Understanding the Concept of Dropshipping:
Dropshipping refers to the type of model in which goods are sold directly from the warehouse of the supplier. All parts of ordering and support come under the control of the retailer who works as a middleman between the supplier and the buyer. Only shipping of goods directly to the buyer is taken care of by the supplier if the retailer demands them.
In this process, all parties benefit: the supplier won't have to search for new customers and therefore won't have to deal with problems of ordering and service, the buyer gets goods in the shortest possible time, receiving full support from a retailer, while the retailer receives its margin while selling products of third parties without the need to manage warehouses and logistics.
What is dropshipping in UAE?
You can add a healthy margin onto the per unit sale of an item - ensuring that:
- The products you have chosen to dropship/resell are leading products in demand.
- You have put significant work into promoting your chosen products.
These may be paid campaigns, SEO on your Shopify dropshipping website for the UAE.
Getting back to the subject of dropship UAE, if you have been doing the business irrespective of whether it is in the Arab Emirates or not, you already have an idea about it.
The only two things that matter the most when someone's looking to Dropship in UAE are:
- UAE Payment Gateways for Dropshippers – Both in and outside of the Arab Emirates.
- Finding and Relying on Trusted Dropship Suppliers in the UAE
The second aspect involves choosing suppliers both within and outside the UAE. There's no prohibition in doing so.
Is Dropshipping Successful in the UAE?
By the start of 2022, the Internet penetration in the UAE stood at 99% of the entire population. In 2023, nearly everyone in the UAE uses the Internet. 96% of buyers prefer online shopping (compared to 73% in 2020). According to the study, the total ecommerce revenue is projected to be US$11,782.3 million by the end of 2023. In just three years, the number of users grew from 73% in 2020 to almost 100%: 73% in 2020, 89% in 2021, 96% in 2022, and almost 100% in 2023, accordingly.
Problems with the Payment Gateway at Dropship UAE and How to Fix Them
Being an entrepreneur looking forward to stepping into the world of Shopify Dropshipping in the UAE, you would probably face one major roadblock while searching for a good payment gateway that might be required.
The UAE has its rules that it uses to deter fraud and protect businesses and their customers, but obtaining a business license is usually costly. There are alternatives to avoid setting up that can help you streamline your Shopify dropshipping operations in the UAE without needing a license.
Standard Payment Gateways' Drawbacks
Most popular payment gateways such as Stripe and 2Checkout often require business operations to be licensed under a valid business license in the UAE.
A disadvantage this places on new vendors or anyone who does not like the hefty prices accompanying acquiring and holding a license to operate in the UAE is the challenge. Shopify has to redirect customers to the available payment gateways even though they limit the flexibility of dropshippers in the UAE because of their support staff.
Here's a flexible payment solution from Ziina
One alternative solution, which has popped up, is Ziina, an instant and flexible payment gateway for businesses looking to accept payments from customers in the UAE on their Shopify stores.
One of the best things about Ziina is it doesn't ask for a business license, making it attractive for people who need it or some who wish to avoid the hassle and cost of getting a license.
Dropshipping in the UAE with Zambeel
Yet another interesting solution for the Zambeel UAE dropshipper, which recently included features to the portfolio specifically targeted at dropshippers in UAE, KSA, Pakistan and Egypt.
Advantages of Using Zambeel
- You can start anywhere without registering a business
- You can receive weekly payments in any bank account
- COD orders have a 75% delivery success rate
- We Offer the Biggest Product Catalogue in the GCC
- Over 1 million orders delivered by 2024
- More than 5,000 active resellers from 22 countries
Advantages of Dropshipping in UAE
The UAE is a very attractive business environment due to several important advantages that favour the dropshipping business:
- It would require minimal capital when starting the business since there was no inventory and no warehousing.
- Since there was no warehousing, it enabled the dropshippers easily to provide varieties. This in turn allowed them to quickly respond to market trends without being confined to any niche.
- UAE has a strong logistics network through which delivery can be done very fast as well as at less cost, which is an essential thing that will satisfy the customers.
- The e-commerce sector in the UAE is highly growing and is expected to experience immense growth in online sales.
- The UAE has offered a tax-free environment for income and corporate taxes, hence increasing the profit margins of business owners.
Difficulties Faced during Dropshipping in the UAE
Although these have some benefits attached to them, the challenges that dropshipping in the UAE poses for entrepreneurs include:
- The average profit margin for a dropshipping business is usually between 15-20%, while it stands at 30-40% in traditional retail; this majorly tends to be because of higher wholesale prices.
- Because entry is low, new ventures have a hard time competing, especially when against larger marketing budgets.
- Retailers depend on the suppliers for shipping and the quality of the products, which then becomes a problem if the suppliers do not fulfil the expectations.
- The problem is that building a brand is difficult because no interaction is likely to occur between the customer and retailer if products are directly shipped from suppliers.