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The 14 Best Shopify Apps to Help Grow Your Ecommerce Store

We dive into 15 of the best Shopify apps available for sales, marketing, and customer support. Learn how they can help you grow your business.

Alanna Gurr October 18, 2022
A woman looks at her mobile device while typing.

Using the best Shopify apps in your ecommerce store can help you take your shop from basic to bada**.

Integrating apps into your store can help you increase sales, streamline customer support, and improve customer experience. And luckily, Shopify’s huge app store offers thousands of apps to help you grow your business.

But with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out which apps are the best for your store.

Don’t worry — we’ve done the research for you! This blog post will dive into some of the best Shopify apps available and how they can help you grow your business.

Bonus: Learn how to sell more products on social media with our free Social Commerce 101 guide. Delight your customers and improve conversion rates.

The 14 best Shopify apps for your ecommerce store

Once you start looking at apps in the Shopify app store, you’ll realize that many offer free plans or free trials. What better way to make sure something is right for you and your business? Here’s a list of high-quality apps that are either free or offer free trials to get you set up right.

Best Shopify apps for customer support

1. Keeper — Recover Abandoned Carts

Keep Cart recover abandoned cart
Source: Shopify App Store

The average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 69.99%! That’s a whole lot of money unspent. The reality is, most customers shop on their devices multiple times a day before they press that buy button.

Customers may see a product they’re interested in on their desktop computer and put it in the shopping cart but then want to buy it later using their mobile device, where their credit card information is stored.

Keeper remembers customers’ shopping carts across all their devices. This makes it easy for them to complete their order, resulting in more sales for your store.

Shopify stars: 4.3

Key features:

  • Make it easy for customers to complete their orders across devices
  • Decrease your store’s abandoned carts
  • Increase your average order rates

Pricing: Free.

Customer review:

CHIC 404 Boutique 5-star review
Source: Shopify App Store

2. Route – Protection & Tracking

Route - Protection & Tracking app website
Source: Shopify App Store

Today’s customers have high expectations, and full transparency is the best way to satisfy them.

People want to know a lot of information post-purchase, like when their purchase has shipped, when they can expect it, and where it is in the shipping process. Route makes that possible with always-on package tracking and order protection against loss, theft, or damage.

And for the environmentally conscious consumer? Green Package Protection is the clincher.

If a customer picks Green Package Protection (for an added fee of up to 2% of their cart total), Route will calculate the carbon emissions created in transit and offset them to provide a carbon-neutral shipping experience.

Shopify stars: 4.1

Key features:

  • Reduce frustration, support costs, and claims resolution time
  • Give customers confidence and peace of mind at checkout
  • Take control of the brand experience from checkout to delivery
  • Increase conversion, loyalty, and customer retention
  • Help protect the planet while doing business

Pricing: Free.

Customer review:

Warrior 5-star customer review
Source: Shopify App Store

3. Loox – Product Reviews & Photos

Loox best product reviews across store
Source: Shopify App Store

If you could guarantee you’d boost conversions and sales by doing something simple, you’d do it, wouldn’t you? Highlighting customer reviews on your website can often translate into big wins.

According to Spiegle Research Center, there is a 270% likelihood of purchase for a product with at least 5 reviews compared to a product with no reviews.

Loox sends automatic review request emails to customers after they purchase your products. It will ask customers for reviews and even offer discounts for adding a photo or video.

Shopify stars: 4.9

Key features:

  • Highlight your best product reviews across your store
  • Encourage customers to share reviews with incentives
  • Choose from a variety of display options

Pricing: 14-day free trial. Plans start at $9.99/month.

Customer review: 

Razorback 4x4 customer review
Source: Shopify App Store

4. Joy – Rewards, Loyalty Program

Boost Your Sales Joy loyalty program
Source: Shopify App Store

Every customer loves incentives and deals. Especially these days, when people are more watchful of their spending and less likely to indulge. According to Insider Intelligence’s latest report, spending on durable goods fell 3.2% in 2022 as consumers pulled back from big-ticket products.

