A drop shipper can leverage data and analytics to make informed business decisions and identify emerging opportunities in a fluctuating economy by 

 Utilizing descriptive analytics to pull trends from raw data and succinctly describe what happened or is currently happening.

 Utilizing diagnostic analytics to compare coexisting trends or movement, uncover correlations between variables, and determine causal relationships where possible.

 Utilizing predictive analytics to make predictions about future trends or events.

 Utilizing prescriptive analytics to take into account all possible factors in a scenario and suggest actionable takeaways.