What does it mean for dropshipping to be automated?
Dropshipping has been popular worldwide as a modern eCommerce method which allows sellers to launch stores without having to manufacture products, handle shipments, or maintain inventory. Dropshipping is revolutionizing the way people sell online.
And thanks to Shopify – the most efficient eCommerce platform with more than a million users – people can make stores and sell a variety of products via dropshipping in just under an hour. This is where you stand as a user looking to automate more of your business.
To automate dropshipping is to use technology and handle tasks that humans would normally have to do manually while running a dropshipping business. This process aims to remove tedious tasks so that the store owner can focus on growing the business with marketing and customer service.
You can also automate your business with other human resources, beyond technology. Many freelancers are now available online to help you run your business in the way that you want. While you will still need to monitor your business every now and again, a skilled freelancer can reduce the need for supervision.
Instead of spending time reading through every blog and trying your best to figure out the answers, technology and contractors can help you to manage your business. Automation is the answer to your problems.
Shopify dropshipping automation: Why is it important?
Shopify is an amazing platform that makes it easy to sell online. You can automate dropshipping with the help of experts and apps on Shopify.
There are many reasons to automate dropshipping with Shopify:
Optimization
Dropshipping’s goal is to maximize sales. Dropshipping can help you make more revenue than the low profit margins per sale. If you automate your dropshipping business, and optimize your sales process, you will be amazed at how many sales you can make with the same amount of time.
Can you, for example, manage 500 sales orders daily? Can you quickly rewrite 110 product descriptions? These are all problems that can make it difficult to grow your business.
Automation through technology or contractors allows you to respond to customer demand as a large store, and work as efficiently as a group of twelve people. Dropshipping stores can only manage their business and make substantial profits by automating.
Save time
The most valuable resource is time. If you allow yourself to get caught up in the tedious tasks of running a shop, you will never have enough. Automation allows you to pursue your passion for running a shopify store without being required to do all of the work.
You can be busy running your own store or starting a side business. Automating your dropshipping business will allow you to spend more time on the things that matter.
You can expand your dropshipping business faster and spend more time on other aspects of your life, such as love, family, and hobbies.
It is cost-effective
Sometimes all you need is yourself and some money to make it happen. Top eCommerce companies have an army of people who can help them grow. Do you have the budget to pay a team of professionals who can do everything for you?
It is likely that the answer is “no”. You don’t have to hire employees to automate dropshipping. Technology can help you do this. A freelancer can still be cheaper than a full time worker. This is how much money you can save.
The money you save can be used to grow your business quickly or reinvest profits in order to increase your chances of success. You can feel proud of your accomplishments with outside help when your business grows too large and you have to hire your first employee.
This article will show you how to automate your dropshipping business. You can also set it up as an autopilot so you can do other important tasks.
How to automate dropshipping in Shopify
This section will cover all aspects of dropshipping and show you how to automate them. This section will provide some tips and best practices as well as recommendations for how to do it yourself. Let’s get started!
Sale process
To optimize your sales process, there are many things you can do. Technology has many apps that will automate this aspect of your dropshipping business. These are the tasks you can automate now to save time and effort.
Automated product research
Remember that you have to look through every category of AliExpress to find a profitable product? Next, you will need to download the images and upload them to your site. Now you don’t need to do that anymore.
With an app like Salehoo’s Dropship tool, you can add items to your online dropshipping store in just one click. You can even do this while you browse AliExpress pages. Oberlo will also suggest the most profitable and trending items, so you don’t have to do too much research.
A Chrome extension allows you to do this at a very affordable price. You can just relax, browse, then click, all the manual work will be taken care of. Below, we will provide more information about Oberlo.
Oberlo isn’t the only app that can assist you. Other useful tools can also help you choose the best products from dropshipping sites such as Taobao and Chinabrands. They can also connect you to suppliers so you get the best price.
Additional tools:
- Sell The Trend: Easily navigate an Enormous database of products that are being sold on High Traffic Drop Shipping stores today.
- BigSpy is a great tool that allows you auto hunt all Facebook Ads people tracking in a minute. The system automatically selects the most popular and winning ads every day.
- Jungle Scout: the best Amazon product research tool on the market. This service includes a service that is available to new sellers and an existing seller service, as well as a service that is available for brands or agencies.
Automate product listing
Oberlo is a fantastic app that I must mention again. Oberlo allows you to add any product you like directly to your Oberlo account.
