Running a Shopify store in 2026 isn’t just about picking a nice theme and uploading products. The stores that win are the ones using the right tools to convert visitors, retain customers, and automate the boring stuff.
Here’s the problem: the Shopify App Store has over 8,000 apps. Most store owners end up either installing too many apps (slowing down their site) or not using the right ones (leaving money on the table).
After working with hundreds of Shopify stores and testing countless apps, I’ve seen what actually works. This isn’t a “top apps” list thrown together from Google searches. These are the 10 apps that serious store owners depend on to make real money.
Every app on this list solves a specific problem that’s costing you sales right now. Some reduce cart abandonment. Others turn one-time buyers into repeat customers. A few just make your life dramatically easier.
Most importantly, each one pays for itself many times over when used correctly.
What Makes These Apps Different
The apps that made this list share three things:
They directly impact revenue. We’re not talking about nice-to-have features. These apps either increase conversions, boost average order value, or improve customer lifetime value. Everything else is secondary.
They work without constant babysitting. The best apps do their job in the background. You set them up once, maybe tweak them monthly, and they keep working. You don’t need to be a developer or spend hours every week maintaining them.
Real merchants actually recommend them. I ignored marketing hype and focused on what store owners with real money on the line actually say. If an app has thousands of 5-star reviews from people running serious businesses, there’s usually a good reason.
Now let’s break down exactly which apps you need and why.
1. Oxify Cart Drawer – Stop Losing Sales at the Cart
What it does: Replaces your boring cart with a slide-out drawer that keeps customers on the page
Rating: 4.9/5 (Built for Shopify certified)
Pricing: Free plan available, Premium $29.99/month
Best for: Every store, especially if cart abandonment is killing you
The Cart Problem Every Store Has
Your default Shopify cart is losing you money. Customers add a product, click the cart button, get taken to a new page, and… leave. They get distracted. They want to keep shopping. They need to think about it.
Cart abandonment averages 70% across all Shopify stores. That means 7 out of 10 people who add products to their cart never complete checkout. Imagine if you could recover even 10-15% of those lost sales.
Oxify Cart Drawer solves this by keeping customers on the page they’re already on. When someone adds a product to cart, a smooth drawer slides out from the side. They can see what’s in their cart, add more items, or check out – all without navigating anywhere.
But that’s just the beginning.
What Makes Oxify Special
The sliding cart drawer itself
This is the core feature. Instead of redirecting customers to a cart page, Oxify shows everything in an elegant slide-out panel. Customers stay on the product page, collection page, or wherever they were. No interruption to their shopping flow.
Mobile shoppers especially love this. They’re not bouncing between pages – everything happens smoothly on the screen they’re already viewing.
Free shipping progress bars
This is psychological gold. Show customers exactly how much more they need to spend to get free shipping.
“Add $18 more for FREE shipping!”
This simple message increases average order value by 15-25% on average. Customers who were going to spend $50 suddenly spend $65 to hit that free shipping threshold. It works because free shipping feels like winning.
You can set multiple tiers too. Maybe free shipping at $50, a free gift at $75, and priority shipping at $100. Each tier motivates customers to add just one more item.
Cart upsells and cross-sells
Show recommended products right in the cart drawer based on what customers already added.
Someone buys a phone case? Show them screen protectors and phone holders.
Someone buys a dress? Show them matching accessories.
Someone buys coffee? Show them filters and mugs.
The beauty is timing. Customers have already decided to buy. They’re in buying mode. Offering relevant add-ons right at that moment converts like crazy.
Merchants consistently report 20-40% of orders include upsold products when they implement cart upsells properly.
Free gifts with purchase
“Spend $50, get a FREE t-shirt!”
Nothing motivates purchases like free stuff. Oxify lets you set up gift tiers that automatically appear in the cart when customers hit your threshold.
The psychology here is powerful. Customers don’t want to leave money on the table. If they’re at $45 and need $50 for a free gift, they’ll find something else to add.
BOGO (Buy One Get One) offers
Buy two candles, get the third 50% off. Buy a skincare set, get a travel size free. These deals display beautifully in the Oxify cart drawer and customers can see exactly what they’re getting.
Urgency timers
“Complete your order in 12:35 to secure these items”
Use this carefully – too much urgency feels scammy. But for legitimate situations (flash sales, limited inventory, special pricing), countdown timers create real motivation to complete checkout now instead of later.
Trust badges and payment icons
Show your security badges, payment options, money-back guarantee, and customer service info right in the cart. This addresses last-minute doubts.
Customers get nervous at checkout. Showing trust signals at that exact moment increases completion rates.
Discount code field
Customers can apply discount codes directly in the cart drawer. Frictionless.
Cart notes
Let customers add gift messages, special instructions, or personalization requests without leaving the cart.
Shop Pay integration
For customers who’ve used Shop Pay before, they get one-click checkout. Shop Pay users convert up to 72% better than traditional checkout according to Shopify data.
Cart persistence
Customer abandons their cart and comes back two days later? Their items are still there waiting for them. This alone recovers sales.
Real-time analytics
See exactly how much additional revenue your cart features generate. Track free shipping bar performance, upsell conversion rates, and more.
The Real Impact
Merchants using Oxify consistently report:
- 10-30% increase in overall conversion rates
- 20-40% increase in average order value
- 25% reduction in cart abandonment
- 15-20% of orders include upsold products
One merchant wrote: “we have not enabled upselling in cart but overall this is a really good cart drawer. It has improved our conversion rate.”
Another said: “Easy customisation option, 25% increase in the average order value.”
These aren’t outliers. This is what happens when you remove friction from the buying process and give customers reasons to add more to their order.
