55+ Useful Dropshipping Industry Statistics & Facts (Latest Numbers)

If you’re starting a dropshipping store, it’s crucial to know the facts & statistics about dropshipping to gain a holistic view of the model and make any necessary changes to grow your business more reliably.

This post will show you the 55+ most useful ones of them.

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General Dropshipping Industry Statistics & Facts

Dropshipping is not dead. It’s a fulfillment model that has been around since the 1960s and is now being used by globally recognized brands like Wish, Gymshark, Zappos, and Wayfair.
The global dropshipping market size is anticipated to increase from $102.2 billion in 2018 to $557.9 billion in 2025, registering a whopping CAGR of 28.8%.
North America dominated the dropshipping market with a share of 35.6%.
Electronics accounts for over 30% of the market revenue, making it the largest dropshipping segment. It’s followed by fashion (28%), toys & hobbies (20%), furniture & appliances (18%), and food & personal care (4%).
In 2022, about 703,000 people per month globally searched for the word “dropshipping.”
From 2020 to 2022, the number of people searching for “what is dropshipping” and “how to start dropshipping” has almost doubled.
Approximately 23% of online sales are fulfilled via dropshipping, which is equal to roughly $85 billion per year.
22%-33% of online stores use dropshipping as their primary fulfillment method.
84% of online sellers find that establishing a dropshipping supplier or wholesaler relationship is the #1 roadblock to starting an online business.
The average profit of a manufacturer who dropships is 18.33% higher than a manufacturer that uses traditional channels.
18% of retailers increase their inventory and sales with the help of dropshipping.
eCommerce retailers who use dropshipping can potentially be 50% more profitable than retailers who deal with an onsite inventory.
Dropshipping revenue and income grow by more than 44% compared to the previous year.
The average dropshipping conversion rate is 2.33%, an increase from 1.74% of the prior year.
The average dropshipping gross profit margin is 32%, while the median net margin is 15%.
The average dropshipping order value is $150.
Dropshipping ad costs have gone up this year, with merchants reporting an increase of 15% from last year.
AliExpress is the most popular marketplace to find ideas for winning dropshipping products.
Ecomhunt is the most popular dropshipping product research tool.
It’s estimated that the dropshipping success rate is below 10%.
It takes on average 3 months to make profits out of your dropshipping store.
The recommended markup for dropshipping products is 200%-250%.
The average gross profit margin for the jewelry dropshipping niche is 42.6% and for watches is 30%-50%.

Shopify Dropshipping Statistics & Facts

Shopify is the most popular eCommerce platform to create a dropshipping store.
The USA has the highest percentage of Shopify dropshipping stores (62.8%). The second and third are Canada (8%) and Australia (7.4%).
12.82% of Shopify stores sell at least one dropshipping product, while 7.10% of goods sold through the platform are fulfilled from a dropshipping service.
Most Shopify dropshippers have 50-200 products listed on their website.
Clothing products (20.8%) are the most popular products being dropshipped on Shopify right now. Jewelry & watches, home & garden, and fashion accessories are close in terms of the number of items being dropshipped.
It costs less than $50 to start dropshipping on Shopify. However, the total recommended dropshipping startup costs are around $2,500.

eBay & Amazon Dropshipping Statistics & Facts

The total dropshipping transactions on eBay have grown by 146% over the past few years.
The top 10% of eBay dropshippers make on average $7,731/month in profit, while the average ones make $807/month. A quarter of eBay dropshippers are making more than $1,000 profit/month.
The average eBay dropshipper is making a $2.67 profit on every sale. The top 10% are making a $3.64 profit on each sale, while on the flip side of the coin, the bottom 10% are making a loss of $2.53.
The average eBay dropshipper processes 969 orders/month, whereas the top 10% are handling 4,759.
In general, eBay dropshipping has lower profit margins than other forms of e-commerce. The average front-end profit margin for eBay dropshippers is 6% while the average for e-commerce is around 30-40%.
eBay dropshippers are making an average of $693/month in cashback profit.
Dropshipping accounts for 34% of items sold on Amazon.
The following are characteristics of dropshipping products that sell well on Amazon and eBay: small and lightweight (shoebox size with a weight less than 4 lbs), non-seasonal, and priced between $15 and $200.

Print-On-Demand Dropshipping Statistics & Facts

The global print-on-demand dropshipping market size was valued at $4.90 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 26.1% from 2022 to 2030.
North America dominated the print-on-demand dropshipping market.
The apparel segment accounted for the largest print-on-demand revenue share (39.6%). It’s followed by the home decor sector (30.4%), drinkware (15%), accessories (10%), and others (5%).
The top trending print-on-demand products in 2022 are hoodies, sportswear, premium t-shirts, eco-friendly products, hats, stationery, wall art, phone cases, drinkware, and bags.
1 out of 5 customers is willing to pay up to 20% extra for personalized products and services.
Printful is the most popular print-on-demand dropshipping service with 26% of Shopify stores using it to fulfill orders.
The overall best-selling Printful products in 2021 were print-on-demand t-shirts and sweatshirts for the apparel category and mugs and posters for the home & living category.
In 2018, more than 10,000 Shopify stores have integrated a print-on-demand dropshipping shop.

Marketing Statistics & Facts To Know To Start Dropshipping Successfully

Facebook advertising & email marketing are the most popular methods to promote a dropshipping store.
TikTok is quickly becoming a marketing destination for toy companies.
Pinterest is the number one social media in terms of mobile engagement. 66% of users on Pinterest buy something after seeing a brand’s Pins.
The most popular categories on Pinterest are home decor (accounting for 69% of all users), beauty (50%), women’s fashion (46%), sport & travel (39%), gardening (35%), health (33%), electronics (30%), and men’s fashion (13%).
90% of millennials stated that they would make a purchase based on recommendations by an influencer.
The top interests people pursue on Instagram are travel (45%), fashion (42%), health & fitness (35%), skincare & cosmetics (30%), and sports (30%).
User-generated content can increase conversion rates by as much as 4.5% compared to paid advertisements.
51% of shoppers surveyed say that they use Google to research a purchase they plan to make online. And, 69% are more likely to buy from a store that addresses their questions.
The dropshipping industry with the highest conversion rate is fitness, averaging 14.29%. The next ones are healthcare (11.00%), beauty (7.10%), home improvement (6.56%), and apparel (4.11%).
9 out of 10 buyers say that free shipping is the number one incentive to shop online more. Orders with free shipping also average around 30% higher in value.
7% of people abandoned their shopping carts because the retailer didn’t offer enough payment methods.
If page loading times change from 1 second to 3 seconds, bounce rates on mobile sites increase 32%.
Research points out that 70% of the customers form a brand impression, solely based on the packaging. In addition, a whopping 55% of customers admitted to providing repeat purchases to the sites that gave them customized packages.

You can also check out these other useful eCommerce statistics which are closely related to the dropshipping business.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these statistics & facts can help you gain a more holistic view of dropshipping and assist you in deciding whether the model is worth trying.

For more information on starting a profitable dropshipping business, check out our complete dropshipping checklist.