So how do you boost sales in an unpredictable market? Use a Shopify integration like Joy. Joy encourages customer loyalty by implementing an automatic earning and spending point system for customers to gain rewards.

With Joy, you can easily create custom on-page pop-ups that offer customers a welcome discount code or ask them to sign up for your loyalty program. Plus, you can set up different loyalty tiers, spending requirements, and more within the platform.

Shopify stars: 5.0

Key features:

  • An automatic and powerful rewards point system for spending, sharing on social media, or leaving a review
  • Boost retention, engagement, referral, and overall customer lifetime value
  • Improve your customer shopping experience and boost brand loyalty

Pricing: Free.

Customer review:

Joy 5-star review awesome toys and gifts
Source: Shopify App Store

Best Shopify apps for sales

5. Instafeed – Instagram Feed

Instafeed customizable grid
Source: Shopify App Store

We all know Instagram is addicting. There is just something about scrolling through images that keeps us hooked. In fact, it’s so conducive to selling products that 44% of people use Instagram to shop weekly.

Now, with the help of Instafeed, you can take that success and apply it to your Shopify store. Instafeed is an official Instagram app that, once integrated, displays custom shoppable Instagram feeds on your website, wherever you want it to.

Instafeed pulls content directly from your Instagram page, keeping your store’s content fresh with always updated content.

Instafeed is also a great tool to create social proof. You can repost user-generated content of customer photos on your Instagram to build social proof and convert your store visitors into customers.

Shopify stars: 4.9

Key features:

  • Save time staying on top of site image updates with automatic content
  • The photo display layout is fully customizable
  • There is no impact on store page speed

Pricing: Free and pro plans are available.

Customer review:

5 stars for streamlined Instagram feed
Source: Shopify App Store

6. Printful – Print on Demand

Print on Demand premium products for sale
Source: Shopify App Store

Printful is a print-on-demand dropshipping and warehousing service. With Printful, you don’t need to build up a massive stock of products before a customer orders. Instead, your products are created and printed on demand, one by one. Then, orders are sent directly from the Printful warehouse without you ever having to lay your hands on the product.

It’s a dream, really, for anyone looking to start an ecommerce shop. Printful allows you to offer your customers a variety of premium products ranging from T-shirts to mugs to art prints.

The great thing about Printful? You don’t have to be a designer to create eye-catching products! Printful also offers built-in tools for you to get started creating your own designs, product mockups, and even your brand logo.

Shopify stars: 4.6

Key features:

  • You pay only when an order comes in, with no upfront costs to Printful
  • Orders are filled and sent to your customer under your brand (they will never know it came from Printful)
  • Ability to customize your product packaging to make your brand stand out.

Pricing: Free and pro plans are available.

Customer review: 

Simonezzi Coffee Lounge
Source: Shopify App Store

7. Pinterest – Product Curation

Pinterest Product Curation visually appealing design
Source: Shopify App Store

After a decade of service, Pinterest has become a visual search engine giant. Users and businesses alike can pin and share images and videos of products on virtual bulletin boards.

Crafters use it. Designers use it. Wedding planners use it. Any theme you can think of is on Pinterest, so if your business isn’t, you’re missing out on a whole lot of potential customers.

Just install the Pinterest app and connect it to your Shopify store, and you’ll be able to start sharing your products with Pinterest’s huge and engaged audience. The app helps you increase your organic reach and get your products in front of over 400M people, and their wallets, on Pinterest.

Shopify stars: 4.8

Key features:

  • Quickly publish Product Pins, automatically update your product catalog, and track performance with the Pinterest Tag
  • Promote pins to reach even more people with campaigns to build awareness, drive consideration or get conversions all from your Shopify interface

Pricing: Free to install. Additional charges may apply.

Customer review:

Eve's Boutique 5-star customer review for readily available content
Source: Shopify App Store 

 

8. Etsy – Marketplace Integration

Etsy - Marketplace Integration
Source: Shopify App Store

Etsy is a global marketplace for unique and creative goods. If you’ve been in the ecommerce space for a while, you likely started selling on Etsy.

