Today’s ecommerce is highly competitive. You can sell almost any novel idea, and there will always be a buyer!
Case in point: stickers. Who would have thought tiny stickers with creative visuals and unique messages could draw a huge appeal and audience?
It does! And many Shopify stores sell stickers online and are making big bucks!
If you think selling stickers might be the profitable business idea you’re looking for, then this guide is for you.
A few years ago, I wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to sell stickers online. However, the market has changed dramatically since I started my first online store.
Nowadays, something as simple as stickers can bring in a steady stream of income for your sticker business if you know how to choose your target market and if you can build a solid Shopify marketing strategy.
But first, let’s explore how to start your sticker business and identify a sticker market that will help your products stand out! Keep reading to get inside information on how to sell stickers on Shopify!
Key Takeaways
- Starting a sticker business is a simple startup business idea. You can get started on this business idea even with no experience and a small investment.
- The sticker market is bigger than most sellers think; a sticker shop could earn you a steady income and a decent profit.
- You can sell custom stickers or use a sticker printing service. There are many ways to stand out in the sticker market and offer winning products on Shopify.
- Smart branding is important to succeed in a sticker online store, especially with a targeted market.
Reasons to Sell Stickers Online
Is it profitable to create and sell your stickers online? Will you be able to attract potential customers to your own sticker shop?
Despite being seemingly simple products, stickers are highly demanded online. There are many opportunities to showcase novel and design stickers that appeal to your target audience.
These reasons will help convince you to start a sticker business on Shopify, especially if you want to generate more sales and a sustainable income.
1. Huge Market for Stickers Online
In case you don’t know, there is a massive global market for selling stickers online, whether it is on Shopify or if you have an Etsy shop.
An industry research report estimates that the global die-cut stickers market will be worth $191 billion by 2028.
Another report from Growth Market Reports shows that the vinyl sticker market is rapidly growing, with a global market size valued at $4.15 billion in 2022.
It is expected to reach a value of $6.7 billion by 2031, showing a CAGR rate of 5.5% from 2023 to 2031.
If you’re worried about whether you’ll find enough market for your sticker business, these market forecasts and sales insights will convince you that it is a profitable business idea.
2. Various Customization Options
If you’re creative, you will definitely enjoy selling stickers online. Whether you create stickers or choose from pre-existing sticker designs, you can definitely make good money from selling stickers online.
There are various design options available, such as the following:
- Cars
- Pet illustrations
- Flora and fauna
- Food (vegetables, fruits, and drinks)
- Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Halloween)
- Themed stickers (fantasy, science, outer space, animals, retro, etc)
- Hobbies (camping, sports, travel, etc)
- Custom stickers
The design stickers you choose for your online store will attract different customers. Therefore, it’s important to analyze where you can find suppliers or printing services for stickers and what your ideal sticker market is.
3. Affordability
The third reason to build an online business selling stickers is that these products are relatively inexpensive. Stickers appeal to a broad audience and serve various purposes.
And yet, they are inexpensive to produce, whether you are buying pre-made stickers to sell or offering a custom sticker shop for your customers.
You don’t need to acquire the equipment for printing stickers, especially if you don’t have the capital investment for this business idea.
You can find a sticker printing service or use a dropshipping marketplace to make money with stickers online without the inventory or upfront investment of acquiring supplies for printing stickers. All you must do with a dropshipping marketplace is to set up an account and showcase the sticker designs or products in your online store.
When a customer orders from your store, you can forward the information to the sticker printing service, who will take care of the rest. Given that this product appeals to a broader audience, you can easily market these products on various social media platforms to earn a decent profit.
Get insider tips—download the eBook on Shopify competitor research now!Types of Stickers to Sell
Once you decide to sell stickers online, it’s time to think about what kind of stickers to sell. You have quite a few options available. But whatever you choose, you must decide early on in building your sticker business, as it will help you find a sticker printing service and build your business plan around that.
Essentially, you have two options: die cut and kiss cut.
