Whether you’re getting ready to launch your Shopify store, or you already have one up and running, the Shopify apps you add can make a huge difference in both customer experience and efficiency. As a Shopify Partner, we curated a list of must-have apps for various situations. To help put it together, our lead developer weighed in on apps he loves!

Shopify Email Marketing Apps:

• ShopSync: A key app for anyone who uses Mailchimp for email marketing (and who doesn’t?!). Shopsync will sync all information, including customers, orders, and products in your Shopify store to Mailchimp. This smart app will then trigger automations, recommend products, segment customers, initiate pop-up forms, and much more! 
• Omnisend: Omnisend’s email marketing automation platform connects your eCommerce business with potential and existing customers across multiple channels, such as email, text, Facebook, Google, and others. The app is sales-driven and based on robust segmentation. Essentially, it helps you make the most out of email marketing and grow your subscriber base. 

Shopify Apps for Dropshipping: 

• Oberlo: Likely the most popular Shopify app for businesses engaging in dropshipping, Oberlo works by finding trending items across the internet and adding them to your store, without having to deal with the added stress of inventory management.
• Spocket: Spocket actually works in tandem with Oberlo, so if you’re in the dropshipping business, there are no problems combining the two for maximum results. How this app differs, is that it connects you with a network of wholesalers/suppliers in North America, Brazil, and Europe, allowing you to benefit from convenient dropshipping wherever your customers may be. Spocket also offers clever extras, like branded invoicing and one-click order fulfillment.

Shopify Apps for Marketing Automation/CRM: 

• Zapier: Ok, so Zapier technically goes beyond CRM (and it’s not truly an app), but it does work with some of our favourite marketing automation software programs, like Sharpspring. It also happens to seamlessly integrate over 2,000 other popular apps, such as Salesforce and Slack. In other words, why go through the worry of connecting everything manually, when a single app can do the job?!

Best Social Media Apps:

• Social Sharing Buttons: A massively popular, yet super simple social media app, Social Sharing Buttons is great for anyone who is creating digital content through their Shopify website. All it really does is allows readers to easily share your content on their social media platforms. Easy-peasy, but it’s great for social presence and SEO!
• Facebook Shop Channel: The all-new Facebook Shops is actually the brainchild of Facebook and Shopify. The two software powerhouses worked together to allow small-medium-businesses to sell their products on Facebook and Instagram at a nominal fee. Naturally, because the concept was dreamt up by Shopify itself, the associated app is a great fit for those wishing to sell online through these new channels.
• Instafeed: For anyone using Instagram as a marketing tool, Instafeed is a must-have app. It’s one that our developers use all the time with Shopify clients, and it works really well. The app essentially allows users to connect their Instagram, enabling them to display their feed whatever way they want, with the perfect look and feel to match the rest of the shop.

Best Plugins for Product Reviews: 

• Product Reviews: This one is pretty self-explanatory! No added frills, just simple, elegant integration for customer reviews on your website. It’s great for sales and SEO and can be designed to fit in with the overall theme of your shop.
• Rivyo: If like many, your business sells on Amazon or AliExpress, Rivyo is awesome in the sense that it automatically pulls reviews from these two sites, adding them to your Shopify store. The paid version has some worthwhile features to look into, including an SEO widget that shows your star rating to search engine users.

Out of Stock Apps for Shopify: 

• Back in Stock: Sometimes it’s about the little things you do as a vendor that make a big difference in customer experience. If you’ve ever found a product you were ready to buy, only to find out it was out of stock, you’ll understand. Back in Stock allows you to add a button under ‘out of stock’ items, automatically notifying your customers by email when it’s…. back in stock! This way, they don’t have to check back (or move on to the next store), and you don’t have to deal with manual communication or lost customers.

Loyalty Apps: 

• Smile: Currently in use by over 30,000 vendors, Smile is a smart rewards system that easily integrates with your Shopify store, as well as adding loyalty data to your email marketing campaigns. The app works in tiers, allowing you to build a loyalty points program, referral program, and VIP program for your customers.

Best Gift Card Apps: 

• EasyGift: Another no-fuss app, EasyGift makes it easy to add a gift card function to your Shopify store. The main draw of this app is that you’ll also be able to automatically add “gifts” to your customers’ carts. This will incentivize them to keep shopping with you, further facilitating brand loyalty.
• Shopkeeper Gift Cards: Choose from a variety of design templates suited for various life events (birthdays, anniversaries, Holidays, etc.). Shopkeeper has a free option that doesn’t take a commission or additional processing fees, making it a no-brainer for online sellers.

Shopify Apps for Wholesalers: 

• Wholesaler Club: Reward and incentivize your most profitable customers by offering them wholesale discounts in your Shopify storefront. Wholesale Club creates multiple and flexible discount rates for every type of product and even each individual product variant. These prices are only shown to selected customers, meaning you don’t have to worry about accidentally offering a discount to a non-wholesale client.

As every business owner knows, unique situations pop up all the time, and each one usually requires a unique solution. Aside from those listed here, there are thousands of other Shopify Apps for whatever you want to do with your store. Over the years, our lead developer has put his problem-solving skills to use by implementing solutions that are a perfect fit for any situation.

Looking for some help on adding Shopify apps to your storefront, or in need of a company that will help get your shop off the ground? Eden Advertising is an official Shopify Partner with lots of experience. Learn more about our Shopify services or contact us to get started.