While in the past, consumers were hesitant to buy digital products, the convenience of smartphones, tablets, and eReaders has revolutionized the digital industry. Not only is digital often the preferred format for Millennial and Generation Z consumers, it’s also one of the most cost-effective, profitable products to add to your online business. Keep reading to learn more about this eCommerce opportunity and how to add digital products to your Shopify store.
Benefits of Selling Digital Products
There are many reasons why digital products are worth considering for your online business.
- Lower cost: With digital products, there is no physical inventory and no shipping required, which means high profit margins.
- Unlimited stock: You never have to worry about replenishing low inventory.
- Longevity: Digital products never expire. While you may occasionally need to update your products, these changes require minimal production costs compared to updating physical products.
- Full control: You have full control over every aspect. No manufacturing delays, backorders from suppliers, or dealing with returning faulty products.
- Reliable delivery: Shipping physical products can be a logistical nightmare, such as packages getting lost in transit or being damaged. With digital products, you never have to worry about these issues.
- Simple error resolution: Errors occur (even with digital downloads), but because you are dealing with a digital file rather than a physical product, it’s easier to resolve technical issues.
- Environmentally friendly: Your eco footprint is minimized with every digital sale. No packaging or fossil fuels are required to safely ship your product to the customer, which not only saves you money but helps the environment. (If the environment is important to your online business, be sure to check out our guide to creating an eco-friendly Shopify store.)
Popular Digital Products to Sell on Shopify
Below are some of the best types of digital products you can add to your Shopify store.
E-books
Book lovers equipped with eReaders and smartphones have created a significant demand for e-books in the digital product market. You can also use this digital format to provide free bonus products like DIY tips or beginner training guides when purchasing relevant products.
Music and Audio
Music and audio has been a powerful digital product since the days of Napster. While there have always been concerns about piracy, a growing awareness of artists’ rights with the help of platforms like Patreon, Kickstarter, and YouTube Giving, has led to greater acceptance of paying for content. Furthermore, a growing number of artists are choosing to sell directly to their fans rather than go through major record labels, which helps song writers profit more from their works while providing savings to customers.
Photographs and Digital Art
You probably won’t be able to compete with Getty Images or Shutterstock for the sheer amount of images they license, but with the right niche, you can find a lucrative position in the digital art market that general stock image companies can’t provide. We suggest pairing your digital downloads with an art-focused Shopify dropshipping app, such Printify, Printful, or Lulu xPress, which we cover in greater detail here.
Event Tickets
Ticket sales have long been considered a fast-paced, high-demand market. Shopify makes it easy to add this product type to your store through a number of event ticket apps that allow your customers to skip the queues and countless hours of waiting. If your business has the opportunity to regularly provide tickets for upcoming events, you can create a consistent traffic channel for new and repeat visitors to your site who can then be directed to other products you sell.
Subscription Software
When it comes to the digital product market, subscription software has become a profit powerhouse. Helping your customers simplify their work flows through innovative tools and automated solutions is one of the most effective ways to quickly build your brand.
Shopify’s Free Digital Downloads App
Shopify has a free app called Digital Downloads that offers basic eCommerce functionality. User reviews are mixed, so we suggest considering a paid app if digital products will make up a considerable part of your sales revenue. The table below compares the differences between Shopify’s free app, and what the competing third-party paid apps offer.
| Shopify’s Digital Downloads App | Competing Third-Party Paid Apps |
|---|---|
| Price: Free | Price: $5–29.99 / month |
Features:
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Features:
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Adding Digital Products with Shopify’s Digital Downloads App
To start selling digital products through Shopify, you need to install an app like Digital Downloads. Once the installation is complete, you can create a new digital product by going to Product > Add product from the Shopify admin page. Fill in the product details as you normally would for physical products, but be sure to also do the following:
1. Uncheck “Track quantity,” which will allow you to sell an unlimited number of digital downloads. If you want to track the quantity of your downloads, you will need to add the available quantity and decide whether or not it’s okay to continue selling the product when it’s out of stock by checking the box.
2. In the Shipping section, be sure to uncheck “This is a physical product”.
3. Be sure to check the variants box if the product is available in different formats. Variants for digital products may include:
- Offering different resolutions for downloadable images
- Making individual songs from an album available for purchase
- Segmenting an online educational course into individual modules
4. The next step is to connect your digital download to the product page. To do this, you first need to temporarily make the product unavailable by going to Product availability > Manage in the right-side menu. Then, uncheck all boxes, click done, and save the product page.
5. Open the Digital Downloads page by going to More actions > Add Digital Attachment.
Click “Upload File” and then select the file from your local desktop. If you have set up multiple variants for the product, you will need to repeat this step for each variant. Once you have completed connecting your files to your product, click on “View in Your Shopify Admin” to return to the product page.
7. Undo the actions taken in Step 4 by accessing Product availability > Manage and reselecting the appropriate sales channels. Then, click done and save the product page.
Note: The final delivery and the fulfillment process can be adjusted to automatic or manual. By switching to manual, releasing the product to the customer would be on hold until you authorize it. The customer email template can also be customized based on your requirements. Both of these features can be accessed through Settings in the Digital Downloads app page.
Improve Your Chances for Success with Digital Downloads
Taking into account Shopify’s strong eCommerce features and app functionality, you can see that it’s very easy to start selling digital products. But just because it’s possible to quickly create an eBook or digital photograph doesn’t mean that consumers will value it. It’s important to take time to research the needs of your target audience and then produce digital products that provide an answer to their issues.
If you have an idea for a digital download but don’t have the skills to create a professional product, there are many freelance resources available through platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, where creative professionals can turn your idea into a reality.
There are very few downsides to offering digital downloads as your primary product or optional variant. And as technology continues to develop, the format will only become more popular due to its convenience, cross-device accessibility, and environmental considerations. We hope this guide helps you on your path to successfully selling digital downloads through your Shopify store!