Die-cut stickers are when the sticker material and the backing have the same shape. You can choose any shape for the sticker design.
On the other hand, kiss cut stickers are when the stickers are attached to a larger sheet of paper and the user must remove the sticker with the border and backing still attached to the main sheet. This sticker cutting technique is suited for sellers that want to sell multiple designs in one sticker layer.
Types of Sticker Finishes
Another decision to make when designing stickers for sale is the material finish. The finish for stickers for sale varies based on the material used. Therefore, consider this when choosing what stickers to sell, as your potential buyers might have varying preferences based on their intended sticker use.
Your options for sticker finishes include but are not limited to the following:
- Matte
- Mirrored
- Clear
- Prismatic
- Vinyl (or glossy)
- Holographic (or with glitter)
You can choose a few types of sticker finishes to sell in your sticker shops initially and then narrow it down to a few based on the demand and sales performance.
How to Find Stickers to Sell on Shopify
Are you on board with the idea of starting your own sticker shop on Shopify? Use these strategies to find the best-selling stickers and where you can find suppliers for your sticker shops.
The methods that I will demonstrate here utilize a product research tool called ZIK Analytics. This tool streamlines finding winning products for your online business, including those business owners who want to sell stickers.
Whether you own craft stores or have a dedicated sticker shop, this tool comes in handy to find products to sell with ease and maximize your profit margin.
But before I explain how to find stickers to sell on Shopify, make sure you customize the settings on the ZIK Analytics dashboard. Choose Shopify as the marketplace and Aliexpress for finding potential suppliers.
Method 1: Store Finder
Go to the Store Finder on the left side of the dashboard. Once you are on the Store Finder page, you can search for other sticker shops on Shopify by adding the keyword in the ‘Search by Keywords’ section.
For this, you can type in ‘stickers’ on the specified bar or add any other targeted keywords if you want specific sticker designs.
This search provides many results you can research and evaluate to find your ideas on the best products to add to your online store. This tool allows you to perform a competitive analysis on other sticker shops to analyze their strategy, how they price stickers and other selling strategies.
When choosing which store to analyze, look at their active products (the more products, the better). It’s also important to look at other sticker shops with a strong social media presence.
Once you choose a sticker shop to analyze, you can click on the Spy icon to find relevant data insights.
I found this Shopify store based in the US that specializes in selling stickers and other creative products. The store is called Big Moods. It also sells other products, such as greeting cards and candles.
However, it specializes in offering various sticker designs, and you can even shop by category.
I validated this store on ZIK Analytics’ Sales Tracker tool; the numbers are impressive.
They have a high social media presence and have 6,750 products in their store, which means you have more options to find potential product ideas for your sticker business.
There have been 2,737 sales in the last 30 days and a revenue of $11,059 within that same period. The store was launched in 2018, so it has shown sustainability in the sticker market.
Now, let us examine their products for ideas on what and how to sell your stickers online.
The first product we’ll examine is this Rainbow Sticker, which was originally sold for $3.50 (although it is on sale for $2.63 on the Shopify store).
Using ZIK Analytics, I was able to find a supplier for this product on Aliexpress. It is not an exact match, but it is also a rainbow sticker for $0.99 for 100 pieces.
Therefore, selling this product on your Shopify store would give you a profit of 2.51 per sold item. It’s a decent profit margin for a product that is easy to acquire, reproduce, and ship.
Now, let us look at another store as an example. This store is called Chubble Gum, and it sells various products, including stickers, just like the first example.
According to ZIK Analytics’ latest data, this store was created in 2021. It has over 3,000 products online and has generated 6,749 sales in the last 30 days. The total revenue it has earned in the same period is $176,601.
It’s time to scroll through their products. They are making good sales on their online store. One of their top sellers, a hoodie, sold over 60 products in 30 days. Keep scrolling to find items that are stickers.
This product is an example of a sticker sold on the website. It is sold for $25 on the sticker shop and it sold 9 times in the last 30 days, for a total revenue of $225.
