If you have an ecommerce store, then you likely know the Shopify platform. You also know that Shopify provides some of the best ecommerce apps for boosting your marketing productivity.
From building forms to simplifying marketing automation, some of the best Shopify apps available can help you streamline your marketing process for your ecommerce store, all while optimizing it for the most popular search engines and so much more.
With well over 2,400 Shopify apps available to choose from, you’re sure to find something that suits your brand’s needs.
Determining the ideal Shopify app to complement your ecommerce store
With so many Shopify apps to choose from, it can be easy to get lost in the sea of options. The problem with having so many options to choose from is that you’re more likely to simply pick something quickly and end up unhappy because the app doesn’t complement your ecommerce store and its needs.
So, before you jump in and start picking Shopify apps, take the time to really think about what apps will complement your shop and what you need them to do for you. Some questions you’ll want to consider asking yourself include:
- Do I want an app that allows me to create workflows on the go?
- Do I want an app that allows me to monitor my customers’ needs and lifecycle stages?
- Do I want an app that helps optimize my website for search engines?
- Do I want an app to help me build forms?
- Should my app be able to guide consumers to an opt-in list?
- Should my app be able to monitor my email campaign benchmarks?
This isn’t a comprehensive list of questions—it’s just a starting point. The idea is to help you choose the best Shopify app for your brand’s specific needs.
7 of the best Shopify apps for 2020
With so many Shopify apps to choose from, it can be challenging to find the best apps to suit your ecommerce brand’s needs. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and sifted through the 2,400+ available apps and have picked out 7 of the best Shopify apps based on not only our personal opinions, but on the opinions of fellow consumers.
Below, we’ve listed (in no particular order) what we believe to be the best Shopify apps worth considering for 2020.
1. Jilt Email Marketing
Jilt Email Marketing is a highly rated Shopify app that gives marketers several different benefits that complement their ecommerce shop. Email marketing and ecommerce go hand in hand, which is why so many brands have turned to the Jilt email marketing app for the ecommerce stores.
As big as social media has become in the past few years, it still doesn’t produce the ROI that email marketing does. So, when it comes to the best Shopify apps to complement your ecommerce store, Jilt’s email marketing app is a solid choice.
Not only does it allow you to design and send beautiful emails, but it also allows users to:
- Manage multiple Shopify accounts
- Build a team to help manage the Jilt account
- Send emails from your own domain
- Automatically sync all your data in one place
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.8/5
2. Omnisend Email Marketing
Another excellent choice for an email marketing Shopify app is the Omnisend Email Marketing app. This app helps marketers build a digital marketing strategy that includes more than just email. Whether you choose to utilize the pre-built automation workflows or design your own from scratch, Omnisend has plenty of options.
They allow you to build automation that’ll work for you and include several other features, such as:
- Abandoned cart recovery
- The ability to segment your lists
- SMS marketing options
- Push messages and more
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.8/5
3. CM Commerce
The team here at Campaign Monitor was excited to announce the release of our platform explicitly designed for ecommerce shops at the end of 2019. With the new year comes new updates, and we’re proud to announce that we’ve launched our own Shopify App by the name CM Commerce.
This application does more than simply allow you to automate your email campaigns and build customized workflows. Clients also enjoy several other features, including:
- Abandoned cart emails
- On-brand receipts
- Visual product reviews
- List segmentation and more
Segmentation is such a massive part in sending only the most relevant information to the right customers at the right time. When done right, a properly segmented list—utilizing a customized workflow—can see an increase in not only open rates, but in your engagement and conversion rates as well.
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.8/5
4. Sumo
If you’re looking to boost conversions and sales through email marketing, then the Sumo Shopify app may be just what you need. This app has several features worth considering, including:
- The ability to create/customize strategically placed incentives to help boost sales.
- The ability to grow your email list.
- The ability to send targeted follow-up emails to help increase conversions.
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.3/5
5. Smart SEO
Having a nicely set up ecommerce shop and email automation is great. However, one vital piece of the puzzle could be missing, meaning that the right set of consumers isn’t finding your store. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play, and the Smart SEO Shopify app can help you get started quickly.
If your ecommerce shop isn’t optimized for search engines, then chances are your consumers aren’t going to find you. That’s why incorporating an SEO Shopify app into your shop is crucial. The Smart SEO app helps take the confusion out of the equation, especially for those who aren’t up to speed on current SEO best practices.
The Smart SEO Shopify app features:
- On-sight SEO to auto-generate meta and alt tags for your pages, making them easily searchable
- Broken link management to keep your site up and running
- Generate JSON-LD structured data to help improve your search results
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.9/5
6. Marsello
For those looking to focus on building brand loyalty through email automation, the Marsello Shopify app could be just what you’re looking for. Customer loyalty is a vital part of the customer lifecycle.
Not only does having loyal customers mean that you’re retaining them, but that they’re also helping to bring in new customers by making recommendations and leaving valuable reviews.
The Marsello Shopify app allows you to build customizable loyalty programs and utilize smart email automation to help keep your current clients actively engaged and to help promote brand advocacy.
Users can choose between one-off email campaigns or structured and segmented email campaigns that help catch your audiences’ eyes and encourage them to make the conversion from window-shopper to purchaser.
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.8/5
7. Drip Ecommerce CRM
Do you struggle with building drip campaigns that get your email subscribers to your ecommerce shop? Then the Drip Ecommerce CRM Shopify app might be your ideal app.
The Drip app does more than allow you to build stunning email campaigns that entice your readers to browse your shop; it also allows you the opportunity to personalize each user’s experience and will enable you to engage outside of the email inbox.
Drip campaigns are an essential part of your marketing strategy because they help to keep your email subscribers actively engaged in your brand without overloading their inbox with irrelevant information.
Features that stand out in the Drip Ecommerce CRM include:
- The ability to collect valuable consumer data that can be easily organized into a variety of tags and fields for segmenting
- The ability to track each event from every visitor, including clicks on individual items and final purchases
- The ability to analyze and optimize each campaign, thanks to the easy-to-use dashboards
- The ability to test before you send using the workflow split testing feature
Source: Shopify
Shopify User Rating: 4.7/5
Wrap up
Finding the best Shopify app that complements your ecommerce brand can be a daunting task. While we believe the apps mentioned above are some of the best options available, we understand that everyone’s needs are different. Remember, before you dive into any Shopify app, consider asking yourself some of these questions:
- Should my app be able to create workflows on the go?
- Do I want it to allow me to monitor my customers’ needs and lifecycle stage?
- Should my app help optimize my website for search engines?
- Do I want an app to help me build forms?
- Should my app be able to monitor my email campaign benchmarks?
Curious how CM Commerce could help with your ecommerce needs? Then why not start automating your ecommerce marketing today for free?