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How To Test Products in Dropshipping — Methods & Apps [2025]
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Building a successful dropshipping store requires you to go through several tests.
The tests of your entrepreneurial skills, decision-making skills, and the product you’re planning to sell on your dropshipping store.
Finding the right product(s) through these tests decides the chances of your success.
So, in this blog post, we’ll take you through a detailed guide on how to test products in dropshipping and different tools and methods to test dropshipping products.
Let’s get started!
Why Should You Test Dropshipping Products?
The dropshipping business model is considered one of the best models to start a business with a small budget and no inventory. But that doesn’t mean one should start the business with any random product.
There are two key reasons you should test your dropshipping products:
1. You don’t want to lose money on the wrong products.
The business still requires you to spend a decent amount of money to market and advertise your brand and its products. So, to ensure you’re spending money on the right path for long-term success, you must conduct tests for your dropshipping products.
Imagine spending $1000 on paid ads and finding out that customers don’t need that product. All the money spent on ads will be gone without a fruitful outcome and you’ll need to start from scratch with the next product.
That’s why you need a smart approach to find a winning product with the minimum possible ad spend. Once you find a solid product, you can then use the money to scale your business faster.
2. You want to build a brand from a long-term perspective.
If you’re looking at the dropshipping business from a long-term perspective, you would want to build a solid brand. For that, you must deliver quality products as well as great customer experience.
That’s why you must ensure you’re investing your efforts in the right direction, with the right products. Also, work with the right suppliers that deliver products with minimum or no complaints.
Methods to Test Dropshipping Products
There are multiple methods to test your dropshipping products.
Since we’re talking about “testing” products, it’s assumed that you have already done research on your niche or shortlisted a few products that you’re looking to test. If not, you should complete that step first.
Learn more: How to Leverage Dropshipping Product Research Tools for Success
1. Conduct Customer Surveys
Although you may have finalized the product idea from your end, you can’t be sure whether customers are going to love the product. “You loving the idea” is one thing — but it must not lead to an assumption that customers would be buying your product.
So, before putting everything at stake, conduct customer surveys to get a feel of how they like the product idea. If you have shortlisted multiple products, you can gain insights into which product they love the most.
To conduct surveys, you can use a free tool like Google Forms. Or if you have a Shopify store and an existing customer base, you can research pre-purchase survey apps in the Shopify App Store.
Make sure to ask important questions that solidify the test and help further with the launch.
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Conversion-focused questions: Add questions that capture customers’ intent to buy the product. For example, “Would you be interested in buying a watch with custom engraving?”
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Platform-related question: Ask about what platform they found you on. By asking this question, you can get an idea about which platform would be the best option for running paid ads.
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Pricing question: You can also get an idea about the ideal pricing strategy by including a question like — “How much would you like to pay for such a product?”
Pro tip: When you’ve launched a new store, it may not have good enough traffic to gather sufficient insights. So, if needed, use social media channels to gather more survey respondents.
2. Self-Testing by Purchasing Sample Orders
Before you launch the product, you should try it yourself.
It will give you a real idea about the product's quality, features, and reliability. Be familiar with every aspect of that product.
Some suppliers may offer sample products at discounted rates. Also, if you’re selling through a platform like CJdropshipping, you can order samples directly through its marketplace.
Once sample orders are received, review and compare them on various aspects. This will also help you market the product better. Use the sample product to create marketing and advertising material with high-quality, personalized images.
But remember — you don’t just test the product but also the supplier. Evaluate the actual shipping time — because that’s one of the crucial factors in customer satisfaction.
Pro tip: Initiate communication with the supplier. Evaluate how good and timely communication is delivered. Make sure there’s no language barrier and the supplier is enabling smooth communication. Once you start selling and scaling your business, communication can play a crucial role in your partnership.
Ideally, you should order samples from multiple suppliers so that you can compare them on all aspects — product quality, pricing, shipping times, communication, etc.
3. Run an A/B Test to Find the Winning Dropshipping Product
The main challenge with most testing methods is that you can’t generate revenue during testing. This challenge can be eliminated with A/B testing.
What is A/B testing in dropshipping?
A/B testing (also known as “split testing”) is a technique in which you create two different versions of the same web page (or any other digital asset) to measure and compare their performance — and see which one works the best for your business goals.
You can use this technique to test different dropshipping products or variants of a product and find out your winning product, i.e., the one that gets the most sales in the test.
For example, let’s say you’re selling women’s jewelry products and you have a necklace item with two different versions — a necklace with a gift box and a necklace with a customizable message card. You can create two different landing pages and test which version gets the most engagement and sales.
Again, you can use a Shopify app to run A/B tests, but more on that later, as we’ll explain the step-by-step process in the next section.
4. Launch a Pre-Order Campaign
Running a pre-order campaign is a great strategy to get an idea of customer demand before going all-in with your new dropshipping product. But make sure you have the inventory available for the products you’re launching for pre-order sale.
Learn more: How to Set up Pre-Order on Shopify + Best Apps & Tips
5. Hire an Agent for Product Testing
If you’re totally new to the dropshipping business or feel stuck, you can even hire a third-party agent who can help you test the product by acting as an intermediary between you and the supplier.
There’s a possibility that some good suppliers may not be able to communicate well in English. So, this method can also help resolve the language barrier.
6. Offer Free Product Samples to Customers
If you have the budget, you can offer free samples to customers in exchange for their genuine feedback or reviews. This is a costly method of testing dropshipping products; however, it’s quite a robust method as you’ll receive feedback from real product consumers.
Collect detailed feedback from consumers who opt in for the free samples. You can retarget those customers to buy paid products if they’re happy with it.
