Dropshipping is a popular way for online stores to fulfill orders without holding inventory themselves. Instead, when a customer places an order, the retailer passes the order to a supplier, who ships the product directly to the customer. This model reduces the need for upfront investment and inventory management.
Recent data shows that more than 30% of ecommerce stores use dropshipping as their order fulfillment method. In terms of sales, approximately 23% of all online sales are fulfilled through dropshipping. This means that nearly one in four orders placed online is shipped by a supplier on behalf of the store, rather than from the store’s own warehouse.
The popularity of dropshipping is driven by its low barrier to entry and flexibility. Retailers can offer a wide variety of products without needing to buy stock in advance. However, dropshipping also comes with challenges, such as less control over shipping times and product quality, since these are managed by the supplier rather than the retailer.
To summarize:
- Over 30% of ecommerce stores use dropshipping to fulfill orders.
- About 23% of all online sales are fulfilled by dropshipping.
This shows that dropshipping is a significant and growing part of the ecommerce industry, offering both opportunities and challenges for online retailers.