Top 5 Tools That Every Shopify Merchant NEEDS to Have
With such accelerated growth in ecommerce, businesses are rapidly expanding. Some Shopify ecommerce store owners think they can handle everything manually and continue to grow. Unfortunately, we all need a little help. A great tech stack that integrates seamlessly into your business can provide that.
However, with over 7,000 apps on Shopify alone, it can be hard to choose which apps are right for you.
Whether you’re a new Shopify merchant wondering where to start or an established business looking for a competitive edge, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 Shopify apps that every merchant needs to have.
1. Email and SMS
Email and SMS applications allow retailers to set up automated workflows that help with cart abandonment, new subscribers, first-time purchases, and can even be used to send discount and coupon codes.
Email and SMS applications help engage your audience even after they have left your website. Three of the top Email and SMS applications we recommend are Klaviyo, Omnisend, and PostScript.
Retailers can adopt Klaviyo to send out discounts, promotions, updates, and even welcome their new customers.
Omnisend allows retailers to add multiple channels to automated workflows to be sent via email, SMS, and more.
Postscript helps you turn SMS into a completely new revenue channel—all while providing your customers an awesome buying experience.
2. Reviews and User Generated Content
Reviews and user generated content creates trust for new and returning shoppers. According to Oberlo, 54% percent of shoppers read at least four product reviews prior to purchasing a product.
Reviews and user generated content allow your shoppers to see what others think of a product before they purchase it. The best reviews and user generated content apps we recommend are Yotpo and Okendo.
Yotpo provides enterprise technology that helps marketers gather, manage, and respond to user generated content and reviews.
Okendo helps marketers capture customer reviews and showcase them on their website.
3. Customer Service
Customer service is important for any ecommerce business. Great customer service results in higher sales, higher customer retention, and a higher level of loyalty and trust from your shoppers.
Some of the top customer service applications that we recommend are Gorgias and Gladly.
Gorgias turns your help center into a profit center, allowing for brands to not only assist with customer questions, but to cross sell and upsell.
Gladly helps turn customer service agents into heroes by giving them one lifelong, channel-independent conversation with all the context needed to build lasting connections and loyalty.
4. Returns Management
Returns management solutions help retailers create a better customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and collect powerful business insights. Returns are a $761 billion dollar issue and aren’t going away anytime soon.
While there are simple Shopify returns apps out there, scaling merchants will require a more robust solution that addresses the operational challenges that come with increasing returns. For a great returns management system, we recommend ReturnLogic.
ReturnLogic is a robust return management platform essential for scaling ecommerce store owners.
ReturnLogic helps customer service and warehouse teams to manage and automate returns, scale their operations, and provide valuable data for management to make strategic business decisions.
5. Post-Purchase Experience
Nothing is more frustrating for a shopper than not knowing when their new product is going to arrive. Giving your shoppers visibility into their returns process can be a huge advantage. To compete with companies who offer great post-purchase experiences we recommend using Malomo and AfterShip.
Malomo allows retailers full access to order tracking and allows retailers to send personalized shipping updates to shoppers.
AfterShip provides order lookup, order tracking, and email updates.
Each of these apps can help your business is different ways. It’s important to guide and support your shoppers in every step of the customer journey. A well thought out tech stack to manage emails, reviews, customer service, returns management and the post-purchase experience is pivotal to a Shopify business owner’s success and future growth.