All the images, descriptions, prices, and other information from the AliExpress original page can be easily uploaded to your online shop in just a few clicks. You can save so much time by doing this automatically instead of manually. Oberlo allows you to adjust these elements as well.
It is a smart idea to purchase an app to help you import products from multiple sites. While I wouldn’t recommend that you overwork yourself by eating too many cakes, it is better to be focused and make one site succeed.
Automate orders processing
Dropshipping is popular because the sellers do not have to deal with shipping and packaging. Dropshipping is handled by your suppliers, who will handle the orders.
When you have hundreds of orders per day, it can become chaotic if everything is done manually. Dropshipping automation softwares can automate the order processing.
This can be done by creating templates to export sales orders. These templates will automatically populate when you receive an order on any marketplaces or shopping carts (in the case that you don’t sell exclusively from Shopify), and be forwarded to your supplier.
It is easy to do. You can send it via SFTP/FTP, or by email with a CSV attached. You can ask the supplier for details about the format you would like to receive. Once your order has been fulfilled, you will be sent the tracking information. You can then continue with customer service.
It’s not surprising that Oberlo can also do this! You just need to click a button to send the order to Oberlo with all details to the customer. The automated dropshipping feature makes it so easy to get rid of all the repetitive tasks. Scaling is easy and takes up little of your time.
Automate tracking details
After the order has been processed, it’s your responsibility as the seller to address any customer concerns. The most common question you’ll be asked is “When will my product come?” This information was provided by the supplier. However, if you need to manually verify each order for expected arrival times, it can prove time-consuming.
This can also be automated by downloading apps from the Shopify App Store. These apps notify your customers by sending an email when the order is fulfilled. Also, they let you know how long it will take to receive the order.
This reduces the amount of messages from cusomters about shipping time. Customers can also track their order by themselves, if your shipping company can show the location of the order on the global map. This saves you time and allows you to focus on marketing and making your customers happy.
Marketing
Marketing automation is a great idea. Marketing has evolved over the years to allow store owners to run campaigns globally without having to hire employees. Keep reading if you are looking for that extra power.
Install Facebook Pixel
If you have your own site, it is one of the most important steps to install a Facebook Pixel on Shopify store. Log in to Facebook to obtain your pixel ID, and then add it to Shopify. This little code can make your marketing efforts so much more effective.
Automated ads can be run to retarget visitors to your website. Track the pages that your customers visit. Advertisements can be set up to follow your customers wherever they go on Facebook.
Although some setup work is required, it’s easy and takes less than 15 minutes. To make the most out of Facebook ads, you should also learn about Facebook ads.
Check out our very detailed guide about Facebook ads for beginners if you want to know all about it.
The pixel has many uses.
You can, for example, let Facebook know which visitor added which product to their cart before they abandon it. Then, retargeting ads could be used to try and persuade them back to purchase the cart.
Another example: Blog contents can be used to target visitors to your blog and display relevant products or best-sellers.
Automate emails
It is well-known that email can be automated. Yet, many still do it manually. Shopify allows you to create automated email drips free of charge. This will help optimize your dropshipping business.
You can create automated emails for all kinds of triggers like order confirmation, abandoned checkout, refunded orders, cancelled orders, and more. These settings can be found under Settings –> Notifications your Shopify store (as shown in the image above). There are 22 notification options for different types and opportunities.
You can set up desktop notifications to receive notification whenever you make a sale. This will let you know when sales are occurring. You can also have a freelancer do it for your company. They will receive desktop notifications so you are always up to date on every order.
Automate image enhancement
Oberlo allows you to import images directly from the product pages of your suppliers. You will want your images to be consistent in style so that your website looks consistent. You can also reverse-search your images.
Images from suppliers’ sites often feature models standing in front of colorful backgrounds or mockups of t-shirts with bright colors. The easiest way to keep your images consistent is to remove the backgrounds and place your products on a blank screen. These pictures make a product page look neat and well-organized.
Many stores hire Photoshop-skilled designers to remove background from photos. Upwork is a great place to find them. If you want to save some money, you can use Remove.bg.
Upload your photos and background will be removed in seconds. You can upload only one image per month with the free option. You can add more photos and have background removed faster if you subscribe. I think the results are sufficient and can be used right away on any site. Although they may not be as clean-cut as a designer’s work it is acceptable.
Hiring a freelance designer to create a cohesive look for all of your photos with a single color tone is the best option. After the contract is completed, you will be given a tutorial in Photoshop so that you can do it yourself.
