” when asking for the good timing to start a dropshipping business online, but if you are a careful person determined to look for a proven answer—— 

 

This blog is going to help you find the golden opportunity out of “now” in 2023, the best part is, how to dropship for free!

 

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Blog Outline

- Dropshipping in Holiday Season

   Why is this year considered a good year for dropshipping?

   Q4 Holiday: a golden season to start dropshipping

- 5 steps to start dropshipping for free

   1. Profitable trends hunting (zero cost method)

     #Social platform apps on your phone

    #Trends study websites

    #Marketplace homepages

     5 popular dropshipping niches for the holiday season

    #1 Smart Home Accessories

    #2 Fashion & Jewelry

    #3 Pets

    #4 Gaming & Toys

    #5 Health and Wellness

  2. Find dropshipping supplier online (zero-cost method)

  3. Set up a selling page (zero-cost method)

  4. UGC marketing (zero-cost method)

  5. Order fulfillment & customer service

- Final Words

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Why Dropshipping?

 

Why did dropshipping become one of the most popular options to start a business?

 

First, we need to figure out how dropshipping model works: sellers only need to focus on marketing, and the third-party dropshipping suppliers will take care of the product and ship it to the customer’s address - for sellers, no inventory nor warehouse qualifications are needed.

 

The lower barrier of entry almost gives everyone a fair chance to start a business, since you don’t have to bear the risk of huge kick-off costs to try for it.

 

source: Google Trends

 

Why is this year considered a good year for dropshipping?

 

As the global trend of shifting towards online shopping persists, dropshipping as well keeps going to grow continuously.

 

On top of this, now is a year of eCom-emerging: The fast-developing AI techs provide more new possibilities to get people engaged and spend more time on eCom shopping.

 

Aftering going through a boom a few years ago, the dropshipping industry now is heading to a process of steady growth while expanding to a wider range.

 

source: grandviewresearch

 

Q4 Holiday: a golden season to start dropshipping

 

As projected by eMarketer, rose by 4.5%, the US retail spending is reaching $1.3 trillion during the 2023 holiday season.

 

eCommerce is set to represent nearly 20% of total sales, playing a substantial role by contributing 48.5% of the spending growth.

 

For Q4, the biggest holiday season of this year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, New Year’s Eve...

 

There are so many campaigns awaiting in the holiday season. Undoubtedly, each of them represents an excellent opportunity for dropshippers to make the best of it.

 

source: typecalendar

 

5 steps to start dropshipping for free

 

For dropshipping beginners, the 5 steps below are going to reveal some practical actions to start dropshipping in the holiday season with zero cost.

 

By leveraging the power of the Internet, it is easier than you think to get access to various resources you need with a laptop, or just using your smartphone.

 

1. Profitable trends hunting (zero cost method)

 

First, you need a winning product idea. Discovering trends for the holiday season is what you can try for free just by using the Internet no matter where you are.

 

The various social media apps we registered not only can be used as daily entertainment but also as hidden treasures for trends revealing.

 

#1 Social platform apps on your phone

 

According to the data, popular short video platform like TikTok is winning over Gen Z searchers. Over 40% of young people in the US are starting their online product research on TikTok.

 

A similar situation is also happening on Instagram with a wider age range of audiences who got higher spending power.

 

source: convinceandconvert

 

The next thing is all about letting the social media algorithms be your magic mirror.

 

You can search for hashtags like “XX finds” “XX must haves” “shopping haul”, follow successful influencers, and go to the explore page to find viral posts and items.

 

 

Don’t forget to like the content and leave some interactions so that you can have more pushes with valuable information you may need.

 

The above are only two out of the many choices, there are so many other platforms that can be dived in for free: You can find free winning product report videos on YouTube, join dropshipping Facebook groups to find more proven facts about what is selling well currently.

 

 

#2 Trends study websites

 

 

To evaluate whether a trend is going to rise up, or how long this trend is going to last, we need to let the data speak.

 

Trends study website like Google Trends is a necessary free tool to help you look over what kind of interests are increasing.

 

Of course, they are way more powerful than showing trends by region. Users can customize the filter and make comparisons among different keywords, and so much more to study by utilizing this tool.

 

#3 Marketplace homepages

 

Another place to sense trends is to check out the homepages of eCom marketplaces.

 

Those newly updated banners and new campaigns on the homepages reflect shoppers’ interests. Popular marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy are like old friends for online shoppers.

 

For dropshippers, you can also check the homepages of eCom supplier websites as well. Like the homepage of CJdropshipping where you can always find trends and new products updated on a weekly basis.

 

 

 

5 popular dropshipping niches for the holiday season

 

#1 Smart Home Accessories

 

source: explodingtopics

 

As a logical consequence of the fast development of technologies, the trends of smart home products of how they can bring more convenience and efficiency to peope become predictable.

 

From intelligent speakers that play your favorite tunes on command to automated lighting systems that create the perfect ambiance, these accessories are reshaping the way we interact with our living spaces.

 

The fact is that, the demand for smart home accessories is going to increase, making it a profitable dropshipping niche in the holiday season.

 

source: alidropship

#2 Fashion & Jewelry

 

source: Google Trends

 

Even though we can not get rid of the gloom of the recession, the interest in fashion doesn't seem to diminish in Q4.

 

Actually, as the longest season for gift giving, fashion jewelry continues to be one of the most popular niches to sell with a huge market base during this period of time.

 

source: explodingtopics

 

As the interactions between families and individuals reaching to a peak time in the holiday season, the fashion and jewelry niche remains a promising domain where self-expression and gifting desires intersect.

