Complete Guide to Dropshipping in India

Dropshipping is an online business model which requires minimal upfront investment as you sell products without holding the inventory.

In India, the e-commerce landscape is expanding with more focus on digital payment adoption and online shopping. India’s e-commerce market is set to reach 550 billion U.S. dollars by 2035¹.

In this blog post you’ll learn about dropshipping in India, how to do it, and challenges you might encounter.

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Should You Start Dropshipping in India? What to Know Before Getting Started

Since the Indian e-commerce market has been growing year-on-year for the past 5 years, driven primarily by platforms including Flipkart and Amazon India, now could be the best time to start dropshipping in India.

With one of the largest internet markets in the world, there’s plenty of opportunity to start an online dropshipping business in India and start selling products without holding inventory.

There’s also a growing demand for niche products which includes everything from eco-friendly goods to home fitness equipment. These are among the most trending dropshipping products in India so they can help you start out as a new seller.

Here are some popular product categories for dropshipping you can use for inspiration:

• Fashion and apparel
• Health and wellness products
• Electronics and mobile accessories
• Home decor and kitchen gadgets
• Beauty and skincare

As a dropshipping business owner, you could decide to stock a variety of dropshipping products in India spanning different categories to cater to a broader market or niche into one or two categories to target a specific group of people.

Is Dropshipping Legal in India?

Yes, dropshipping is legal in India, and the dropshipping market size is growing. If you’re considering setting up a dropshipping business in India, you’ll need to comply with the country’s business laws and tax regulations to operate legally.

This includes maintaining transparency with your customers at all times, and making sure you have legal agreements in place with your suppliers.

How to Start a Dropshipping Business in India

Starting a dropshipping business in India is a lot like setting up a regular online e-commerce business. The main difference is that you’ll need to outsource your inventory to make sure you stock the right quantity and quality of goods to serve your customers.

Step-by-step guide to setting up

Here’s what you need to do to set up your dropshipping business in India:

• Research your niche and audience. Before setting up your store or sourcing products, you need a clear idea of who you serve. Every successful dropshipping business understands their audience demographics and psychographics, as this information tells you what products they’d be interested in, how to market to them, and how to price. You also need to know what the competition is like in your niche, as that will help you anchor your pricing and find messaging that resonates.

• Register your business. To operate a dropshipping business in India, you’ll need to get a GSTIN (Goods & Services Tax Identification Number), as a registered taxpayer, and all the relevant business licenses to operate in the country.

• Choose an e-commerce platform. The easiest way to start dropshipping is to use an e-commerce platform which offers you a storefront and various built-in tools which help you market your products and find customers. Popular platforms for dropshipping include Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce.

• Find reliable suppliers. You’ve set up your virtual storefront, so now you need to fill it with inventory. While you can find suppliers for dropshipping in India directly through in-person conferences and networking, using an online supplier platform like IndiaMart or AliExpress is far more convenient to get up and running.

• Create your online store. If this is your digital shop, think of this part as window shopping. This is when you’ll put the finishing touches on your virtual storefront to make it appealing to your ideal customers. Set up the design to align with your preferences, add product listings, and implement secure payment gateways.

• Market your store. To create interest in your store, you need to market your products. There are many ways to do this, and many e-commerce platforms offer tools to make this process easier. Many dropshipping businesses use a combination of social media ads, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and influencer partnerships to reach their customers.

• Test and scale. Start out small, with fewer products, and once you know what works and what people like, you can expand your product lines and pour more resources into the most effective marketing channels to scale.

How much money do I need to start dropshipping in India?

To start dropshipping in India, there aren’t huge startup costs, but you will need somewhere in the region of ₹30,000–₹50,000 (which equates to roughly $346-579).

This sum should cover some of the fundamental aspects of setting up and running a dropshipping business in India, including:

• Website/domain hosting
• E-commerce platform fees
• Marketing and ads
• Initial product testing
• Basic business registration fees

How do I find suppliers for dropshipping in India?

Finding suppliers is one of the most critical steps in building a successful dropshipping business. Since they will provide 100% of your inventory, it’s important to find reliable suppliers who stock the products your customers are looking for and can supply you with the quantities you need.

To source suppliers you have several options:

• Use local supplier directories - If your customers want local products from India, your best bet is to source from local suppliers, which you can do through online directories such as IndiaMart and ExportersIndia.

• Search global supplier platforms - For finding better deals and searching a wider product catalog, it can be a good idea to use global supplier platforms such as AliExpress or Oberlo

• Go direct to small manufacturers or wholesalers - While this approach requires more negotiation and upfront work to find the right fit, reaching out directly to wholesalers or manufacturers is a great way to set up long-term arrangements with lower costs.