Automated ads
Although Facebook ads are powerful and time-consuming, they can also be very effective. You need to test and verify every now and again and adjust your budget and locations in order to get good results. An automation app can create and execute Facebook ads automatically.
A good app that uses machine learning can learn from ads and improve its results over time. That is what Kit can do, but we will take a better look at the app later. This is the only way to think about it for now. Kit is also designed for Shopify stores.
Automate social media posts
Are you tired of posting daily updates to every social media account? Posting consistently is the hardest part of managing a social media account.
With a social media management tool, you can schedule posts for every day of the week or any time you like so you never forget to post that meme picture that your customers would love to see. Each social media scheduling tool comes with a free trial so that you can test it before you commit to sizing.
You can upload up to a set number of posts at a reasonable price by taking advantage of this feature. The most common platforms that these tools often upload are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can schedule posts for each channel by choosing a time frame.
You might be free Saturday mornings so you have a cup of tea and plan your week on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter through Buffer. This routine will help you stick to it over the long-term.
Automate Boost sales
If you want to increase sales, boosting sales is essential. Your customers’ five-star reviews and positive words can make a difference in getting more people to buy. After a few sales, you can start to email customers to leave reviews and share their experiences.
Shopify App Store also offers Boost sales apps, which will allow you to manage your store’s reviews more effectively. Customers who leave reviews of 1 to 2 stars will be notified in order to improve customer service. Customers who leave 5 or 4 star reviews will see the kind words added to the product page.
You may not have enough reviews yet to add to your online store. Oberlo allows you to add reviews directly from the supplier’s website to your online shop. Potential customers can then see the popularity of the product and real reviews will help them to verify it.
Managing inventory
To save time, automating your inventory management can be a great way to reduce costs. Dropshipping can mean that you have many items and variations to manage. It can be exhausting to adjust them all every time there is an increase in price or a change of color. Let’s find out how we can help you make this less stressful.
Automate pricing
Instead of setting prices manually for each product, you can create global pricing rules which can automatically adjust the price. Customers from different countries can view the price of your products on your website in their currency.
The price multiplier is another thing that you can automate. To get the best margin possible, you will need to create a new price when you upload a product to your supplier. Products will automatically receive new prices depending on your multiplier rules.
While this can be time-saving, it will force you to think about which products and price ranges should be included in your multiplier. Make sure you calculate the market average price and add the markup to ensure your multiplier is accurate.
You can also try the following pricing strategy:
- Products starting at $0.01-$4.99 = $19.99 retail
- Products starting at $5.00-$9.99 = $29.99 Retail
- Products below $9.99 => 2.5-3x Markup
Automate product updates
It is also time-consuming to update your inventory on time so that your customers are not annoyed when they purchase. It is possible to set up rules for when inventory runs out, when pricing or inventory changes occur, and when a variant is out-of-stock.
You can, for example, set the rule to reduce the quantity of a product so that customers can see it on your website. You can also choose to remove products from your store.
You can also modify settings to be notified when the above occurs so you can quickly react. It is a good idea to keep a list of possible suppliers and variants manufacturers, especially if your products are highly-sellers.
Oberlo allows you to do this. All the information from suppliers can be accessed in real-time and sent directly to your online shop. Dropshipping is possible with the app, and I don’t need to convince you.
This is how you automate dropshipping and still get orders. You can also hire freelancers to handle all of the work for you if you wish. Dropshipping isn’t for everyone. You want to become an entrepreneur. Let’s go on, I will show you great apps that can automate your business.
Six of the best apps to automate dropshipping in Shopify
Although it may have been mentioned before, this section will focus on the best features of these apps and their cost to purchase.
Spocket – Automate product listing
Dropshipping with Shopify is possible by using AliExpress and Spocket. Spocket allows you to easily import products directly from the supplier’s page to your store without you having to do it manually.
The app is too good to ignore, as we’ve said many times. You can get the free plan and do fine. This app can help you save time and money. It also has tons of valuable features for dropshipping businesses.
Main features:
- Auto update product inventory
- Setting auto price
- Change your product supplier easily
- Customization of products
- Track and auto fulfill orders
- Multiple accounts for multiple users
- Sales tracking and reports
Aftership – Automate tracking and delivery
For tracking and delivery updates, AfterShip app is the choice for you. The app allows you to create a custom tracking page that your customers can use to track their shipment. To notify customers about your order, you can send SMS and email notifications automatically.
This app is used by over 30,000 Shopify customers, so you can rest assured that it has been a success. Tracking automation such as this allows you to track your delivery performance and take action when it happens.