And even if you haven’t heard of it, if you’re a small business owner who sells products of any kind, you should probably get on it.

But if you add an Etsy shop to your existing Shopify store, how do you keep track of it all? That’s where the Etsy Marketplace Integration app comes in. The app automates the selling process and links your Etsy products with Shopify to avoid duplicate listings, all from one handy dashboard.

Shopify stars: 4.8

Key features:

  • Connects your Etsy store to your Shopify store, avoiding duplicate orders
  • Converts the Shopify store’s items’ currency to the currency of the marketplace the buyer is in
  • Real-time inventory management across both storefronts in one dashboard

Pricing: Free to install. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing.

Customer review:

SHAVA customer support
Source: Shopify App Store

9. Appstle – Subscriptions

Appstle conveniently manage subscriptions from Shopify admin page
Source: Shopify App Store

What’s better than one order? Recurring orders! Subscription-based selling is an easy way to tangibly increase your sales, and Appstle Subscriptions helps do just that.

Once customers find a product they like and trust, they become potential repeat buyers. Customers can subscribe to all kinds of products, like monthly coffee bean delivery, vitamins, and even rental clothes. So why not simplify your customer journey and sell your products through a subscription too?

Founded by an Apple-Siri engineer and an ex-Amazonian, Appstle provides an end-to-end recurring orders and payments solution.

Shopify stars: 4.9

Key features:

  • Send your shoppers automated emails to remind them of upcoming orders
  • Automatically process payments with recurring billing, using secure Shopify-approved gateways
  • Stay on top of inventory forecasting

Pricing: Free to install. Additional packages are available.

Customer review: 

5-star review great customer service and recommend for small businesses
Source: Shopify App Store

Best apps for Shopify marketing

10. Plug In SEO – SEO Optimization

SEO power tools
Source: Shopify App Store

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the organic visibility of a web page in search results like Google. It’s a free tactic but one that takes some skill.

You could have the best store out there and sell the best product available, but without SEO, you have a slim chance of showing up in search results for your customers.

Plug in SEO helps take the weight off your shoulders and optimizes your shop for you by auditing for image alt tags, schema, meta tags and descriptions, and more. This easy-to-use search engine optimization app was specifically made for Shopify stores.

With one little app, you can conduct your on-page optimizations, improve your search engine rankings, and increase traffic without confusion.

Shopify stars: 4.7

Key features:

  • Optimize your page speed to improve your SEO ranking
  • Get quick tips on how to improve your website
  • Quickly and easily bulk edit meta titles and descriptions for your products, collection, and blog pages

Pricing: Free.

Customer review: 

5 stars for professional SEO service
Source: Shopify App Store

11. Shopify Email – Email Marketing

Shopify Email branded templates
Source: Shopify App Store

Ecommerce emails have a 15.68% average open rate, but according to a 2022 study by Mailchimp, the average email open rate for all industries is 21.33%.

So how can you ensure that your email marketing is successful and in the higher range of email open rates? Get your foot (email) in the door (inbox) with the help of an app like Shopify Email.

Shopify Email was built for your store. It easily allows you to create custom email lists, campaigns, branded emails, and more, all from within the Shopify Admin. The app has a growing collection of email marketing templates like products, sales, restocking, newsletters, holidays, and events, that you can choose from.

So start signing up those subscribers and get that mailing list ready for your first campaign!

Shopify stars: 4.1

Key features:

  • Easily customize an email by editing text, buttons, images, layout, and more to make it your own
  • Link directly to products in your Shopify store
  • Add express checkout buttons to let customers buy products directly from your emails with just a few clicks

Pricing: Free.

Customer review: 

SAKETI Italy 5 star review
Source: Shopify App Store

12. Shogun – Landing Page Builder

Shogun powerful drag and drop builder
Source: Shopify App Store

The great thing about Shopify is that it is fairly user-friendly, so anyone can get a store up and running. But if you want your store to stand out from the crowd and look better than the basic package, then Shogun Landing Page Builder has you covered.

