Starting an eCommerce Business: How to Dropship in Thailand in 2022

People all over the planet dream of owning and running their own profitable business one day. Many are already taking action and turning their dreams into reality. And you can be one of them! You can accomplish this dream by jumping into the world of eCommerce entrepreneurship.

The eCommerce market has experienced tremendous growth in the past couple of years. And one form of successful eCommerce entrepreneurship is dropshipping.

Dropshipping has obtained a fairly popular status in the eCommerce world. And it’s no surprise either. The process of starting such a business is really simple and, unlike many other classic wholesale ventures, does not require a lot of investment into industrial shelving. Furthermore, it does not matter where you’re from, a tropical island, or a busy metropolis.

Dropshipping provides you with an opportunity to start a business anywhere you want. You’re not required to buy products in advance or bulk or have a warehouse with industrial shelving. All you need is a laptop and a stable Internet connection.

With that being said, in this article, we will discuss what’s dropshipping, how you can start a dropshipping business in Thailand, and what to pay special attention to. Without further ado, let’s check out what dropshipping is.

What is dropshipping?

If you’ve never heard of the term “dropshipping”, don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it may sound. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what dropshipping is, let’s look at what kind of business this is.

Dropshipping is considered to be an online selling method where the store owner does not physically possess, stock, or ship the products. The dropshipping business owner finds and cooperates with a supplier who stores, manages, and ships the product directly to the customers.

The process looks like this: a consumer visits the online store, finds a product he likes, and places an order. The order details are then forwarded to the dropshipping supplier by the store’s owner. Once the supplier has the information on the order, he sends the items to the initial store customer.

How do you make money out of this? Well, it depends on how much you marked up the price. Your income will be the difference between the supplier’s original price and your marked-up price.

As you can see in this business model, the business owner doesn’t have to interact with the goods in any way. Sounds pretty incredible, doesn’t it?

This begs the question – is dropshipping legal? The answer is Yes. It is completely legal. However, each country has its own laws and regulations towards businesses. So, this needs to be specified with your local law adviser.

Why start dropshipping to Thailand?

The eCommerce market in Thailand is growing noticeably and has lots of benefits. One of its major factors of progression is the help of the Government, specifically, the Thailand 4.0 program.

This program aims to boost the eCommerce business by facilitating digital payments and eCommerce marketing, both inside and outside the country. The overall plan is to strengthen the Internet connection, enhance the infrastructure and logistics services, and promote trade relations with neighboring countries.

The growth of the eCommerce market as a whole has been influenced and modernized because of the active participation of international and local companies. The younger generation, using social media actively, has also played its part. This is especially important because, according to various research, online shoppers in Thailand make most of their purchases via social network pages.

As can be seen, the infrastructure in Thailand is optimized for eCommerce businesses.

Still, knowing the ins and outs of your local industry shouldn’t stand in the way of you targeting other potential markets.

With the dropshipping business model, you can easily contact almost any consumer anywhere on the globe. This kind of business allows you to deal with customers, whether a student in the USA, a computer engineer from England, or a resident of any other country.

If you’re from Thailand, you should be more familiar with the culture, mentality, traditions, and preferences of your fellow citizens.

You are informed about the social and economic environment of your country and can adjust your offer specifically to cater to the residents.

Although, it really makes little difference if you’re from Thailand or are willing to target this market for your sales. With the dropshipping business model, there are almost no limitations. Yet, let’s see what benefits local entrepreneurs have.

Understanding the psychology of your customers

Every customer audience is unique in its own way. Though, some particular features of buying behaviour are specific to residents of certain countries.

These cultural differences affect how people can perceive various pieces of information shown to them. That’s why some marketing tactics will work well for European consumers but won’t show the same results for people in the Middle East.

Having an inside scoop on local trends

Being a resident of the country you’re going to be selling in, you will have an advantage as you will understand the local trends and public demand.

If the demanded product isn’t available in a regular wholesale store, you can showcase it in your online dropshipping store and reap the benefits!

Knowing the local legal aspects

As we’ve shortly touched upon earlier, most businesses are required to oblige the local laws. And many foreigners are faced with the challenge of getting into the laws of a specific country.

However, as a local citizen, you don’t have to worry about this as you can easily consult with a local law advisor.

How to dropship in Thailand

The general process of starting a dropshipping business in Thailand doesn’t really differ from that in any other country. Here are some of the aspects you need to thoughtfully think about when starting such a business:

Find a beneficial niche in eCommerce

You must find a promising niche since your business’s success hugely depends on your niche choice.

Of course, you can do it yourself, although it will take time and lots of effort. However, there are lots of databases and research that can help you at this stage.

Search for popular products and trusted suppliers

You can find what’s popular by using different analytics tools. Google Trends can help you find what is trending and in demand. Also, the Internet is full of free databases with many suppliers.

Think through the layout of your internet store

Your website is one of the most important aspects of your business. It heavily affects the customers’ perception of your store. So, you must think everything through and make it as perfect as possible.

Build an online store

Thankfully, the time of having to be a computer specialist to create a fully functional website is far behind us. Now there are many free options available that are easy to set up and allow you to customize your online store.

Alternatively, you can always purchase a ready solution to save time and start making money immediately.

All that is left for you to do is to properly promote your store and its products for eCommerce conversion.

It can take some time, as you are required to form a proper B2B eCommerce marketing campaign and find your target audience in ecommerce-platforms. But be sure, the end result is definitely worth it.

How to dropship to Thailand: Final thoughts

Thailand is proving to be a great place for eCommerce entrepreneurs as online businesses continue to develop. Online shopping is one of the components that shows this growth since most of the population takes to various social media platforms to make purchases. Furthermore, the industry is steadily looked over and helped by the government.

Thailand looks like a country where anyone can start a dropshipping business or find a potential target audience with eCommerce sites.

With drop shipping, you have an opportunity to create a passive source of income with almost no startup costs. And the best part? You get to do what you like – when you like and enjoy the incoming profits!