General vs Niche vs One Product Store: Which One Is Best?

When it comes to starting a dropshipping store, there are three different types of stores you can create: a general store, niche store or one product store. 

For dropshipping business owners, each type of store has its own set of pros and cons. Which type of store is best for you depends on your specific situation.

In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of each type of store and help you decide which one is the best for you in 2024!

In today's digital age, it's never been easier to start an online business. However, with so many businesses competing for attention online, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd.

One way to ensure that your business is successful is to invest in a well-designed online store. A sleek, user-friendly website can help you attract more visitors, and an easy-to-navigate layout can encourage them to stay on your site longer. 

In addition, a well-designed online store can make it easier for customers to find what they're looking for, increasing the likelihood that they'll make a purchase. With so much competition online, investing in a high-quality website is essential for any business that wants to succeed.

Whether you create a general, niche or one-product store, the most important thing is to create a website that is easy to use and provides a great user experience.

 All of these stores have a set of advantages and disadvantages, so it's important to weigh these factors before deciding which type of store is right for you. Keep reading to learn more about the pros and cons of each type of store!

General Store

A general dropshipping store carries a variety of products across different categories. This type of store is a good option for entrepreneurs who are interested in dropshipping a variety of products or who are unsure about which products to sell.

A general type store would typically have categories like wellness, home accessories, electronics, pet products, beauty products, etc.

Pros of General Dropshipping Stores

• A general store sells many different products in order to appeal to a wider audience. This type of store is a good option for entrepreneurs who are just starting out and who want to test the waters with different products and not pigeonhole themself with one niche or product.
• You can always remain open to new products and test multiple niches as you learn more about your customers' needs and wants.
• You can try out different niches and then based on the results you can determine what your focus should be
• There are lots of opportunities for cross selling (promote products related to items in your customers’ cart)
• General dropshipping stores are easy to set up because many themes support these types of stores.
• Although market research is important a lot of the time the traffic you get will determine what type of products people like or don’t like.
• There are a lot of tools, themes, apps and more to support general type stores

Cons of General Dropshipping Stores

• There’s lots of competition for a general store since most newbies go with this type of store.
• It may be difficult to brand your store because there is no focus on a single niche.
• A marketing plan can prove to be difficult because you have so many different products spread across different niches.
• You will need to keep up with your pricing strategy and always make sure that you have a better deal than another general type of store.
• There’s a lot of work involved in having many products such as copywriting, photo editing, and description writing.
• Search engine optimization can be a challenge for products that are in high demand.
• Since you have a lot of products, it can be a challenge to manage everything. You have to keep tabs on your price changes, inventory levels, and new products.
• Conversion rates for general-type stores could be lower because many people might just be browsing and seeing what you have in your store.

Who Should Open a General Store?

• Those that don't have a lot of capital for their marketing budget

• People that have never opened a dropshipping store before (best to start with general then can niche down later)

• Those that have no experience in designing a website - Platforms like Shopify don't require any coding skills.

• People that have no idea what products to promote

Niche Store

A niche dropshipping store, also sometimes called a specialty store, is a type of online store that focuses on selling a specific category of goods in a specific niche. 

This can include anything from clothing to electronics to health and beauty products.

The goal of a niche store is to provide customers with an extremely high level of expertise and selection in their chosen product range. Unlike larger retailers that offer a broad array of products in order to meet the needs of as many people as possible, niche stores focus all of their efforts on meeting the needs of one particular group or demographic.

As a result, niche stores are often able to provide more specialized customer service, personalized recommendations, and unique selections that cater specifically to the interests of particular customers.

Ultimately, niche stores make it easier for consumers to find exactly what they are looking for, making them an increasingly popular choice for those looking for targeted shopping experiences.