Shogun is a powerful drag-and-drop landing page builder that’s user-friendly and quick to learn. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned designer, you can use this tool to create an eye-catching and fast-loading landing page.

Shogun also takes into account that a lot of people use their mobile devices to shop. That’s why they’ve got mobile-optimized page templates to choose from. They incorporate the latest design best practices, so you don’t even have to think about it.

Shopify stars: 4.1

Key features:

  • Easy page builder with a drag-and-drop elements library
  • Options for more advanced designers to develop completely custom elements using optional HTML/Liquid, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Customize your collections, productions sections, blog pages, and more

Pricing: Free. Additional packages are available.

Customer review:

Hoscret's Shogun review
Source: Shopify App Store

13. Buy Button – Click to Buy

Buy Button click to buy clothing
Source: Shopify App Store

60% of marketers report that content marketing generates demand and leads. Having your products placed in blog articles, whether organically or paid for, can lead to conversions. So set up that Shopify store blog and start writing!

It’s an important marketing strategy tactic to create content for your blog and use the Buy Button app for product placements within it.

You can even customize the Buy Button to match your website’s style and brand by choosing the fonts, colors, and more.

Shopify stars: 3.7

Key features:

  • Let shoppers checkout right on the spot from any website or blog
  • Turn blog visitors and readers into customers with one click
  • Customize your Buy Buttons fonts, colors, and layouts to match your website’s style and brand

Pricing: Free.

Customer review: 

Brewtus Roasting 5-star customer review
Source: Shopify App Store

14. Klaviyo – Email Marketing & SMS

Klaviyo grow contact list with engaging web forms
Source: Shopify App Store

Want to know what makes your customers tick, click, bounce, and buy? Check out Klaviyo.

The Klaviyo database integrates seamlessly with your tech stack and gives you the full story of every customer that visits, from how they entered your page, what they looked at and how long for.

It also has email and SMS templates to choose from for customer communication and outreach.

Klaviyo makes it easy to sync with your Shopify store and will also create reports to help you understand your customers’ needs and what’s driving sales.

Shopify stars: 4.0

Key features:

  • Built-in automated emails that are fully customizable, like welcome emails, happy birthday discounts, or abandoned cart emails
  • Segmentation and personalization for customer groups
  • See real-life benchmarks based on real-time data from other brands in your industry

Pricing: Free to install. Additional packages are available.

Customer review: 

5-star review by History Teachers Club for paid subscription option
Source: Shopify App Store

Best Shopify apps FAQ

Which apps do I need for Shopify?

You’ll want to take advantage of the many apps and Shopify integrations available to make your Shopify store the best it can be. Choose from customer support, marketing, and sales apps to make your customer experience one of a kind. There are even Shopify chatbots that can help drive sales and increase conversions.

What is the number one Shopify app?

The Shopify App Store is always adding new apps, but some of the most popular include Shopify Email, Facebook channel, Google channel, and Point of Sale.

It’s not always the best idea to just go for the most popular app, though. Always look at how many Shopify stars the app has and what the reviews are saying about the app itself.

How many apps are recommended for Shopify?

We recommend including 3-5 apps in your Shopify store. There are a lot of free options out there and some great apps that will help you run your business as smoothly as possible.

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By Alanna Gurr

Alanna Gurr is a Content Strategist and associate editor of the Hootsuite blog, the industry's largest social media blog with more than 4 million monthly visitors. Alanna has been working as a full-time marketer and content creator since 2018.

Before joining Hootsuite in 2022, Alanna worked as a Content Marketing Manager at Vidyard, where she specialized in writing content about the SaaS industry, account-based-marketing and all things video. Previously, she worked as a strategic communications consultant and graphic designer for multiple municipalities and built social media strategies from the ground up.

Alanna loves helping social media marketers and content creators navigate the fast-paced world of digital marketing.

Alanna lives in Toronto, ON. In her free time, she likes to go for hikes with her dog and search for that perfect cup of coffee.

Read more by Alanna Gurr

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