Technical Excellence
Oxify is Built for Shopify certified, meaning it meets Shopify’s highest standards for:
- Performance (won’t slow down your site)
- Design (looks professional out of the box)
- Integration (works with other apps seamlessly)
It ranks in the top 2% of Shopify apps for speed. This matters because cart performance directly affects whether customers complete their purchase.
The app works flawlessly on mobile, which is critical since 60-70% of Shopify traffic comes from mobile devices.
Setup and Customization
Installation takes 15-30 minutes for most stores. Oxify is built specifically for Shopify 2.0 themes, so it integrates cleanly without breaking your design.
You can customize:
- Colors and fonts to match your brand
- Which features to enable (maybe you want the drawer and free shipping bar but not upsells yet)
- Positioning and sizing
- Progress bar messaging
- Which products appear as upsells
Support is consistently praised. Merchants say the Oxify team responds within minutes and actually solves problems instead of sending boilerplate responses.
Who Needs Oxify
You definitely need this if:
- Your cart abandonment rate is above 65% (most stores are)
- Your average order value is under $250 (huge opportunity to increase)
- You have complementary products that work well together
- You get significant mobile traffic
- You’re tired of customers adding items and disappearing
You might not need this if:
- You sell one single product with no related items
- You’re a B2B store with complex custom pricing
For 95% of Shopify stores, Oxify is an immediate win.
The Bottom Line
At $19/month, Oxify pays for itself if it helps you recover even one cart abandonment per day. Most stores see dozens of additional sales and hundreds to thousands in extra revenue every month.
Your cart is the last step before money hits your account. Making it smooth, helpful, and motivating should be priority one.
Pro tip: Start with just the cart drawer and free shipping bar. Get that dialed in for two weeks and track your numbers. Then add upsells one product at a time and measure the impact.
2. Klaviyo – Email & SMS Marketing That Prints Money
What it does: Turns customer data into automated revenue through email and SMS
Rating: 4.6/5 (4,600+ reviews)
Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts, starts at $20/month
Best for: Stores doing $10K+/month serious about retention
Why Email Still Dominates
Social media algorithms change. Ad costs go up. Search traffic fluctuates. Email? Email you own.
Your email list is the only marketing channel you truly control. No platform can take it away. No algorithm decides who sees your messages. When you email your list, those messages land in inboxes.
Good email marketing generates 20-40% of total revenue for successful stores. Some stores push that to 50%+. That’s not future revenue or potential – that’s money hitting your bank account every week from emails you set up once.
What Klaviyo Actually Does
Klaviyo isn’t just an email tool. It’s a customer data platform that happens to send really smart emails and texts.
Real-time Shopify integration
Every action on your store syncs to Klaviyo instantly. Someone browses a product? Klaviyo knows. Someone adds to cart but doesn’t buy? Klaviyo knows. Someone makes their third purchase? Klaviyo knows.
This real-time data is what makes Klaviyo different from cheaper tools. There’s no delay. There’s no batch processing overnight. Actions happen and Klaviyo responds immediately with the right message.
Flow automation that actually works
Flows are automated email sequences triggered by customer behavior. You build them once and they run forever, making you money while you sleep.
Essential flows every store needs:
Welcome series – New subscriber joins your list. They get a series of 3-5 emails over the next week introducing your brand, sharing your story, showing your best products, offering a first-time discount. 30-40% of people who enter this flow make a purchase.
Abandoned cart – Customer adds items but doesn’t buy. They get an email 4 hours later, another email 24 hours later, and sometimes a third email 48 hours later. Well-crafted abandoned cart flows recover 10-15% of abandoned carts.
Browse abandonment – Customer looks at a product but never adds to cart. Klaviyo still captures this. Send them an email showing that product with a nudge to check it out again. This catches people in the research phase before they even commit to your cart.
Post-purchase – Customer buys something. Send them a thank you email, ask for a review, recommend related products. This is when customers are most engaged with your brand.
Replenishment reminders – Sell products that run out? Coffee, vitamins, skincare, pet food? Send an email exactly when customers are likely to need to reorder. “Hey, it’s been 28 days since you bought that coffee – ready for more?”
Win-back campaigns – Customer hasn’t ordered in 90 days. Send them a “we miss you” email with a special offer to bring them back. Even if you only recover 5% of churning customers, that’s found money.
Customer lifecycle emails – Send different content based on where customers are in their journey. First-time buyers get different emails than someone who’s ordered 10 times.
The Segmentation Advantage
This is where Klaviyo destroys cheaper tools. You can segment your list by virtually anything:
- People who bought X but never bought Y
- Customers who spend over $100 per order
- People who browse on mobile between 8-10pm
- Anyone who opened your last email but didn’t click
- Customers in specific geographic locations
- People who bought once and never came back
- Your top 10% of spenders (VIP segment)
Why does this matter? Because you can send targeted messages that feel personal instead of generic blasts.
Example: You sell athletic wear. You can email people who bought running shoes but never bought running shorts and offer them a shorts discount. That’s a hyper-relevant message to exactly the right people. Conversion rates on targeted emails like this are 3-5x higher than generic newsletters.
SMS marketing integration
Email and SMS in one platform using the same customer data. SMS is perfect for time-sensitive stuff:
- Flash sale starting in 2 hours
- Item they want is back in stock
- Cart reminder (even more effective than email for carts)
- Shipping updates
SMS open rates are 98% compared to 20-25% for email. Use it sparingly (don’t spam) but use it for moments when immediate attention matters.
Predictive analytics
Klaviyo uses AI to predict:
- When customers will buy again (so you can email them at the perfect time)
- Who’s about to churn (so you can win them back before they leave)
- What customers are likely to buy next (so you can recommend it)
This isn’t marketing BS. It actually works. One store owner said they sent replenishment emails based on Klaviyo’s predictions and saw 23% of recipients make a purchase.
