Dropshipping vs eCommerce: What’s The Difference?

In short, dropshipping is a type of eCommerce order fulfillment where orders are forwarded to a dropship partner or supplier where they ship the product directly to the customer. Whereas eCommerce represents any form of electronic commerce or the sale of goods online.

Let’s dive into more details and comparisons between dropshipping vs eCommerce.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping allows you to supply products for your online store and fulfill orders. It’s both a product supplier and order fulfillment method. With dropshipping, you partner with merchants and dropship companies to sell their products in your eCommerce store.

Essentially, you act as a sales channel for the company’s products you sell as an online retailer. You handle the customer service and processes for driving traffic and visitors to purchase products. They handle the inventory management and shipping of products to customers.

Dropshipping businesses have risen in popularity over recent years with many suppliers looking to sell more online and develop partnerships with those who understand online marketing or already have an established customer base.

One of the most popular companies to use the dropship business model is Wayfair.

eCommerce

The term eCommerce comes from the same vein as eMail as the “e” stands for electronic mail, or for eCommerce, it’s electronic commerce.

eCommerce companies supply products with various methods like handcrafting, manufacturing, wholesale, or dropshipping.

Companies can choose to manage their own inventory in-house, with a 3PL, or use dropshipping, where you hold no inventory.

However, eCommerce is a broad term that spans across all methods of selling products on an online store. Whether you sell products on your own Shopify store, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, or other marketplaces, it’s all various forms of eCommerce.

eCommerce can even refer to selling courses or digital products online through platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, or Udemy.

If there is any form of payment online for both physical or digital products and services, that is considered eCommerce.

To Conclude

eCommerce is the process of selling goods online, hence the term “eCommerce” or electronic commerce.

In comparison, dropshipping only is a specific type of eCommerce order fulfillment and method for supplying products to sell.