When I mention to people who are not in the eCommerce space that one-product stores are extremely popular and profitable, they are usually confused. They often ask:
- What is a one-product store?
- How does it work?
- Why would you only sell one product?
Chances are they’ve already purchased from a one-product store without realizing it. The good news is that one-product stores work, as long as you know what makes them work!
Even as a beginner looking to create your first store, it can appear daunting to build an entire store around a single item without any guarantees it will succeed. The good news is there a ways to verify the potential of a product first and increase the likelihood of success.
I have a complete step by step guide to building a one-product store for more information.
What is a One-Product Shopify Store?
A one-product store often called a single-product store is an eCommerce website that is designed and branded around a very specific product and targets a passionate audience of buyers.
A one-product store can be built using several eCommerce platforms including WooCommerce, Wix and BigCommerce, however, the most popular choice for most entrepreneurs is to use Shopify.
Shopify makes the entire process very easy and has a ton of themes that are ideal for one-product stores. I suggest you read my article 22 One-Product Shopify Stores Examples to give you an idea of how good they can look.
Even as a beginner, a one-product store can be built using Shopify within a day once you have learned the basics. Experienced Shopify users can build multiple one-product stores in a day.
Is it Better to Sell One Product?
A product that meets all the necessary criteria required for success is better to sell as a one-product store. It is the most optimal and effective way of maximizing the profit of a single product.
It is not necessarily better to sell one product as there are so many factors that can determine the success of a store. You really need to understand the types of products that are required for a successful one-product store before you can decide if it’s better to sell a single product.
For example, one of the most popular products in recent years for stores to build one-product stores around is the portable blender. Blendjet is one of the most well-known one-product stores and there are a ton of entrepreneurs trying to replicate their success.
The portable blender is an ideal product to build a store around as it’s unique, it solves a problem, it has a large and varied audience depending on who you target and the profit margins are high. There are many stores selling different variations of the portable blender which are all branded to give each store the perception they are the original creator of the product.
Let’s say instead of selling one product you thought you might open a niche store selling various kitchen appliances including the portable blender, more products equals more money right? Not always!
Kitchen appliances are generic, they’re complicated, they’re expensive to ship, you’ll be competing against retail stores and overall they’re tough to succeed with online. But now you’ll also make far less money with your portable blender in your kitchen appliances store too.
Your portable blender no longer has an entire store built around it. It does not appear specialized and your store does not appear like the original creator of the blender which decreases its overall perceived value.
This is an example of when it is far better to sell one product instead of assuming more products equals more money.
My Related Articles:
10 Advantages of Selling a Single Product
7 One-Product Store Design Tips
Do One-Product Stores Work?
I am seeing more and more one-product stores pop up than any other type of eCommerce store. They have so many advantages and can be set up relatively fast and at a low cost. This makes it easy to repeatedly attempt until you do succeed.
When you look at the biggest online stores in the world on Shopify you will see none of them are one-product stores. They are massive general stores or niche stores such as Fashion Nova, Colour Pop and Spigen. It’s hard to compete against the largest online stores in the world unless you have plans to build a massive company.
If you simply want to make good money with your own eCommerce store you need to differentiate yourself from these huge companies. The best way to do this is with either a very specific niche store that portrays you as the expert within that niche or a one-product store.
If you scroll through MYIP.MS which is a list of the Shopify stores in the world ranked from most popular to least popular, you will get the largest stores in the world on the first few pages. As you scroll through the middle section you start seeing more and more one-product stores in the list.
A one-product store can’t compete with a massive Shopify store selling thousands of products. But one-product stores do work and are extremely profitable. The upward trajectory of popularity has been steadily climbing is only proof that one-product stores work.
The big argument against one-product stores is you only have a single item to sell and your average order value (AOV) will be low. This argument only makes sense if you literally only have one item to sell. There are no rules and a one-product store is a name only and you can sell as many products as you like.
Ideally, you want a store focused on a single item but have related products, accessories and variants that can be used as upsells and cross-sells to increase your AOV.
Can I Sell Only One Product on Shopify?
There are no restrictions on the number of items that can be sold on Shopify. There are stores with thousands of items being sold and stores with zero items being sold, trust me, I’ve seen them!
However, the one thing you should be aware of is the Shopify theme you choose. Although most themes are all-purpose themes and can be used for thousands of products or a single item, some Shopify themes are designed specifically for one-product stores and others for stores with large inventories.
Themes that are designed for a single item may only be a single long page which you can purchase the item on the home page instead of going to a separate product page. Examples of this are Citrus and Ap Strollik which can be found on Theme Forest.
Then you have themes that are better options for stores with a massive catalog of products or a single product such as Booster and Debutify. These themes are often easy to navigate, have a simple layout without clutter, often have mega menus and you have the ability to organize your products within various collections.
Can I Dropship Just One Product?
You can dropship a single product on a Shopify store, however, it’s not optimal for a long-term business. The vast majority of successful stores selling one product purchase the inventory in bulk and use a third party to fulfill their orders.
One of the main benefits of a one-product store is the ability to purchase the item in bulk and by continually dropshipping you are not taking full advantage. Most one-product stores will initially dropship to verify the product has potential before ordering in bulk. This mitigates much of the risk with a large purchase.
Once the product has been proven by the store owner they will transition into ordering in bulk from Alibaba. They will then either continue to ship from China using an agent to store inventory and fulfill orders for them or use a domestic 3PL to pick, pack and ship their orders for them.
Agents in China are far more reliable and have access to premium shipping lines as opposed to Aliexpress sellers. So although you can dropship one product it simply does not make sense in the long term.
Summary
If you’re reading this post to better understand one-product stores and how they work I have several articles you can read including Do One-Product Store Still Work and One-Product Stores vs Multiple Product Store.
I suggest if you’re considering creating your own one-product store business you bite the bullet and give it a go. The important thing is to have realistic expectations and expect to fail initially. As long as you take the lessons you learned into your next attempt it’s a win.
There is such a low barrier to entry that failing is not a huge loss and it all does it take you one step closer to success.