Revenue attribution
See exactly which emails generate how much revenue. Your abandoned cart flow generated $3,200 last month. Your welcome series generated $5,100. Your win-back campaign generated $800.
This lets you optimize the stuff that works and fix or kill the stuff that doesn’t.
Real Results
Stores with properly configured Klaviyo setups typically see:
- 20-35% of monthly revenue from email
- 25-30% of new subscribers make a purchase within 30 days
- 10-15% recovery rate on abandoned carts
- 3-5x ROI on money spent on the platform
One direct-to-consumer brand doing $180K/month generates $45K from Klaviyo emails. That’s 25% of their entire business coming from an email channel they set up once and maintain 2-3 hours per week.
What You Should Know
It’s not cheap as you scale
Klaviyo pricing is based on number of email contacts. Once you hit 5,000 people on your list, you’re paying $150+/month. At 10,000 contacts, you’re at $350+/month.
But here’s the thing: if you have 10,000 engaged email subscribers and Klaviyo is generating 20-30% of your revenue, paying $350/month is a joke. You’re making tens of thousands from those emails.
The cost only hurts if you’re not using the platform properly or if you’re too early-stage to have a meaningful list yet.
It has a learning curve
Klaviyo is powerful, which means it’s not as simple as drag-and-drop email builders. You’ll spend time learning how to build flows, set up segments, and configure everything properly.
Plan on 2-4 hours of setup initially, then another full day to build your core flows properly. After that, maintenance is minimal.
Support can be slow on free plans
If you’re on the free plan, support response times are slower. Once you’re paying, support gets much better.
Klaviyo vs Cheaper Alternatives
Omnisend costs less and does 80% of what Klaviyo does. It’s perfect for stores under $30K/month or stores that don’t need the most advanced features.
Shopify Email is basically free but lacks automation sophistication. Fine for newsletters, weak for actual revenue-driving automation.
Mailchimp isn’t really built for ecommerce anymore and lacks Shopify-specific features.
For serious stores, Klaviyo is worth the investment. It’s the platform most successful Shopify brands use for good reason.
Setup Strategy
Start with these three flows:
- Welcome series (3-4 emails)
- Abandoned cart (2-3 emails)
- Post-purchase thank you + review request
Get those working and generating revenue. Then add: 4. Browse abandonment 5. Win-back campaign 6. Replenishment (if applicable)
Don’t try to build 20 flows on day one. Master the core three, then expand.
Pro tip: The abandoned cart flow is the fastest way to see ROI. It’s literally recovering lost sales. If you only have time to set up one flow first, make it abandoned cart.
3. Judge.me – Product Reviews That Actually Convert
What it does: Collects and displays customer reviews to build trust
Rating: 5/5 (21,000+ reviews)
Pricing: Free forever, Premium $15/month
Best for: Every single store (no exceptions)
Why Reviews Are Non-Negotiable
Nobody trusts what you say about your own products anymore. They trust what other customers say.
Products with reviews convert 3-4x better than products without reviews. That’s not marginal – that’s make-or-break for your store.
Think about your own buying behavior. When was the last time you bought something online without checking reviews first? Exactly.
Reviews aren’t just nice to have. They’re table stakes for running an ecommerce business in 2026.
What Judge.me Gets Right
Judge.me is the most popular review app on Shopify for good reason. It gives you everything you need without the $200+/month price tag of enterprise review platforms.
The free plan actually works
Most “free” plans are basically demos that force you to upgrade. Judge.me’s free plan includes:
- Unlimited review requests
- Automatic review request emails
- Photo and video reviews
- Star ratings on product pages
- Review carousel
- Google Rich Snippets (shows stars in search results)
- SEO benefits
- 100+ app integrations
That’s not a trial. That’s a full-featured review system that works permanently for free.
For new stores or stores on tight budgets, this is gold.
Premium plan for $15/month (if you want it)
The premium “Awesome” plan adds:
- Remove Judge.me branding
- Advanced widgets and customization
- Google Shopping integration
- Social media sharing tools
- Review incentives (coupons)
- Q&A functionality
- Custom review questions
- Priority support
At $15/month flat (no price increase as you grow), this is an absolute steal compared to Yotpo at $300/month or Stamped.io at $50-150/month.
Most stores should just pay the $15. You’ll make that back with one extra sale per month.
Automated review collection
Set it once and forget it. After a customer receives their order, Judge.me automatically sends them a review request email.
You control the timing. Most stores send it 7 days after estimated delivery. That gives customers time to actually use the product before reviewing.
Reminder emails go out automatically if customers don’t respond. You can A/B test your email subject lines and content to optimize response rates.
High-performing stores get 15-25% review submission rates. That means for every 100 orders, you get 15-25 new reviews flowing in automatically.
Photo and video reviews
Text reviews are good. Photo reviews are 3x better. Video reviews are gold.
Customers can upload photos and videos directly in their review. Judge.me makes this super easy with mobile-friendly upload interfaces.
Why does this matter? Because shoppers trust customer photos way more than your professional product photography. They want to see what the product looks like in real life, in someone’s home, on a real body.
Fashion and beauty brands especially should prioritize photo reviews. Stores offering a $5-10 discount for photo reviews see 40-50% of reviews include photos.
Google Shopping integration
Your reviews automatically sync to Google Shopping. When people search for products, they see your star ratings right in the search results.
This dramatically improves click-through rates. A 4.5-star product listing with 50 reviews gets clicked way more than a listing with no reviews.
Review widgets
Judge.me provides multiple widgets you can add to your store:
- Star ratings on product pages
- Review carousel on homepage
- All reviews page
- Reviews in collections
- Testimonial sliders
- Trust badges
These are all customizable to match your branding.
SEO benefits
Reviews are fresh, user-generated content that search engines love. Every new review is new content on your product pages.
Rich Snippets (the stars that show in Google search results) improve your organic click-through rates by 20-30%.
