The 10 Best Shopify Apps to Take Your Store to the Next Level

The 10 Best Shopify Apps to Take Your Store to the Next Level

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Chock-full of features and easy to use, Shopify is one of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms. All sorts of businesses, from SMBs to big brand names like Heinz, Hasbro, and Red Bull, power their online stores with Shopify.

We’re big fans of Shopify because it empowers store owners to create the store of their dreams without price gouging or copying the products of their top users like, ahem, some other big online retailers.

One of the other ways Shopify empowers business owners is by allowing third-party integrations, called apps, that help you build your store without needing to hire a professional developer.

So, what are the best Shopify apps? Which ones are worth spending money on? Which ones really increase sales? Without further ado, here are ten top-notch widgets, all of which are available in the Shopify App Store.

Klaviyo — Email Marketing App

If you don’t already know, we’re huge proponents of lifecycle marketing. Communication is at the core of every good lifecycle marketing campaign and using the right tool for the job makes it much easier. Win back long-lost subscribers, upsell products, recover abandoned carts and keep new customers in the loop with Klaviyo. In a nutshell, Klaviyo makes email campaigns much simpler — and now it also includes SMS and push notification options, too. And you’ve probably heard us talking about customer segmentation (for things like upselling and promotions for loyal customers), right? Klaviyo can help with that too.

Integration is simple — all it takes is a single click.

Not much of a writer? Not a problem. Klaviyo includes preformatted nurturing and cart abandonment email templates: just insert your company logo and modify the details a little and you’re good to go. Define your email list, set your schedule, sit back and reap the benefits of marketing automation. What’s not to like?

How Much Dough?

Klaviyo has a scalable pricing structure that grows with you depending on the size of your list. Enter your list size in their calculator and they’ll estimate the price.

TL;DR

Klaviyo makes email marketing easier. Pre-made templates and automation schedules take the guesswork out of staying in touch — and it’s not very expensive, either. Totally worth it.

Too complicated? Contact QDM and we can help you maximize your email marketing ROI.

ReCharge  — Subscription App

Subscriptions are one of the best ways to increase customer lifetime value and secure a steady stream of monthly recurring revenue (MRR). While there is a flurry of subscription apps out there, ReCharge is clearly one of the best. ReCharge makes it easy to set up subscriptions for any of your products. And once it’s installed, your customers can quickly sign up and edit their subscription schedule. All you have to do is send out their products every month!

It also integrates well with Klaviyo, if you choose to go that route for email marketing.

How Much Dough?

The standard plan is  1% + 10¢ per transaction, which means it instantly pays for itself. If you want more features, you can update to the pro plan for $300/month, plus 1% + 19¢ per transaction.

TL;DR

If you want to maximize customer LTV, reduce churn, and create a better buying experience for loyal customers, then you need to start offering a subscription. ReCharge is one of the best Shopify apps to help you do it.

Printful — Custom Product Creation

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Printful is a print-on-demand app. If you’re a designer or an artist, you can slap your images onto a wide range of merchandise items with Printful. Mugs, hats, t-shirts, posters, tote bags, phone cases — even recycled fabric bikinis. 

It works like this: you integrate the Printful app; customers place orders via your website; orders flow through the Printful system; items are made on-demand and shipped directly to customers. Even better, global Printful production partners make international distribution totally doable.

How Much Dough?

The Printful app is free — but you’ll need a Printful account (and a linked credit card) to get going. Printful makes a middleman profit on each item.

TL;DR

If you’re a graphic designer or an artist and you want to put your images on merchandise, Printful is a great solution. Added bonus: you don’t have to store any inventory in your garage.

ArtPlacer — AR Visualization

ArtPlacer is a virtual gallery app for artists and photographers who want to sell original works online. What makes this app so cool? Augmented reality — that’s what. Easy to set up and satisfying to use, ArtPlacer functionality helps clients visualize artworks in situ. You simply set up an ArtPlacer account, upload your images and add dimensions to get started.

After that, you can “hang” your artwork on virtual walls (choose from several prefab rooms) using the ArtPlacer Sample Room Widget. Visitors can use the ArtPlacer Client Room Widget or the real-time ArtPlacer AR Widget to view paintings and prints in their own homes, too.

How Much Dough?

Monthly subscription fees for ArtPlacer begin at $11 for a basic plan (perfect for self-employed artists) and go up to $59 for a feature-heavy gallery plan. 

TL;DR

Are you an artist or a photographer? Do you want to sell your work online? Sure you do. Go on — give ArtPlacer a try for $11 a month.

Facebook Messenger Marketing — Social Media Integration

Social media is here to stay — and so is Facebook Messenger Marketing. Facebook Messenger Marketing is a neat little bot for Facebook Messenger that is similar to Klaviyo’s SMS function. You’ll need the Facebook Messenger Live Chat plugin to make it work. You can use Facebook Messenger Marketing to highlight abandoned carts, provide order status updates and chat with visitors.

Facebook Messenger Marketing isn’t a CRM, but it does include one very clever CRM-centric feature — the ability to see past chats with specific customers. This seemingly innocuous perk drives personalization, which helps improve customer satisfaction.

