10 Essential Shopify Apps for New Stores

When you're setting up a new Shopify store, choosing the right apps can make a significant difference in your store's functionality, customer experience, and ultimately, your sales.

With thousands of apps available in the Shopify App Store, it can be overwhelming to determine which ones are truly essential. In this article, I'll share the 10 essential Shopify apps that every new store should consider installing to enhance their operations and improve customer satisfaction.

1. Klaviyo - Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for e-commerce businesses. Klaviyo specializes in e-commerce email marketing and allows you to:

• Create automated email flows for abandoned carts, welcome series, and post-purchase follow-ups
• Segment your customers based on their behavior and purchase history
• Design beautiful, responsive emails with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor
• Track the performance of your email campaigns with detailed analytics

2. Loox - Photo Reviews

Social proof is crucial for building trust with potential customers. Loox makes it easy to collect and display photo reviews from your customers by:

• Automatically sending review request emails after purchase
• Offering incentives for customers to leave photo reviews
• Displaying beautiful review widgets on your product pages
• Creating shoppable Instagram-like galleries of customer photos

3. Privy - Pop-ups & Email Capture

Building your email list is essential for long-term success. Privy helps you capture email addresses and reduce cart abandonment with:

• Customizable pop-ups, banners, and fly-outs
• Exit-intent technology to capture visitors before they leave
• Targeted displays based on visitor behavior
• A/B testing to optimize your conversion rates

4. ReviewXpo - Product Reviews

ReviewXpo is a comprehensive product review app that helps build customer trust and boost conversions. This powerful app offers:

• Automated review request emails with customizable templates and timing
• Photo and video review capabilities to showcase authentic customer experiences
• SEO-friendly review displays with rich snippets for better search visibility
• Review moderation tools to maintain quality content
• Social media integrations to share positive reviews across platforms
• Analytics dashboard to track review performance and customer sentiment

6. Giftify - Gift Wrap & Gift Messages

Giftify enhances your store's gifting capabilities and helps increase average order value. With this app, you can:

• Create and sell gift wrap with any products
• Customize gift wrap designs to match your store's branding
• Send gift wrap with a personalized message
• Allow customers to schedule gift wrap and message for special occasions
• Email notifications to your loved ones

5. Oberlo - Product Sourcing

If you're running a dropshipping business, Oberlo is an essential app that allows you to:

• Find products to sell from AliExpress and other suppliers
• Import products directly to your Shopify store with one click
• Automatically fulfill orders when customers make purchases
• Track shipments and manage inventory levels

6. Shopify Flow - Automation

For stores looking to automate repetitive tasks, Shopify Flow is a powerful tool that enables you to:

• Create automated workflows without any coding knowledge
• Set up triggers based on customer actions or store events
• Automate inventory management, customer service, and marketing tasks
• Save time and reduce manual errors in your operations

7. Smile.io - Loyalty & Rewards

Customer retention is just as important as acquisition. Smile.io helps you build a loyal customer base by:

• Creating points programs, referral programs, and VIP tiers
• Rewarding customers for purchases, social shares, and other actions
• Integrating seamlessly with your Shopify store's design
• Providing analytics to measure the effectiveness of your loyalty program

8. Shipstation - Shipping Management

Efficient shipping management is crucial for customer satisfaction. Shipstation helps streamline your fulfillment process by:

• Importing orders from multiple sales channels
• Comparing rates from different carriers to find the best shipping options
• Automating shipping label creation and order processing
• Sending tracking information to customers automatically

9. Lucky Orange - Analytics & Heatmaps

Understanding how visitors interact with your store is key to optimization. Lucky Orange provides:

• Heatmaps showing where visitors click, move, and scroll on your pages
• Session recordings to watch how real visitors navigate your store
• Live chat functionality to assist customers in real-time
• Form analytics to identify where customers abandon your checkout process

10. Recharge - Subscription Payments

If you sell products that customers need regularly, offering subscriptions can significantly increase your recurring revenue. Recharge allows you to:

• Set up and manage subscription-based products
• Give customers control over their subscription frequency and delivery dates
• Process recurring payments automatically
• Reduce churn with subscription management tools

Conclusion

Choosing the right apps for your Shopify store can significantly enhance your store's functionality and improve the customer experience. While there are thousands of apps available, starting with these essential ones will provide a solid foundation for your new Shopify store.

Remember, it's not about installing as many apps as possible, but rather selecting the ones that address your specific needs and help you achieve your business goals.