Judge.me automatically implements all the technical stuff (JSON-LD structured data) so Google can read and display your reviews properly.
Import from other platforms
Switching from another review app? Import all your existing reviews with one click. Judge.me accepts imports from Shopify Product Reviews, Yotpo, Stamped.io, Loox, Amazon, and dozens of other platforms.
You don’t lose years of social proof when you switch.
24/7 support
This is huge. Judge.me offers 24/7 support even on the free plan. Average response time is under 40 seconds.
That’s not a typo. Forty seconds.
Compare that to most apps where free users wait days for support responses. Judge.me treats everyone like paying customers.
Merchants consistently say Judge.me has the best support of any Shopify app they’ve used.
Real Impact on Sales
Merchants report:
- 15-30% increase in conversion rates after installing Judge.me
- 3-4x higher conversion on products with 10+ reviews vs products with zero reviews
- 25-40% of customers check reviews before buying
- Products with photo reviews convert 50% better than text-only reviews
One merchant said: “About every fifth customer of ours leaves a review, which is amazing.”
Another: “Judge.me was a perfect solution to add social proof onto our website… The video & image upload feature is perfect!”
Why Judge.me Instead of Competitors
Yotpo costs $300-2,000/month depending on features. It’s powerful but massive overkill for most stores. Unless you’re doing $1M+/year and need enterprise features, you don’t need Yotpo.
Stamped.io is middle ground at $23-50/month. Good app, but Judge.me offers similar features for $15 or free.
Loox focuses heavily on photo reviews and Instagram integration. If you’re in fashion/beauty and photos are everything, Loox might be worth the $35-100/month. For everyone else, Judge.me photo reviews work great.
Judge.me gives you 90% of what these expensive apps offer at a fraction of the cost.
Setup Strategy
- Install Judge.me (takes 10-15 minutes)
- Set up automated review request email (7 days after delivery)
- Customize your widgets to match your brand
- Implement Rich Snippets (one-click setup)
- If you have existing reviews elsewhere, import them
- Wait 2-3 weeks for reviews to start flowing in
Once reviews start coming in, feature your best ones on your homepage and product pages.
Pro tip: Offer a $5-10 discount code for customers who submit photo reviews. This dramatically increases the percentage of reviews with photos. Make the offer clear in your review request email.
4. PageFly – Landing Pages That Actually Convert
What it does: Builds custom landing pages, product pages, and site sections without code
Rating: 4.9/5 (10,500+ reviews)
Pricing: Free plan available, Premium $24-99/month
Best for: Stores that need custom pages beyond what themes allow
Why Your Theme Isn’t Enough
Shopify themes are great for getting started. They’re not great for:
- Custom product launches
- High-converting landing pages for ads
- Sale event pages
- Building pages that look different from your competitors
Every popular Shopify theme is used by thousands of stores. Your store looks similar to hundreds of others. That’s fine for basic functionality but terrible for standing out.
PageFly lets you build custom pages that are uniquely yours.
What PageFly Does
Drag-and-drop page builder
Build any page you want by dragging elements where you want them. No coding required.
Add sections like:
- Hero banners
- Product grids
- Testimonial sliders
- Video sections
- Countdown timers
- FAQ accordions
- Before/after comparisons
- Pricing tables
- Email capture forms
- Trust badge sections
Everything is visual. You see exactly what you’re building as you build it.
150+ pre-built templates
Don’t start from scratch. Choose from templates designed specifically for:
- Product launches
- Sales pages
- Collection pages
- About us pages
- Coming soon pages
- Thank you pages
- Landing pages for Facebook/Google ads
Templates are conversion-optimized based on ecommerce best practices. Start with a template, customize it to your brand, publish.
Mobile responsive
60-70% of Shopify traffic comes from mobile. Every page you build in PageFly automatically works perfectly on mobile.
You can even customize mobile layouts separately if you want different designs on mobile vs desktop.
A/B testing
Build two versions of the same page and test them against each other. PageFly tracks which version converts better.
Test different headlines, different hero images, different layouts, different calls-to-action. Let data tell you what works instead of guessing.
Fast loading times
Page builders can slow down your site if they’re built badly. PageFly is optimized for speed and won’t tank your site performance.
Works with any theme
PageFly integrates with all Shopify themes. It doesn’t replace your theme – it enhances it.
Real Use Cases
Product launch pages
You’re launching a new product. You want a dedicated page with:
- High-quality hero image/video
- Detailed feature breakdown
- Customer testimonials
- Size guides or specifications
- FAQ section
- Email capture for launch notifications
- Countdown timer for pre-orders
This is way beyond what your theme can do. With PageFly, you build it in 2-3 hours.
Landing pages for ads
You’re running Facebook or Google ads. Sending traffic to your homepage is wasteful. You want a dedicated landing page focused on one product or offer.
PageFly lets you build single-product landing pages optimized for the exact offer in your ad. This typically doubles conversion rates vs sending ad traffic to generic pages.
Sale event pages
Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Summer Sale. You need a page showing all sale products with:
- Countdown timer creating urgency
- Sale product grid
- “Ends soon” messaging
- Free shipping information
PageFly makes this easy to build and easy to update.
Better product pages
Your theme’s product pages are basic. You want:
- Enhanced image galleries
- Size charts and fit guides
- Prominent customer reviews
- Trust badges and guarantees
- Video demonstrations
- Upsell recommendations
- Additional product information tabs
PageFly lets you rebuild product pages with all of this.
Free vs Paid
Free plan:
- 1 published page
- All features
- All elements
- Perfect for testing or if you just need one landing page
Premium plans ($24-99/month):
- Unlimited published pages
- Remove PageFly branding
- Priority support
- Advanced features
Most stores need the $24/month plan once they move beyond testing.