How Much Dough?

Facebook Messenger Marketing costs…zero. Absolutely nothing at all. What about Facebook Messenger Live Chat, though? That’s also free — but you can subscribe to the premium version for $4.99 a month if you want bells and whistles. 

TL;DR

Well-programmed marketing bots make life easier. Recover abandoned carts, update customers and automate chitchat with Facebook Messenger Marketing. Best of all, it’s basically free.

Oberlo — Dropshipping

Oberlo makes dropshipping a breeze. If you’re unfamiliar, dropshipping is an alternative to an inventory-based ecommerce business. You don’t have to find warehousing space for hundreds of product lines, and you don’t need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on bulk merchandise, either. In other words, dropshipping is a low-risk business model. 

You can find dropship products in a hurry with Oberlo. Simply choose from Oberlo Marketplace and AliExpress products and then customize them to suit your needs. You can use Oberlo to track orders and inventory levels, too.

 

How Much Dough?

If you your store has fewer than 500 products, Oberlo won’t cost you a dime. If you need more than that, the price goes to $29.99-per-month Boss Plan, which allows up to 30,000 products.

TL;DR

Oberlo makes it easier to find and ship the right custom products. Thanks to the free option, there’s Oberlo is the best option for beginner dropshippers.

Instagram Shop by SNPT — Visual Storytelling

Instagram Shop by SNPT basically turns your business Instagram feed into a shop. Embed links into your photos to enable impulse “I want that thing now” purchases — and make user-generated content shoppable.

You can also link products together and create related groups using the app’s Shop the Look Card. The upshot? A bigger basket value. You can also use Instagram Shop by SNPT to track your success rate and optimize future promotions to increase your conversion rate and boost sales. Finally, Instagram Shop by SNPT can also help you select brand-specific influencers to take your business to the next level.

How Much Dough?

Instagram Shop by SNPT is free to use — but there are paid in-app pro features like on-hover product card display and SNPT logo removal.

TL;DR

Instagram Shop by SNPT turns your Instagram feed into a mini ecommerce store. Visually driven consumers see clickable links and you gain a new revenue stream. Everybody wins. 

Bulk Image Edit — Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

High-quality product images are a must-have for ecomm. SEO-optimized high-quality images are even better — and that’s where Bulk Image Edit comes in. Batch edit photos and save time with this neat integration: optimize image size, add alt text and embed watermarks.

Need to crop 50 photos at once for your Instagram feed? No problem. Need to reduce file size without compromising quality? Again, not an issue with Bulk Image Edit. Customize templates and create actions to add predefined attributes in a flash.

How Much Dough?

Bulk Image Edit is a free app if you optimize fewer than 50 images a month. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month for 1,000 monthly edits, and go up to $49.99 a month for 10,000 monthly edits.

TL;DR

Optimize your workflow and standardize all the images on your site with Bulk Image Edit. Add watermarks, add alt text and optimize your product photos for Instagram without poring through individual files. In short, you’ll save time — and that’s never a bad thing.

Smile — Rewards

Loyalty programs keep customers coming back — and now you can create your very own rewards and retention program with Smile. More than 40,000 Shopify stores already power their loyalty programs with Smile, so why not join the masses? Customize perks, create interactive pop-ups, organize marketing campaigns and more.

Word of mouth is an incredibly potent form of advertising — and you can use Smile to build a referral program. Track results with in-app analytics and hone your strategy on the fly. Finally, reward enthusiastic patrons with a VIP status and turn them into brand advocates. 

How Much Dough?

Simple Smile referral programs cost nothing. Paid subscriptions start at $49 per month and go up to $599 per month for the ultra-fancy Pro plan.

TL;DR

Smile is a popular, highly rated Shopify plugin. If you want to create a rewards program for your ecommerce store, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option.

Infinite Options — Customization

Make customization more accessible with Infinite Options. Shopify’s 100-variant maximum not good enough for you? Add radio buttons, drop-down menus, text and number inputs, swatches and a ton of other fiddly extras to product pages on your site. Create gift wrap options, speedy delivery options, message options — you get the picture. 

If you provide a service and not a physical product, you’ll find Infinite Options integrated calendar and date-picker tools very useful. If you’re an artisan, use the app’s fields to offer your customers personalized engraving. One more thing — Infinite Options customer support is great, so don’t worry about getting stuck.

How Much Dough?

Infinite Options plans start at $7.99 for unlimited options, product bundles, swatches and more. Upgrade to the POS version for $11.99 a month if you also run a physical store with a checkout. 

TL;DR

Infinite Options is undoubtedly one of the best Shopify apps out there. It’s user-friendly and majorly expands your Shopify variant potential. If you sell products in multiple colorways or you offer personalization, it’s a must-have add-on.

The Best Shopify Apps Wrap

Shopify templates are awesome — they’re easy to customize and provide great value for money. With that said, if you really want to make your ecommerce store pop, you need plugins like the ones above. With the right apps in your tool belt, grasshopper, you’ll go far.Prev

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