• Connect with suppliers through your e-commerce platform or a dropshipping app - One of the most convenient ways to find a supplier is to use your e-commerce platform or search dropshipping apps such as Zendrop to connect with suppliers.

What are the best platforms for dropshipping in India?

There are many online platforms which allow you to manage your dropshipping business in India.

The best ones will help you throughout the entire process from initial marketing and outreach to designing your storefront and even connecting with suppliers.

Here are some of the top dropshipping websites in india:

• Shopify - Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, and as such, comes with all the tools you need to build out your store and get started with dropshipping including integrations for global suppliers and apps.

• WooCommerce - WooCommerce offers a customizable WordPress plugin option, which offers you a lot of options for how to set up your store providing you’re comfortable with the technical aspects of building a website.

• Meesho - Meesho is a popular Indian dropshipping and reselling website that lets you sell your products at 0% commission and offers affordable shipping.

• Amazon - FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is a storage, shipping, and customer service programme that allows you to use the company’s broad networks to deliver your products.

How to Maintain Your Dropshipping Business in India: Tips for Marketing and Customer Acquisition

The success of your dropshipping business in India will depend largely on your ability to get and keep customers.

You need a robust marketing plan to find your audience where they’re at, and convince them that you have the best solution for their needs with your products.

Here are some tried-and-tested channels for marketing and getting customers:

• Social media - Social media is home to billions of users who spend hours scrolling through posts, videos, and images every day. As such, it represents a huge opportunity for you to get your products in front of your ideal customers. It’s a mistake to think every interaction is an opportunity to sell, though. The most successful online businesses create valuable content that they know their audience will find interesting, so they build trust, and make it more likely that they’ll be receptive to buying your products.

• SEO and content marketing - SEO and content marketing allow you to bring customers to you, rather than actively seeking them out. Targeting keywords relevant to your niche and products in your content through blog posts and website copy allows you to rank in search engines like Google. Once you’re indexed in these search engines, and climb the ranks, your audience are more likely to come across your content when searching for solutions.

• Ads - Running ads through social media platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, or TikTok lets you get directly in front of your audience. With the right hook that’s relevant to their needs, you can grab their attention while they’re scrolling, and get them to click through to your storefront where you’ll hopefully make a sale.

It’s also a good idea to focus on setting up relevant upsells and cross-sells within your e-commerce platform. This means that when your customer purchases a resistance band, for example, through an automation via email or retargeting ads you can show them something else they might like such as dumbbells.

Benefits of Dropshipping in India

There are various reasons why setting up a dropshipping business in India can be advantageous:

• Low startup costs and risk - With a dropshipping business, you don’t have to worry about significant startup costs or assuming a high level of risk by taking on a lot of product inventory.

• No inventory management required - Managing inventory is one of the hardest aspects of running an e-commerce store, but with a dropshipping business you don’t have to concern yourself with these concerns. No warehouse management, resupplies, or similar issues, as your supplier will handle all of this.

• Flexibility and scalability - With Dropshipping you have a lot of flexibility and your potential to scale is huge. You can start the business anywhere you have an internet connection, and you’re not limited to a single product or category. As you grow the business, you can scale the range of products you offer to meet the demands of your customers.

Challenges of Dropshipping in India

Equally, there are some factors that make running a dropshipping business in India challenging:

• Competition and market saturation - Since there’s a low barrier to entry, the Indian dropshipping market is highly competitive. With many sellers offering similar products, it can be challenging to stand out and reach your audience.
• Shipping and logistics issues - Delivery times can be longer if you source your products from international suppliers. This can be an issue for some customers, especially given how fast they can receive deliveries through other online sellers like Amazon Prime.
• Payment gateway and currency challenges - Digital payments have become the norm in India, but it can still be tricky to set up secure payment gateways as you’ll need to integrate them correctly. You’ll also have to deal with fluctuating exchange rates if you deal with international suppliers.

Try Wise Business: The Simple Way to Receive Payments From Overseas

With a dropshipping business, you’re likely to deal with customers from all around the world. Currency exchange and other hidden fees can make receiving international payments costly, but with Wise Business you can bypass hidden fees and rely on the mid-market rates for incoming transfers.

You can also use Wise Business to handle any international dropshipping and supplier fees. Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. The Wise Business account is designed with international business in mind, and makes it easy to send, hold, and manage business funds in 40+ currencies. You can get major currency account details for a one-off fee to receive overseas payments like a local. You can also send money to 140+ countries.

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	Editor & Business Expert:
	Panna is an expert in US business finance, covering topics from invoicing to international expansion. She creates guides and reviews to help businesses save time and make informed decisions. You can read more useful business articles on her author profile.

Sources used:
¹ Statista
Sources last checked on 25-July- 2025.