The Real Value
A well-built landing page can increase conversion rates by 50-200% compared to sending traffic to generic pages.
If you’re spending money on ads, PageFly pays for itself instantly. Better landing pages = lower cost per acquisition = more profit per sale.
Even if you’re not running paid ads, having custom pages for launches, sales, and special offers makes a huge difference in revenue.
Setup Time
First page: 2-4 hours as you learn the tool
After that: 30 minutes to 2 hours per page depending on complexity
Pro tip: Start with a template close to what you want. Customize it for your brand and products. Don’t build from scratch unless you need something really unique.
5. TinyIMG – Speed & SEO That Drive Free Traffic
What it does: Optimizes images and fixes SEO issues automatically
Rating: 5/5 (1,800+ reviews)
Pricing: Free plan, Premium $24-96/month
Best for: Every store (speed and SEO matter for everyone)
Why Speed and SEO Aren’t Optional Anymore
Slow sites lose sales:
- 1 second delay = 7% drop in conversions
- 3 second load time = 40% of visitors bounce
- Google ranks faster sites higher in search results
Bad SEO = invisible store:
- No organic traffic
- Every visitor costs money (ads)
- Competitors outrank you
TinyIMG fixes both problems automatically.
What TinyIMG Does
Automatic image compression
Images are usually the biggest files on your site. Uncompressed product photos can be 3-5MB each. Multiply that by 10-20 images per page and your site crawls.
TinyIMG compresses every image on your store automatically without losing visible quality. Typical savings: 60-80% smaller file sizes.
One store reduced their image sizes from 5GB total to 1.2GB. Page load times dropped from 4.2 seconds to 1.8 seconds. Conversion rate jumped from 2.3% to 3.1%.
That’s $800+ extra revenue per month just from faster images.
Lazy loading
Instead of loading all images when the page loads, lazy loading only loads images as customers scroll to them.
This makes pages feel instant. The hero image loads immediately. Images below the fold load when customers scroll down.
This simple change can cut initial page load time in half.
Alt text generation
Every image needs alt text for SEO and accessibility. Writing alt text for hundreds of products manually is torture.
TinyIMG automatically generates SEO-friendly alt text for every image based on your product information. Google can now understand what your images show, which helps you rank in image search.
SEO audits
TinyIMG scans your entire store and flags issues:
- Missing meta descriptions
- Duplicate meta descriptions
- Missing title tags
- Broken links
- Slow-loading pages
- Missing alt text on images
- Unoptimized images
- Missing keywords
You get a prioritized list of what to fix first.
Bulk editing
Fix hundreds of meta descriptions in minutes instead of hours. TinyIMG lets you edit product SEO in bulk instead of one-by-one.
Google-friendly code
TinyIMG minifies your CSS and JavaScript, removes unused code, and makes your site as clean as possible for Google.
Page speed monitoring
Track your Core Web Vitals (Google’s speed metrics) over time. See if changes to your store improve or hurt performance.
Real Impact
Merchants report:
- 30-60% faster page load times
- 10-25% increase in organic search traffic
- 5-15% improvement in conversion rates
- Saves hours every week on manual SEO tasks
Free vs Premium
Free plan:
- 50 image optimizations/month
- Basic SEO audit
- Manual lazy loading
Premium ($24-96/month based on store size):
- Unlimited image optimization
- Automatic lazy loading
- Auto alt text generation
- Ongoing SEO monitoring
- Broken link fixing
- JSON-LD structured data
For active stores, Premium is worth every penny. The time savings alone justify it.
Who Needs This
Everyone. Every store has images that could be optimized. Every store has SEO issues that need fixing.
Especially critical if:
- You have hundreds or thousands of products
- Your site loads slowly
- You’re not ranking in Google
- You add new products frequently
Setup Time
20 minutes to install and run first optimization. After that, it works automatically in the background.
Pro tip: Run the SEO audit first to see all your issues. Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with the quick wins like missing meta descriptions and slow images.
6. Omnisend – Email & SMS for Growing Stores
What it does: Email marketing with SMS, popups, and automations
Rating: 4.7/5 (5,800+ reviews)
Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts, starts at $16/month
Best for: Stores wanting Klaviyo features at lower cost
Why Omnisend Exists
Klaviyo is powerful. It’s also expensive and overkill for stores under $30K/month.
Omnisend gives you 80% of Klaviyo’s capabilities at 40% of the cost. For many stores, that’s the perfect balance.
What Makes Omnisend Different
Email + SMS in one platform
Manage both channels from one dashboard. Same customer data, same automation workflows, same reporting.
Pre-built automation workflows
Omnisend includes ready-to-use flows for:
- Welcome series
- Abandoned cart
- Abandoned browse
- Post-purchase
- Win-back campaigns
- Birthday emails
Just turn them on, customize the content, done. No building from scratch.
Campaign booster
Omnisend automatically resends emails to people who didn’t open them the first time. This simple feature increases email revenue by 10-15%.
Product recommendations
Show “you might also like” products in emails based on browsing or purchase history.
Popups and forms
Build email capture popups directly in Omnisend. No separate popup app needed.
Sales dashboards
See exactly what revenue each email generates. Track ROI on your automation flows.
Omnisend vs Klaviyo
Choose Omnisend if:
- You’re doing $10K-$50K/month
- You want email + SMS in one place without complexity
- Price matters
- You want pre-built automations
Choose Klaviyo if:
- You’re doing $50K+/month
- You need advanced predictive analytics
- You want the absolute best segmentation
- Budget isn’t a constraint
Real Results
Merchants report:
- 40% average open rates on automation emails
- 20-25% of revenue from email
- 72:1 average ROI ($72 return for every $1 spent)
What’s Free
Free plan includes:
- Up to 250 contacts
- 500 emails/month
- 60 SMS/month
- All automation workflows
- Basic reporting
Perfect for new stores testing email marketing.