Aside from finding suppliers through ZIK Analytics, another way to utilize the Store Finder tool when you sell your stickers online is to analyze how competitors market their products.
For example, you can check their social channels to determine how they showcase their products on their social media platforms.
Method 2: Product Explorer
The next method for finding ideas for your sticker business is to use the ZIK Analytics’ Product Explorer tool.
Once you click on the product explorer tool, again, you must enter the keyword for your desired search results. For this search, you can tick the dropshipping box to find dropshipping products.
With this tool, you will find product ideas instead of other sticker shops.
Based on the search input results, there are many possible sticker products you can sell in your store.
One novel idea is this sticker tattoo. This waterproof temporary tattoo sticker costs $4.48 and is available in several color options.
According to ZIK Analytics, it sold five times in the last seven days and 41 times in the last thirty days, earning the seller a revenue of $132. This data makes it a potential winning product for your online store.
If you think your target market would be interested in this sticker product, you can use the tool to find potential suppliers on Aliexpress. Just click on the Box icon.
True enough, there are several options for potential Aliexpress suppliers.
The first product on Aliexpress is listed for $0.99. It is similar to the Shopify store product above, which is waterproof and temporary. It is also a full-sleeve tattoo.
This product has been sold 22 times on Aliexpress, so it is a good option if you are looking for suppliers for your online store. Given the pricing strategy by the seller, you can earn $3.49 per item sold.
There is another option on Aliexpress, albeit this one is sold for $1.50. This product gives you a profit of $2.98 per sold item. Meanwhile, this has sold 18 items already.
You can identify which product you want and where to get your supplier for the sticker designs that you have chosen.
Tips to Succeed When You Sell Stickers on Shopify
After your stickers are made or you’ve chosen your products, the next thing is to plan a solid strategy that will help you succeed with your sticker store. Stickers for sale are in high demand, and planning how to design and print stickers will put you in a better position to build a steady income.
Pricing Your Stickers
Pricing your stickers is one of the trickiest parts of a sticker business. When you price your stickers, consider the cost of the materials, such as the sticker material and the cutting machine.
However, this is for when you want to create stickers at home or if you create your own sticker designs. This approach is the way to go if you are creative and want to showcase your designs.
But again, you have to consider the overall costs to ensure you price your stickers so that you can profit from each sale.
Other factors, such as the type of material and your brand positioning, can influence how you price your stickers.
Shipping Stickers
Shipping stickers should be no issue since they are easy to pack and lightweight.
However, this does not mean you don’t have to put care and effort into packaging your items because they are also extremely delicate. Using proper packaging materials when you ship stickers is crucial to keeping them in good condition when they arrive at your customers.
Marketing Your Stickers
You can leverage social media or Shopify email marketing to increase your product visibility. Also, investing in high-quality images and videos is important when you add your products to your sticker business website.
It allows your potential customers to be drawn to your products by using high-quality visuals.
Launch Your Sticker Shop in Minutes
Want to know how to sell stickers on Shopify without the tech overwhelm? Use ZIK’s Shopify AI Store Builder to generate a fully optimized Shopify store tailored to your niche. It takes care of design, layout, and even starter content so you can focus on finding bestselling sticker designs and marketing them. Whether you’re selling vinyl decals or custom art stickers, this tool helps you get up and running fast.
How to Sell Stickers on Shopify FAQs
Is it profitable to sell stickers?
Yes. Selling stickers online can be very profitable since you can produce them cheaply and target a specialized market. Research studies estimate that the sticker industry will be worth over $191 million by 2028, while other sources say it can be worth billions.
How do I start selling stickers?
Knowing your niche is important before you build a sticker business website. Identify the sticker products you want to sell and validate whether there is a demand within that niche.
Do you need copyright to make stickers?
When creating stickers and your own designs, be mindful of using other people’s artwork. Unless you have permission, you must refrain from using other people’s designs in making custom stickers.