AliExpress has changed the way eCommerce businesses have always maintained their inventory and delivered the product to a customer.
Let me describe dropshipping first. Dropshipping means the customer and the supplier or manufacturer directly come into contact through the third party to sell and purchase the materials required and the supplier or manufacturer will ship the product directly and the third party will only help them come in contact with each other.
This business model is very easy and less expensive to adopt for a new business because there is no need for inventory management and shipping management to worry about or invest in.
This model has helped many other startups initiate their business successfully and make a decent revenue than their competitors.
So, let’s discuss the things you need to be aware of dropshipping and how AliExpess is using it successfully for their business.
Before we jump into the above-mentioned let’s know a little more about AliExpress first.
About AliExpress:
AliExpress is an eCommerce business that has its operations in China owned by Alibaba Group and is exclusive to B2C businesses buying products from worldwide options from small sellers and manufacturers.
They initially started this business as a B2B business but later adopted B2C, and C2C modes to help people gain a wide variety of options to buy from.
They are more of a virtual marketplace with many sellers and their stores attached to them to complete a business. Vendors usually set up their own products and posts with a suitable price to find the right customer for their product.
They have around 10 million vendors who sell 100 million products and 150 million customers globally and make a profit of 5 billion USD.
Also, know about how to build and start your own eCommerce business like AliExpress.
How Are They Using Drop Shipping Successfully?
They use a fulfillment center called the ADC (AliExpress Dropshipping Center) to operate this for of business successfully.
They follow two methods to finalize the products they are about to list: Product Research and Product Analysis.
They initially scout for products from websites and identify if they have dropshipping and to keep in check they also contact the supplier for further confirmation about dropshipping.
This is done to eliminate the disappointment of a customer when they find out that the product is suitable for them but doesn’t have a dropshipping function.
They have a very advanced search filter option that gives a variety of filters to sort from based on your requirements.
The direct communication between the customer and the vendor reduces any friction that may occur in the business.
How Can You Join AliExpress?
You can easily join AliExpress dropshipping business by following the below-mentioned steps.
- Choose the right niche for the products that you would like to sell. Select the appropriate niche so that customers can find the right product they are looking for.
- Find reliable suppliers by considering ratings and reviews, their ISO certification, and the quality of their products. Opt for sellers who have done business for more than a year to avoid any issues.
- Write high-quality product descriptions to help customers identify and understand the products easily so that they can convey the message about the product easily and completely.
- Pricing products appropriately based on the quality and features of the products depending on the category of the product.
- Create an appropriate return and refund policy based on your categories and ranges that will not give any issues. Decide this by communicating with the admin and also considering the quality of your product.
Pricing Strategy:
They are also very famous for the pricing strategy that helps them retain customers and also procure new customers for their business.
They give a 6% discount for purchases less than $1000 and the discount varies from 6% to lesser and more based on the total amount of purchase value.
Advantages Of AliExpress:
- No order limitation is applicable i.e. you can purchase any quantity of product.
- Once you order the product the manufacturer or supplier gets it ready and ships it to you.
- No private labeled products can be purchased.
- They provide high buyer protection
- The production time taken is around 7 to 45 days depending on the product and quantity ordered.
- Lower cost of products
- No upfront payment is required for ordered materials.
- A very diverse variety of products and categories to choose from.
- Epacket shipping to reduce the delivery days of products to customers.
- A credit payment system is used by them which requires you to pay using any credit card and also several other platforms like Alipay to make your payments.
Disadvantages Of AliExpress:
- They don’t provide bundling because they have a variety of stores that have different rates for different products and if they bundle the cost will increase and hence takes more time to ship it to them from different locations.
- The language barrier has a major effect because most of the suppliers are from China which kind of makes it hard for customers to negotiate with them.
- Delayed processing time of queries and issues takes up to 2 to 3 days to get a response from the business which leads to a decrease in trust.
- Choosing a niche is required for every supplier which may be hard for some suppliers to choose which diverts them from either dropping the business or choosing a random niche that doesn’t match the buyers’ requirements.
- Finding a reliable seller is a little hard because you have to consider their reviews and ratings, the seller must be a year old with the platform, and ISO certificates to ensure quality products.
Things You Can Take From AliExpress Dropshipping:
- Adopt a drop shipping strategy if you have a low investment where maintaining an inventory and shipping would cost more than you have invested.
- Diversification of products and categories will attract more customers globally. So decide properly on the categories and range of products to gain more revenue in a short period of time.
- Provide offers and low pricing strategies to your customers so that they feel like making a purchase upon comparing and also every time they visit.
- Adopt multiple payment methods and a credit payment system so that any user from anywhere can make a payment in your business.
- Verify your sellers properly so that you can provide a 100% quality product and if possible adopt quality assurance strategies to provide the utmost quality products to customers.
- Make sure you don’t provide any counterfeit products with brand names because this will majorly reduce the trust customers have in your business.
- Respond to customers’ reviews and ratings for products and sellers so that you can eliminate the spread of mistrust in your service.
- Provide a fulfillment service if possible to retain more loyal customers.
- Implement social strategies and open a social store that will give you good revenue from an audience you haven’t reached yet.
- Last but not least think that a customer who approaches your business will give you great insights into your business.
Things You Should Avoid From AliExpress:
- Break all semantic barriers to communication your business may face so that you can gain a global outreach.
- Never ignore a negative review a customer gives for your products.
- Tend to the customer’s needs as soon as possible so that you can maintain the trust factor.
- Clear any issues and make your services highly responsive so that you can increase the performance of your products and service.
- Make sure the products that are getting listed on your site have dropship.
- Try to provide bungling options to make an upsell or cross-sell of other products.
To conclude this blog, we can say that people love and hate the above-mentioned reasons in an eCommerce business that could affect your sales. So, strategize and adapt based on the current trends of your market so that you can lead a successful business like AliExpress.
