The global dropshipping market is already massive, valued at $301 billion with a projected CAGR of 28.4% between 2023 and 2031.
To most people, the dropshipping model just makes sense – minimal overheads, maximum potential. You have a website with products, partner with a third-party company, and buy from the third-party company when someone buys from you. There’s no real risk; money is only spent when the customer spends money: that’s the basics of dropshipping. Still, the potential is the keyword. Not all dropshipping models work, but the right product at the right time can.
Read on to learn about three of the most successful dropshipping businesses.
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Alibaba/AliExpress
Alibaba/AliExpress is more of a success story of a dropshipping platform than a business that follows a dropshipping model.
It’s essentially a Chinese company that sells products from Chinese companies – a bit like Wish, but some people think AliExpress sells better products. AliExpress also has a sister company, AliBaba, which handles B2B sales, whereas AliExpress is B2C. You can buy anything from a toothbrush to Chinese manufacturing robots across the platform.
Created by the Alibaba Group in 2010, the platform brings together Chinese companies using a dropshipping model that quickly became one of the biggest online marketplaces with a current net worth of 71.3 billion yuan ($9.82 billion) in its fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024. Contributing to that was the fact that the AliExpress order volume increased by 60% year-over-year, leading to a 44% year-over-year growth for the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.
And it’s not even that all the products are good – it’s that you can buy literally anything for a fraction of the price of a standard store.
Printful
Printful – a print-on-demand company founded in 2013 in California – is one of the most successful companies that utilizes custom design and sells dropshipping models. Printful’s tri-order potential made it successful – you can sell online, order for yourself, or get enterprise support. With Printful, you can buy anything from a custom shirt embroidery to a pullover hoodie.
Experiencing massive growth in 2021, with revenue reaching more than $289 million, increasing by 39% from 2020 when they generated $208 million in revenue, Printful rapidly became the go-to company for on-demand printing.
What sets Printful apart is that it’s more than a dropshipping model selling printed clothes – it’s a business that helps businesses, with an in-house team of 1,000+ experts and a global in-house network of 13 facilities, handling all the hard work to let brands focus on growth.
Their Printful Enterprise section partners with Snow Commerce for full-service store management, global e-commerce focus, and unrivaled quality and solutions. It’s a business that helps businesses and sells products, and we love that.
Wayfair
Wayfair is one of the biggest brands focusing on everything home that uses a dropshipping model. From the outside, you absolutely wouldn’t think it uses a dropshipping model, but all its products come from third-party, high-quality suppliers. They now partner with over 7,000 different vendors and sell over 7 million items – insane numbers for one website.
Founded in 2008, Wayfair saw a massive surge in its global revenue in 2012 after a few up and down years, generating $600 million in one year, and has since generated $12 billion across just over a decade.
More recent stats – in the third quarter of 2023, they generated $13 million in revenue, a 0.4% increase year-over-year to reach a total value of $3.1. Insane numbers and proof that student initial growth doesn’t indicate a failing business.
There are tons of dropshipping success stories – the model just makes sense. There’s little risk: a website, vendor partnership, and some marketing, and the potential is there. If it fails, the cost of the website and some marketing are the only loss.
Do you think you could set up a dropshipping business?
Final Words
Dropshipping has emerged as a transformative model in modern business, offering entrepreneurs a low-barrier entry into the e-commerce world. By eliminating the need for inventory management and upfront investment in goods, it allows businesses to focus on marketing, customer service, and scaling operations.
While it comes with its own set of challenges, such as fierce competition and reliance on third-party suppliers, dropshipping offers significant flexibility and scalability. As technology continues to evolve and consumer behavior shifts, dropshipping will likely remain an integral part of the global business landscape, providing opportunities for both startups and established companies to innovate and thrive.
