Glossary

    Dropshipping

    Dropshipping is a retail model in which the merchant sells products without stocking them: the supplier ships directly to the end customer.

    With dropshipping, the merchant only buys the goods once a customer has ordered. Storage, packaging and shipping are handled by the supplier. That drastically lowers startup risk and capital requirements, which is why dropshipping is often used as an entry point into e-commerce.

    The downside: thin margins, little control over delivery times and product quality, interchangeable assortments and intense competition. Legally, the merchant remains fully responsible to the customer for returns, warranty and product safety, even if the supplier is on another continent.

    The models that succeed long-term usually treat dropshipping as a complement, for assortment extensions or market tests, rather than as the entire business. Merchants who scale eventually bring fulfillment and quality control under their own responsibility.

    Services
    • Child's hands pulling a friendship book with a floral cover out of a beige backpackMintkind
    • Athletic shirtless man in black CR7 boxer briefs in the studioMYCR7
    • Black embroidered cap next to a net bag of lemons on a stone wallOlakala

    Related terms

    • Fulfillment

      Fulfillment covers everything that happens after the purchase: warehousing, picking, packing, shipping and returns handling.

      View term
    • D2C (Direct-to-Consumer)

      D2C (direct-to-consumer) is a brand selling directly to end customers through its own channels, without intermediaries or marketplaces.

      View term
    • Multichannel

      Multichannel means selling through several channels in parallel: your own online store, marketplaces like Amazon, social commerce and brick-and-mortar retail.

      View term
    Glass ampoules moving through a filling line in Heel's productionWoman in profile with voluminous blonde curls, a hand spraying hair spray from above.Silver tube of Liquid Glass Skin Mask and a silicone brush lying in clear gel on a pink surfaceTwo young women in white lying on a bed holding perfume bottles.Holzkern men's watch with wooden links and a stone dial on the wristBlack maleup products with a concealer palette, dispensers and a towel against a dark backgroundPHARMOS NATUR products displayed on sunlit wooden shelves.Three Vitabay jars on a stone table in front of a green sofa.Three women in SMILODOX activewear taking a selfie, a padel player and runners under palm treesWoman wearing a brown leather roll-top backpack in front of a sandstone wallTwo More Money More Love outfits in motion: pink check jacket and white jersey with the number 10Man in a grey hoodie and wide dark jeans standing in front of a red wall with a wooden doorLight grey boxer briefs with a brown and blue CR7 waistband worn against a light studio backgroundTable tennis bat with red rubber standing on a dark surface in a pool of light

    More projects

    View all projects

    Questions about your Shopify setup?

    A 30-minute intro call. We listen, ask the right questions and give you a clear assessment of migration, architecture, tracking and your next step.

    Free and non-binding · 30 min.

    NICCOS

    The page could not be loaded.

    Please reload the page. If an update has just gone live, this will load the latest version.