Setup Time
2-3 hours to set up core flows (welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase).
Pro tip: Omnisend has better email templates than Klaviyo. Use them – they’re professionally designed and conversion-tested.
7. Shopify Inbox – Free Live Chat That Converts
What it does: Live chat for customer service
Rating: 4.6/5 (2,300+ reviews)
Pricing: FREE (made by Shopify)
Best for: Every store (it’s free and works)
Why Live Chat Matters
30-40% of customers leave if they have a question and can’t get an immediate answer.
Live chat stops that from happening.
What Makes Shopify Inbox Good
It’s actually free
Not “free trial” or “limited free plan.” Completely free forever with no restrictions.
Mobile app
Answer chats from your phone. You don’t need to be at your computer all day.
Integrates with Shopify
Automatically shows customer order history, past purchases, cart contents. You have context for every conversation.
Automated responses
Set up FAQ answers that respond automatically to common questions:
- What’s your return policy?
- Do you ship internationally?
- When will my order arrive?
Customers get instant answers. You save time.
Chat to sale tracking
See which conversations lead to purchases. Track ROI on your time spent in chat.
How Live Chat Makes Money
Scenario 1: Customer has a sizing question. Without chat, they leave to Google it and never return. With chat, you answer in 2 minutes. They buy. Extra $80.
Scenario 2: Customer’s discount code isn’t working at checkout. Without chat, they give up. With chat, you fix it in 30 seconds. Sale complete.
This happens dozens of times per week for active stores.
When to Upgrade to Paid Chat
Shopify Inbox is free and works great for:
- Stores under $100K/month
- Small teams
- Manageable chat volume
Upgrade to tools like Gorgias or Zendesk if:
- You’re doing $100K+/month
- You have a dedicated support team
- You get 50+ chats per day
- You need ticketing systems and complex workflows
Setup Time
15 minutes. Maybe 30 if you set up automated responses.
Pro tip: Only show “online” when you can actually respond. Don’t frustrate customers by appearing available when you’re not.
8. Recharge – Subscriptions for Predictable Revenue
What it does: Turns one-time purchases into recurring subscriptions
Rating: 4.1/5 (1,700+ reviews)
Pricing: $99/month + transaction fees
Best for: Products customers buy repeatedly
Why Subscriptions Change Everything
One-time purchases are hard. You acquire a customer, they buy once, they disappear.
Subscriptions solve this:
- Predictable revenue every month
- Higher customer lifetime value (5-10x higher typically)
- Lower acquisition costs (one acquisition, many purchases)
- Better cash flow
- You can afford higher marketing spend
The Subscription Math
Without subscriptions:
- Customer buys coffee for $25
- Your acquisition cost: $30
- Profit: -$5 (you’re in the red)
- Hope they remember to come back
With subscriptions:
- Customer subscribes for $22/month (slight discount)
- Your acquisition cost: $30
- Month 1: -$8 loss
- Month 2: +$14 profit
- Month 3: +$36 profit
- Month 6: +$102 profit
- Average customer stays 12 months
- Customer lifetime value: $264 vs $25
That’s why subscription brands can afford higher customer acquisition costs and still be wildly profitable.
What Recharge Does
Customer self-service portal
Customers can skip shipments, swap products, pause, or cancel without contacting support. This reduces your support workload by 40-50%.
Flexible billing options
Weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually – whatever makes sense for your product.
Prepaid subscriptions
Let customers prepay for 3, 6, or 12 months upfront. This gives you cash flow immediately and reduces churn (customers who prepay are much less likely to cancel).
Dunning management
When credit cards fail (happens 15-20% of the time), Recharge automatically retries the payment on smart schedules. This saves 15-20% of potentially lost subscriptions.
Email flows
Upcoming shipment reminders, skip reminders, back-in-stock alerts for subscriptions.
Analytics
Churn rate, lifetime value, retention metrics, revenue forecasting.
What Products Work for Subscriptions
Great for subscriptions:
- Coffee, tea
- Supplements, vitamins
- Pet food and treats
- Beauty and skincare
- Razors and shaving supplies
- Protein powder and fitness nutrition
- Snacks and meal kits
- Baby products (diapers, wipes, formula)
- Cleaning supplies
Not ideal for subscriptions:
- Furniture
- Electronics
- Seasonal products
- One-time purchases
- Impulse buys
The Pricing Reality
At $99/month minimum plus 1% transaction fees, Recharge isn’t cheap.
You need it if:
- Your product naturally repeats
- You’re doing $20K+/month already
- You’re committed to building subscriptions properly
Skip it if:
- Your product doesn’t repeat
- You’re brand new
- You can’t afford the cost yet
Alternative: Shopify native subscriptions (free but much more limited in features).
Real Results
Subscription brands report:
- 3-5x higher customer lifetime value
- 40-60% of revenue from subscriptions after 12 months
- 50% lower customer acquisition costs (they can afford to pay more upfront)
- 70-80% retention rate month-over-month
Setup Time
Plan a full day. Subscription programs need strategy:
- Discount amount (15-20% off is typical)
- Frequency options (monthly? every 28 days? quarterly?)
- Messaging (how do you pitch subscriptions?)
- Email flows
- Customer portal customization
Pro tip: Offer subscriptions at 15-20% off retail. Enough discount to be worth it, not so much you destroy your margins.
9. Loox – Photo Reviews That Sell
What it does: Collects and displays photo reviews with visual galleries
Rating: 4.9/5 (8,600+ reviews)
Pricing: $34.99-99/month
Best for: Visual products (fashion, beauty, home decor)
Why Loox Costs More Than Judge.me
Judge.me is the budget-friendly review option. Loox is the premium photo-focused option.
The main difference? Photo collection and display quality.