 

source: alidropship

 

#3 Pets

 

source: explodingtopics

 

With pets becoming integral members of families around the world, the demand for high-quality supplies and accessories continues to grow steadily on a high level of demand in the holiday season of this year.

 

For the pet supplies niche, the combination of genuine pet-owner connections and the holiday season's spirit of giving presents a golden opportunity to scale up your business.

 

By offering a diverse range of products that enhance pets' lives in order to cater to their owners' desires, emotional satisfaction is going to be an effective factor in increasing purchases of pet products.

 

source: alidropship

 

#4 Gaming & Toys

 

source: Google Trends

 

The demand for entertainment and gifting options for kids surges as well in the holiday season, making gaming & toys a dropshipping niche with great potential.

 

From video games that transport players to immersive worlds to educational toys for children, the gaming and toys sector offers a diverse range of products that can meet the needs of a wider range of ages.

 

For customers, holiday season with joy and wish-come-true that makes gaming & toys a rising niche.

 

source: alidropship

 

#5 Health and Wellness

 

source: explodingtopics

 

With a growing emphasis on self-care and well-being, consumers are actively seeking products that contribute to their health journey for themselves and their loved ones.

 

From fitness gear and supplements to mindfulness tools and self-care essentials, the demand for health and wellness products continues to rise up in the last quarter of this year.

 

Since health & wellness is a niche that meets both personal and gift-related needs, it’s no wonder that the number of individuals on the lookout for meaningful gifts that align with health goals is going to spike during the holiday season.

 

And it is going to be a timely and promising opportunity for a dropshipping business.

 

source: alidropship

 

2. Find dropshipping supplier online (zero-cost method)

 

Once you've identified a potential winning product for your first business, the next step is to find a suitable dropshipping supplier online, and of course, no need for any membership fee.

 

Speaking of which, it’s important to find a beginner-friendly supplier with no limit on MOQ so that you only have to pay what the shopper orders, even if it’s only a piece of a little item.

 

Looking for reliable dropshipping suppliers seems to be difficult at first, but in fact, there are dropshipping solution suppliers tailored to connect suppliers with new dropshippers that you can easily find online, like CJdropshipping.

 

Just simply search for the product name or image, and you will find various available options ready for you. Dropshippers can even source for a specific product for free by providing the product link and target price.

 

Without spending a dollar, your first winning product is ready for you to ship to your first customer.

 

 

3. Set up a selling page (zero-cost method)

 

After finding the available supplier, the next exciting step is to set up a selling page for your product. The shoppers are going to check the product details and make some purchases on this page.

 

For new dropshippers who are testing water at first, it may not be a good choice to list items on marketplaces like Amazon, or eBay since the listing will cost you money whether you have sales or not.

 

It’s recommended to create a new shopping page using a shopping website builder.

 

 

You can begin by selecting a platform that offers a free plan, such as Shopify, or a platform totally free like WED2C.

 

These platforms provide customizable templates and essential features for creating your online store including a product details page, checkout method, etc.

 

While setting up your store, it’s not necessary to enter all the product information by hand, dropshipping platforms like CJ offers an automatic listing service, which means you can sync product images, variants, and descriptions to your store listing with one click.

 

 

4. UGC Marketing (zero-cost method)

 

Now we are going to talk about the most creative and exciting part: how to do free ads for your dropshipping products.

 

We know that running Facebook ads is a common way to expose products to a wide range of audiences where potential shoppers hide.

 

But the cost of Facebook ads can be a burden especially when you are new to this game.

 

Then how to market for free? It’s time to take advantage of the power of social media platforms again.

 

 

Despite hunting for product ideas, creating and posting UGC content on popular social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube Shorts is what you can do to advertise your product for free.

 

Just like sharing your daily life, you don’t have to prepare HD product photos or professional product video shooting. What you can try to do is to shoot pov short-form videos with your phone, and post them on the platform.

 

There are tons of successful examples to prove this new way of marketing, so if you have no idea what kind of video to post, just pick up one as your reference.

 

By posting regularly and maintaining an active presence, social media platform marketing can be a good choice to drive traffic without any additional costs.

 

5. Order fulfillment & customer service

 

After receiving your first order, the next process that needs to be taken care of is the fulfillment process and customer service.

 

If you partnered with a one-stop dropshipping platform like CJ, the platform will automatically send out the parcel to the shopper’s address, which can save you lots of time.

 

But as a responsible dropshipper, you want to make sure the shopping experience is as smooth and pleasant as possible.

 

 

Remember to keep track of the fulfillment to avoid situations like out of stock, and choose a backup shipping line when the first one can not meet the estimated delivery time.

 

In cases of customer complaints, communicating openly with customers is important to build trust and manage their expectations. 

 

You can set expectations for shipping times on your website to manage customer anticipation, provide prompt and helpful responses to customer inquiries, to give them enough sense of security is key to building up a trustworthy dropshipping business that can run in the long term.

 

 

Final Words

 

Dropshipping offers a practical way to make it easy for people to start an online business. By leveraging free resources around you, kicking off a new eCom idea without loads of upfront investment is no longer only a story in your dream.

 

It offers a glimpse of future opportunities, where the integration of emerging technologies like AR and AI can elevate your dropshipping game.

 

As the holiday season approaches, seize the chance to not only make a splash in the dropshipping world but also to pave the way for a thriving entrepreneurial journey ahead.

 

We believe that this is only the beginning of your dropshipping adventure, so stay attuned to industry trends and consumer behavior shifts, there will always be exciting opportunities for your business on the way to scale up!