Pros of Niche Stores

• Branding is much easier with a niche store because a niche store has a common theme across all products
• It’s easy to upsell and cross-sell because their products are all related.
• Conversion rates for niche stores are typically higher because buyers are less incentivized to find better deals by shopping around.
• Building a social media audience is easier because your table to have both a lifestyle and product content.
• Niche stores have a theme while General Stores don’t.
• Building a blog for niche store is much easier and a general store.  This is because General Stores don’t have a theme.
• It’s easy to change products when you need to as long as you stay true to your niche.
• You can make yourself as the go-to brand for your audience or niche.
• Niche stores have more credibility and authority compared to general-type stores
• Marketing is much easier because you’ll understand who your target audience is
• Search engine optimization is easier because google will understand what your website is all about because it’s focused on one niche.
• Niche stores are easier to manage compared to General Stores because they have less products and fewer suppliers to deal with.
• Working with social media influencers is easier compared to a general store.  Influencers are easier to find because you just have to look for ones in the same niche.

Cons of a Niche Store

• Once you choose your niche you can’t change it unless you do a complete rebrand.
• Some people may be attached to one particular brand in may not trust yours yet.
• There’s more branding involved with a niche store compared to a general store because this must be consistent throughout the entire site.
• You rely more on a small group of suppliers since you’re not dealing with that many.
•  Some niches may have a lot of competition making it harder to get sales.

Who Should Open a Niche Store?

• Entrepreneurs that have already started a general store and discovered a very successful and profitable niche or winning product.

• Those that have experience with market research

• Those that are familiar with the niche can also write content in their blog (on the store, you should always have a blog section)

One Product Store

A one product store focuses on a single product. It’s a great way to start if you have limited resources and want to focus on a product that has high demand. You can still offer variations of the same product, such as colors and sizes, but the product should be the same.

Pros of a One Product store

• Branding is very simple since you’re dealing with one product.
• Conversion rates for one product stores are usually the highest of the three.  This is because people have is your store are already interested in the product and there’s little need to convince them why they need it.
• You know exactly how your audience is because your target market is defined.
• It’s possible you might get media attention since your product is perceived as being unique.
• Customer service is a breeze because you are only dealing with one product.
• If your product is unique then ranking in the search engines will be very easy.
• There is an option to up-sell to a premium version of the same product or ones with different colors.
• There is less data to analyze because all your metrics will be connected to the one product.
• Working with social media influencers should be very easy.

Cons of a One Product Store

• There’s a greater chance for single product to fail compared to many (as in a General dropshipping store)
• A one product store is not ideal for dropshipping because you can’t brand your product.
• There is a lot of reliance on the small number of suppliers that you will be dealing with.
• There’s no flexibility with a one product store.  You can’t really change anything.
• You don’t have the ability to test any other niches or products.
• Market demand will dictate whether your product remains popular or not.
• You must be very experienced in product research in order to make a success of one product.
• You’ll need multiple high-resolution images with different angles in order to showcase your one product.
• You may need to constantly update your ads to make them effective to find the right audience.

Who Should Open a One Product Store?

• Those that have a good-sized marketing budget
• Those that have already been successful with a niche store and found a very popular product.
• People that have ready have some experience with e-commerce and dropshipping.
• Those that don’t mind taking a risk in a product they believe in.

Are There Courses That Teach General, Niche or One Product Stores?

Most dropshipping courses will either teach general store vs niche as they are closely related. One product store courses are pretty rare but they do exist. To see a list of the best dropshipping courses, check out my article here.

Conclusion

This wraps up a general vs niche vs one product store.  As you can see, each store has its advantages and disadvantages. Seeing what they are should make it clear which one is the right choice for you.

If you are going to start a dropshipping business with a general type store, you’ll need to analyze trends and take a look at other types of General Stores to see what they are selling.  You can also browse sites like AliEexpress that allow dropshipping and find some popular products on there.  As for the platform, I would go with Shopify because it’s very easy to use and requires no coding.

For a niche type store, everything you do with a general store you make do with a niche store accept focusing on that one particular niche.  You’ll still need to do it your product research and also find suitable products to promote.  I would suggest on focusing on just a few suppliers and make sure that you evaluate them for trust, reliability and of course price.

For any of these three store types, be sure to include an email marketing strategy to increase sales. A lot of sales in ecom come from emails so don't forget about incorporating this strategy.

If if you decide to open a one product store then you should really only deal with one supplier.  Evaluate several of them and then decide on the best one.

Found this article useful? Consider sharing it!