What Makes Loox Special
Incentivized photo reviews
Offer customers a discount code in exchange for submitting a photo review.
This dramatically increases photo submission rates. Stores see 40-50% of reviews include photos when they offer incentives.
Instagram-style galleries
Reviews display in beautiful, grid-style galleries that look like Instagram feeds. This is especially powerful for fashion and beauty brands where visuals matter most.
Referral program
Customers share their reviews on social media and get rewarded. You get free marketing.
Automatic hashtag tracking
Pull in Instagram posts with your branded hashtag automatically.
Real-time popups
Show “Sarah from Texas just bought this” popups based on real purchases and reviews. These create social proof and urgency.
Review widgets
Multiple display options:
- Homepage review carousel
- Product page galleries
- Popup reviews
- Social media style feeds
Loox vs Judge.me
Choose Loox if:
- Your products photograph well
- You’re in fashion, beauty, or home decor
- Visual social proof is critical to your brand
- You have budget ($35-100/month)
- You want to use customer photos in marketing
Choose Judge.me if:
- Budget is tight
- Your products don’t photograph well
- You just need solid text reviews
- You’re just starting
Real Impact
Merchants report:
- 270% increase in review collection with photo incentives
- 25% average increase in conversion rates
- 40-50% of reviews include photos (with incentive)
- 15-20% decrease in returns (customers have realistic expectations from photos)
One fashion brand: “Our conversion rate jumped from 2.1% to 3.4% after implementing Loox photo reviews.”
Setup Time
1-2 hours to configure properly. Worth every minute if your products are visual.
Pro tip: Offer a bigger discount for photo reviews ($10) than text reviews ($5). Photos are worth way more to your business.
10. AfterShip – Shipping Tracking That Eliminates “Where’s My Order?”
What it does: Post-purchase tracking and delivery notifications
Rating: 4.6/5 (3,800+ reviews)
Pricing: Free up to 50 shipments/month, then starts at $11/month
Best for: Any store tired of “where’s my order?” support tickets
The Problem AfterShip Solves
You ship the product. Customer waits. Three days later: “Where’s my order?”
You check the tracking. Copy the number. Send it to the customer. They paste it into the carrier website. Maybe they find the info. Maybe they don’t.
This happens dozens of times per week for busy stores. It’s annoying for customers. It wastes your support team’s time. And it makes your brand look unprofessional.
AfterShip eliminates this entire problem.
What AfterShip Does
Automatic tracking page
Every order gets a branded tracking page on your domain. Customers get a link in their shipping notification. They click it and see exactly where their package is.
No copying tracking numbers. No visiting carrier websites. No confusion.
Your tracking page shows:
- Current location
- Estimated delivery date
- Complete shipping timeline
- Photos of delivery (if carrier provides them)
- Next steps if there’s a delay
Everything is branded with your logo, colors, and messaging. It looks like part of your store, not a generic carrier page.
Proactive notifications
Customers get automatic updates via email or SMS at key moments:
- Order shipped
- Out for delivery
- Delivered
- Delayed (with explanation)
- Exception or problem
They don’t need to check tracking obsessively. Updates come to them.
This dramatically reduces “where’s my order?” support tickets. Merchants report 40-60% fewer shipping-related inquiries after installing AfterShip.
1,100+ carrier integrations
AfterShip tracks packages from over 1,100 carriers worldwide including:
- USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL (US)
- Royal Mail, DPD (UK)
- Canada Post
- Australia Post
- China Post
- Regional carriers everywhere
If you use multiple carriers or ship internationally, AfterShip consolidates all tracking in one place. Your customers don’t need to know which carrier you used – they just get updates.
Analytics and insights
See delivery performance across all your carriers:
- Average delivery time by carrier
- Delivery success rate
- Problem shipment rates
- Which carriers perform best
- Which regions have issues
This data helps you make better shipping decisions. If one carrier consistently delivers late to California, you can switch carriers for that region.
Returns management
AfterShip Returns Center lets customers initiate returns through a self-service portal:
- Customer selects what to return and why
- System generates return label automatically
- Customer ships it back
- You get notified
This reduces return-related support tickets by 50%+ and makes the return experience smooth enough that customers buy again.
Marketing opportunities
Your tracking page isn’t just tracking – it’s prime real estate. Customers check tracking pages 3-5 times per order on average.
You can add to your tracking page:
- Product recommendations (“customers also bought…”)
- Special offers and coupons
- Social media links
- Email signup forms
- Upcoming sales announcements
Some merchants generate 2-5% of additional revenue from tracking page upsells.
Delivery date estimates
Show estimated delivery dates on product pages and at checkout. This reduces uncertainty and increases conversion rates.
Customers want to know: “Will this arrive by Friday?” AfterShip calculates estimates based on historical carrier performance and shows customers realistic expectations.
Problem shipment alerts
Get notified immediately when shipments have issues:
- Delivery exceptions
- Delays
- Lost packages
- Failed delivery attempts
You can proactively reach out to customers before they contact you. This turns potential negative experiences into positive ones.
Real Impact
Merchants using AfterShip report:
- 40-60% reduction in “where’s my order?” support tickets
- 15-20% increase in customer satisfaction scores
- 5-10% increase in repeat purchase rates (better experience = more loyalty)
- 2-5% additional revenue from tracking page upsells
One merchant: “AfterShip makes it easier to organize shipments if you use some different couriers on one organized page! It makes our shipment management much easier.”
Another: “This app is super helpful to manage the shipments if you use some different couriers on one organized page!”