How to A/B Test Dropshipping Products
Now, let’s go through the step-by-step guide on dropshipping A/B tests:
Step 1: Define the Scope of the A/B Test
The A/B testing technique can be used in two different ways to test your dropshipping products:
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A/B test two different dropshipping products
For example, testing a digital watch vs a digital camera.
Another example: testing a man’s watch vs a woman’s watch.
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A/B test two different variations of the same product
For example, testing a jewelry piece with gold metal vs silver metal.
Define what type of test you’d like to conduct for your dropshipping store based on the types of products you’re planning to sell.
Step 2: Install a Shopify App for A/B Testing
You can research the A/B testing apps on the Shopify App Store to finalize which one is most suitable for your needs. But we’ve got you covered with this solution as well.
As a CRO and A/B testing expert in the Shopify ecosystem, we’ve created a new solution for you — with our years of experience — the GemX: CRO & A/B Testing app. It’s a powerful A/B testing tool that can help you test your dropshipping products and much more.
To begin the installation, click on the Install button.
Review the access permissions and click on the Install button again.
Now, you’ll see all the paid pricing plans. But don’t worry, you can just start with a 14-day free trial — and on top of that, you also get assurance of a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Click on “Start free trial”.
Step 3: Create Variants for A/B Testing
Now, create different variants that you’ll put in the A/B test.
Depending on your strategy and the number of products you’re aiming to test, you can create two or more variants. For example, if you want to test two variants of the same product, you’ll need to create two landing pages only. But if you want to test three different products, you may go for three different landing pages as your A/B test variants.
Pro Tip: Use GemPages — one of the most loved Shopify page builder apps — to easily create landing pages in a short time using professionally designed templates. You can customize the landing pages as per your needs using the visual drag-and-drop editor.
Step 4: Run the A/B Test(s)
Now, it’s time to run A/B tests to see which variant gets the most conversion. If you aren’t getting enough traffic to your site for testing purposes, you can use Facebook and Google ads
Before you end your A/B test, make sure it has reached the acceptable statistical significance level and you have run the tests for the required time and sample size.
Most experts advise that the acceptable statistical significance level should be 95%. In simple terms, a 95% significance level means that you’re 95% confident about the accuracy of your test and that it’s not just a fluke.
Step 5: Analyze the Results and Finalize the Winner
Once you’ve completed the A/B test(s), compare the results. See which one’s getting the most traction. Also, try to identify the reason behind those results. It can help you create further strategies to grow your business by doubling down on what’s working.
Lastly, finalize your winner based on results and analysis, and then, you can plan for marketing and paid ad campaigns for your dropshipping store.
Best Shopify Apps to Test Dropshipping Products
1. CJdropshipping: Much Faster
CJdropshipping is one of the most popular dropshipping apps on the Shopify App Store.
Rating & Reviews: 4.9 Out of 5 Stars (9,664 Reviews)
Key Features:
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Supports combining DIY bundle products.
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Applies optimized shipping method automatically.
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Shipping Calculation feature to see shipping methods and costs.
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Lets you import products via Google extension.
Pricing:
2. GemX: CRO & A/B Testing App
GemX is our new Shopify app that can help you with A/B testing as well as conversion rate optimization (CRO).
Rating & Reviews: 5.0 Out of 5 Stars (1 Review)
Key Features:
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Test landing pages to identify the best version.
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Compare and measure default and custom product pages for conversions.
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Run reliable A/B testing with proper traffic routing.
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Use advanced funnel analytics to gather valuable insights.
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Integrates with popular page builders like GemPages and PageFly.
Pricing:
3. GemPages Landing Page Builder App
GemPages can help you create landing pages with no coding or web design experience.
Rating & Reviews: 4.9 Out of 5 Stars (5,022 Reviews)
Key Features:
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Build store pages — home, product, collection, blog posts, and landing pages as well.
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Leverage mobile-friendly and professionally designed templates.
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Use CRO-focused elements such as a countdown timer, stock counter, etc.
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Turn images and URLs into webpage layouts using an AI-powered feature.
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Build a sales funnel with post-purchase upsell and downsell promotion.
Pricing:
4. Notify! Back in Stock | PreOrder App
Notify is one of the most popular pre-order apps on the Shopify App Store. You can use it to set up a pre-order campaign for product testing.
Rating & Reviews: 5.0 Out of 5 Stars (2,242 Reviews)
Key Features:
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Accept D2C and B2B preorders with discounts and partial payments.
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Display widgets on the home, collection, and product pages.
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Create a widget with "Notify me when available" or "Preorder Now" options.
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Set up preorder sales limit.
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Send email and SMS confirmations for preorders.
Pricing:
5. Gojiberry Survey & Feedback App
The Gojiberry survey app can help you conduct pre-purchase surveys that you can use for product testing.
Rating & Reviews: 4.9 Out of 5 Stars (20 Reviews)
Key Features:
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Set up easily with templates even on mobile devices.
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Create a pre-purchase survey popup to be displayed on the website.
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Send the survey link or QR code separately if needed.
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Use brand customization and language localization features.
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Review the results data on dashboard analytics or download it into a CSV file.
Pricing:
Final Thoughts on Testing Dropshipping Products
Starting a dropshipping store is a journey of learning through experiments. And product testing is the most crucial experiment of all. After all, the product is the driving factor for the success of your dropshipping business.
Develop a systematic and data-driven approach to test dropshipping products. Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t find immediate success because it can take some time and experiments to find your winning product.
To learn more about eCommerce marketing strategies, trends, and best practices — check out more resources on the GemPages Blog. Also, join the GemPages Facebook community to network and learn from like-minded entrepreneurs and experts.
FAQs About Dropshipping Product Testing
