How to Start a Dropshipping Business in South Africa in 2024?

Starting a Dropshipping Business in South Africa can be a little tricky. Unlike Western countries like the US or the UK, South Africa faces issues when it comes to delivery times from China. As you are aware, dropshippers almost always use Chinese suppliers to import and sell trendy products, all without keeping any inventory on hand. So, would a dropshipping business model work in South Africa? Can you really start a dropshipping business in South Africa in 2024? Let's find out.

How do you Start a Dropshipping Business in South Africa?

It is absolutely possible to start a dropshipping business in South Africa in 2024, despite the challenges you may face. In 2024, the competition is high and many popular niches are saturated with tons of suppliers, tons of retailers, and of course, plenty of knock-offs.

So, how do you dominate this market? The answer is, you don't. But this is where it gets tricky.

One solid piece of advice that almost always works for a dropshipping business is to focus on untapped, unfocused niches. This is the most difficult part of the process. Once you find the right niche for your business, however, everything else is pretty straightforward.

How do I find the Right Niche for my Dropshipping Business?

Research, research, and more research!

Thanks to the internet, research is almost free and anybody can do it. First of all, decide on an umbrella niche you would want to research. This will also help you identify your target audience and your competition.

Under your umbrella niche, research what kind of products have a high demand. Unless there's a potential market you can tap into with these high-demand products, you will automatically scratch them off your list. Now, your goal is to find a certain niche that has a high demand but low competition in the market. This is where understanding trends comes in handy. How do you do that? Keyword and trend research, of course.

We highly recommend tools like Google Keyword Research, Google Trends, Facebook Audience Insights, and Keywords Everywhere. Google Keyword Research requires a Google Ads account.

Use these tools to specify your keyword research. Use long-tailed keywords to explore specific niches and your competition and decide on your niche accordingly. Take a deep dive to find the right niche for your dropshipping business.

If you can see that a certain product is about to get trendy, you can capitalise on it. The key here is to stay ahead of the competition.

"Do your keyword and trend research, try to find a high-demand low-competition market to decide on your niche."

I got my Niche. What Now?

If you have found a perfect niche for your business, you have crossed the biggest obstacle. However, it's not over yet. Your next step is to find the right suppliers for your niche.

We have mentioned a few Dropshipping Suppliers in South Africa in 2024 in another article. Make sure to give it a read.

However, if you have an obscure niche, you may have a hard time finding the right supplier. You may have to expand your supplier search outside of South Africa. In this case, be aware of the market demand, delivery time and costs, and product quality.

Once you get a supplier, order a few samples for quality check. Remember, as a dropshipper, you have little to no control over product quality and logistics. Thus a background check will add that extra layer of relief for your business. The trust between a dropshipper and a supplier is crucial if you want the business to thrive.

"Finding the right supplier is the key to making your dropshipping business happen. Before finalising a supplier, order some product samples from them. Do some quality checks as you have little to no control over product quality, packaging, and shipping."

You must get an E-Commerce Website

Now, you need a medium to connect your suppliers directly to your customers. The answer is an E-Commerce Website. Getting a website for your dropshipping business is a relatively easy task.

In 2024, you can simply build a store with Shopify with a monthly fee or you can get a customised store completely built from scratch within South Africa with the help of a web designer.

Some dropshipping platforms in South Africa such as DropStore or ShopStar also provide you a web design along with a few dropshipping products at a monthly cost.

What option you would want to choose depends on how you want to represent yourself as a dropshipping business. For a fully personalised and customised website, we would highly recommend hiring a web designer to do this job for you.

"Hire a web designer to get a fully personalised dropshipping store that resonates with your branding. Or you can get premade websites from your dropshipping platform (if available) or build a website with Shopify."

Now, let's attract your audience

A dropshipping business thrives on trendy products. In such cases, what's better than a social media platform to advertise your business?

In South Africa, Meta Products such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook are the most popular. You may utilise their extensive and intuitive advertising tools to reach out to a specific set of audiences that resonates with your business.

Also, you can use these social media platforms to provide customer service.

Apart from that, you may also utilise Google Ads to further market the enticing products your dropshipping business has to offer.

Marketing can be a tricky affair. If you are confused about marketing, then instead of shooting arrows in the dark, you can hire a marketing team to help your business. A marketing team can streamline your marketing strategy, attracting the right customers to your business, thus effectively helping your revenue strategies.

"Marketing is the key to letting others hear about your business. If you are confused about how to market your business, consider hiring a marketing team for your business. Invest in the right people to avoid the risk of unexpected financial losses."

Drawbacks of Being a Dropshipper in South Africa

A dropshipping business is an easy business model that can help you understand a market without having to put your skin in the game.

However, that comes at a cost.

As a dropshipper, you are also competing with local retail markets. These retail businesses have already invested in a stock that they need to sell. On the other hand, a dropshipper does not invest in anything.

Now, if your direct competition is a retail store, you may find it hard to compete as a dropshipper. Since you do not invest in a stock, it translates as 'you are not as serious about your business as these retail stores' for some. Furthermore, if doing business with you means angering their retail partners, a supplier may feel reluctant to conduct business with you.

This makes finding a supplier challenging. This also marks the utmost importance of finding a niche that would not directly compete with local retail businesses. Also, as mentioned previously, the long delivery times and high costs are often not worth it if you choose a Chinese supplier.

However, there's a workaround to reduce costs and delivery time from ordering from China. Airpool is a South African service that consolidates various deliveries for South Africa and ships them as one package. We highly recommend checking them out for more information.

In Conclusion

Dropshipping in South Africa in 2024 is a totally doable option. The key is to understand the South African market competition and the dropshipping game. You may use a dropshipping business model to get a better understanding of the market or start a full-fledged dropshipping business. As long as the pros outweigh the cons, you should consider this low-cost investment business model.

Skill Space is currently developing a full-fledged course on how you can start a dropshipping business in South Africa. Meanwhile, did you know that you can also dropship on Takealot? By becoming a Takealot Seller in South Africa, you can also do dropshipping. The catch is that Takealot will use their branding as packaging before they deliver your products.

To find out how you can become a Takealot Seller, we highly recommend our Takealot Seller Course which is FREE for a limited time. Don't miss out and register with us today to take the course.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.