Technical Details
Speed: Tracking updates sync in real-time from carriers (no delays)
Customization: Fully customizable tracking page to match your brand
Mobile: Perfect mobile experience (most customers check tracking on phones)
Integration: Works with Klaviyo, Gorgias, Zendesk, and 100+ apps
Who Needs AfterShip
You definitely need this if:
- You get regular “where’s my order?” support tickets
- You ship with multiple carriers
- You ship internationally
- You want to reduce support workload
- You want customers to have a premium post-purchase experience
You might not need this if:
- You ship under 20 orders per month
- You use Shopify’s built-in tracking emails and they work fine
- All your customers are local pickup (no shipping)
For stores shipping 50+ orders per month, AfterShip pays for itself in support time saved alone.
Free vs Paid Plans
Free plan (up to 50 shipments/month):
- Branded tracking page
- Email notifications
- Basic analytics
- All carrier integrations
Perfect for new stores or stores with low volume.
Essentials plan ($11/month for 100 shipments):
- Everything in free
- SMS notifications
- Advanced analytics
- Remove AfterShip branding
- Custom domain
Pro plan ($99/month for 2,000 shipments):
- Everything in Essentials
- Returns portal
- Delivery date estimates
- API access
- Priority support
Most stores doing 100+ orders per month should be on at least the Essentials plan.
AfterShip vs Competitors
Vs Shopify’s default tracking:
Shopify emails tracking numbers. AfterShip creates branded tracking experiences. Big difference in customer perception.
Vs ShipStation tracking:
ShipStation focuses on label printing and fulfillment. AfterShip focuses on post-purchase customer experience. They complement each other.
Vs Malomo or Route:
Similar functionality but AfterShip has more carrier integrations and better international support. Also more affordable.
Setup Time
30-45 minutes to configure properly:
- Connect your carriers
- Customize your tracking page
- Set up notification emails
- Configure branding
After setup, it runs automatically.
The Post-Purchase Experience Matters
Most stores focus on getting the sale. Smart stores focus on the entire customer journey.
The post-purchase experience (from order confirmation to delivery) determines whether customers buy again or never come back.
AfterShip makes this experience professional, transparent, and stress-free.
Pro tip: Set up SMS notifications for “out for delivery” status. This one notification dramatically reduces missed deliveries and creates a premium experience that customers remember.
How to Choose Apps for YOUR Store
Not every store needs every app. Here’s how to decide:
New Store (Under $5K/month)
Must have:
- Judge.me (free)
- Shopify Inbox (free)
- TinyIMG (free plan)
Consider: 4. Oxify Cart Drawer ($30/month – huge ROI) 5. Omnisend (free plan for email) 6. AfterShip (free up to 50 shipments)
Total cost: $30/month (or $0 if using only free plans)
Growing Store ($5K-$30K/month)
Must have:
- Oxify Cart Drawer
- Judge.me or Loox
- Omnisend
- TinyIMG
- Shopify Inbox
- AfterShip
Consider: 7. PageFly 8. Recharge (if subscriptions fit)
Total cost: $100-250/month
Established Store ($30K-$100K/month)
Must have:
- Klaviyo
- Oxify Cart Drawer
- Loox or Judge.me Premium
- TinyIMG Premium
- Shopify Inbox or upgrade to Gorgias
- AfterShip (paid plan)
Consider: 7. PageFly 8. Recharge 9. Advanced marketing tools
Total cost: $350-700/month
Scaling Store ($100K+/month)
At this level, invest in the best tools:
- Klaviyo (advanced tier)
- Oxify or custom cart solution
- Loox
- TinyIMG Premium
- Gorgias or Zendesk
- PageFly
- Recharge
- AfterShip Pro
- Advanced analytics tools
- Custom integrations
Total cost: $1,000-2,500+/month
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Installing Too Many Apps
Every app adds code. Too many apps = slow site = lost sales.
Fix: Only install what you actually need. Remove apps you’re not using (don’t just disable – uninstall completely).
Not Tracking Impact
You install an app. Does it help? You don’t know because you never measured.
Fix: Check your conversion rate and AOV before and after. Give it 2-4 weeks to see real impact.
Staying on Free Plans Forever
Free plans are great for testing. But premium features are what make money.
Fix: Once you’re doing $10K+/month, invest in premium plans for your core apps.
Set It and Forget It
You install an email app, set up one flow, never touch it again.
Fix: Review your apps monthly. Optimize flows. Test new features. Keep improving.
Ignoring Support Quality
You pick an app based on features. Then it breaks and support takes 3 days.
Fix: Read reviews specifically about support. Fast support = fewer lost sales.
Your Next Steps
If you’re starting from scratch:
- Install Shopify Inbox (free)
- Set up Judge.me (free)
- Once you have 50+ orders, add Oxify Cart Drawer
- At 100+ orders, start email with Omnisend
If you have an existing store:
- Audit your current apps – remove unused ones
- Check cart abandonment – if high, get Oxify
- Look at email revenue – if under 20%, upgrade email
- Run PageSpeed test – if score under 70, get TinyIMG
If you’re scaling:
- Invest in Klaviyo
- Upgrade to Loox for premium photo reviews
- Consider Recharge if subscriptions fit
- Use PageFly for high-converting landing pages
The Bottom Line
The right apps don’t cost money – they make money.
A $200/month Klaviyo subscription sounds expensive until it’s driving $12K in monthly revenue.
A $30/month cart drawer sounds optional until it’s increasing every order by 20%.
These 10 apps work because they solve real problems that cost you sales every day.
Start with the essentials: cart, reviews, email. Add more as you grow and identify specific problems.
Don’t install apps randomly. Install apps that:
- Solve a specific problem
- Have proven ROI
- Work reliably
- Are maintained by responsive teams
Track results. If an app isn’t delivering value, remove it and try something else.
Your store’s success comes down to making smart decisions about where to invest. Apps are one of the highest-ROI investments you can make.
Pick the ones that fit your business. Set them up correctly. Watch your revenue grow.
All app information, pricing, and ratings accurate as of December 2025. Check the Shopify App Store for the latest details and merchant reviews.