Main features:
- All your shipping can be auto managed from one location
- Worldwide courier support
- Your customers can track their packages using your customized page.
- To engage customers, send delivery notification
Pricing plans:
- Starter – No cost installation – 100 shipments per calendar month, $0.5 for each additional shipment
- Essential – $9 / month – 100 shipments per month, Email & SMS notifications, $0.08 per extra shipment
- Growth – $29 per month – 500 shipment per month, $0.08 for each extra shipment, All other features
- Pro – $99 per month – 2,000 shipment per month, $0.08 for each additional shipment
- You can see more in the image above.
Watchlyst – Re-target visitors
Visitors rarely make a purchase on their first visit. Many visitors might have abandoned the site because they needed to do more research or the price was too high. Watchlyst lets first-time visitors subscribe to receive emails alerting when the price has dropped.
This is a great way automate your retargeting campaigns. This allows customers to rethink their purchase decisions and give them a second chance. This app can also help you build an impressive email list.
Main features:
- Notification of price drops by auto
- To re-visit, capture emails
- To build brand loyalty, auto-send emails to customers
- Lead magnet
Pricing plan:
Free 7-day trial, then $5 per Month for each feature
Kit – Automate ads
Mentioned above, Kit is a great app to help you market your Shopify dropshipping store in an easy way. The app can automate both your Instagram and Facebook advertising, and it is developed by Shopify so you need not to worry about customer service.
Kit is your personal assistant and manages Facebook retargeting. You can also run Instagram ads as a professional marketing department to increase sales. The app can also handle social-media posting and email marketing, and provide many app suggestions so you can fine-tune your store.
Overall, it is an automated marketing tool that can be used to promote your Shopify store. It can also be used with other Shopify apps, such as Customer Reviews by Yotpo and SEO Manager by Venntov.
Main features:
- Create Facebook and Instagram ads to drive sales
- To ensure your ads perform best, create lookalike audiences
- To increase customer engagement, post Facebook updates
- To attract more customers, create discount or promotion codes
- Customers can send personalized “Thank You” emails
- Quick reports can be generated to gain insight into your store’s marketing and sales performance
Pricing plans:
It is free to use. Your ad spends will be paid directly to your Facebook account.
Buffer – Social media automation
Buffer is a well-known social media management that is trusted by over 75,000 brands and businesses. This service will help you increase engagement and improve social media results.
Its greatest advantage is its simplicity, ease-of-use, and uncluttered design. It is the ideal tool to automate your business and maintain sanity in these modern times with so many platforms to choose from.
It’s great because you can instantly see the URL of the post and edit it individually. You can also track and shorten your links to get reports on your social media posts.
Main features:
- You can manage up to 25 social networks accounts and schedule up to 2000 posts ahead of time.
- Automated publishing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- If you employ freelancers to create content for you, multi-account management is possible.
- Deep analysis of social media posts.
Pricing plans:
- Pro – $15/month – 8 social media accounts, 7-day trial and 100 scheduled posts. 1 user
- Premium – $65 per month – 8 social media accounts, 14-day free trial, 2,000 posts scheduled, 2 users
- Small Business – $99 per month – 25 Social Accounts, 14-day Trial, 2,000 posts scheduled, 6 Users
You can also choose to Analyze and Reply, but the basic plan is affordable.
Upwork – Freelancers
Upwork allows you to find freelancers who will do your work. Upwork claims to have over 12 million freelancers and more than 5 million clients. For any task, you can find the best professionals.
- Web Dev
- Mobile Dev
- Design
- Writing
- Support for Administrators
- Customer Service
- Marketing
- Accounting
You will be charged 2.75% for each payment transaction as a freelancer hiring you. This is in addition to the contract fee you have agreed with the freelancer. You should look at the current market price and make an offer to hire a trustworthy and competent employee.
You should still be cautious about fraud and only hire highly-rated freelancers on Upwork. However, the security of the platform and the time saved by doing everything yourself are great benefits to hiring someone.
Final word
Dropshipping automation is a great way to save time and allow you to focus on customer service and marketing. Instead of focusing on mundane tasks, automating your dropshipping business will increase your chances of scaling up and growing your profit. As an entrepreneur, you can see this as a challenge and opportunity that will lead to your success.
This article should have helped you to understand how to automate dropshipping in Shopify. You will soon be a leader if you put your efforts into automating the rest. If you have any questions, please leave comments and we wish you all the best on your eCommerce journey.
