13 Best Shopify Apps Every Scaling Ecommerce Brand Needs

There are 8000+ Shopify apps out there yet only a handful are useful. 

As an ecommerce brand owner you can’t go through every single one to find the right app that fits the bill perfectly for you and your needs… so we did it for you.

After speaking to countless shopify store owners in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) & Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) space and analyzing the tech stacks of $50m+ ecommerce brands, here are the 13 best shopify apps that every scaling ecommerce brand needs. 

Website: Shopify

With over 1.7 million businesses powered by Shopify, its platform remains the pillar for a successful ecommerce brand. They have one of the best ecosystems for ecommerce (Direct to consumer & Consumer packaged goods) brands. 

Email: LTV.ai + Klaviyo

Despite the fact that email marketing on average accounts for up to 20-25% of ecommerce revenue, engagement rates often lag, with only 1-3% of emails being interacted with. 

Combining LTV.ai's AI powered hyper-personalisation and segmentation that increases engagement, repurchases and lifetime value with Klaviyo's email service provider (ESP) abilities makes the perfect email marketing and lifetime value driving combination that $50m+ brands are using. 

Key features include deep analytics, customizable templates, and seamless integration with Shopify.

Subscriptions: Smartrr

Subscription models are driving incredible and reliable ecommerce growth.

Smartrr makes subscriptions incredibly easy, offering features like customizable subscription options and automatic renewal notifications to enhance the customer retention process.

SMS: Postscript

While SMS marketing has open rates as high as 98%, it needs to be executed right with TCPA compliant opt ins and personalisation so people don’t feel like your mass sms blasts are invasive advertising measures.

Postscript is the good old sms platform that ecommerce brands are using but the personalisation, human-like conversations and individual attention that LTV.ai’s AI features provide on SMS leave customers incredibly valued and loyal.

Fulfillment: ShipStation

As ecommerce sales grow, so does the complex nature of fulfillment. 

ShipStation simplifies this process with features like bulk label creation and multi-carrier rate comparison, ensuring timely and cost-effective delivery to customers.

Loyalty: Okendo / LTV.ai

It’s abundantly clear that customer retention and high lifetime value (LTV) is essential for large scale ecommerce success.

Okendo has a plethora of features from in-depth reviews, referral programs to product recommendations. LTV.ai handles loyalty for the bigger players in ecommerce by offering points and rewards systems seamlessly while ensuring individual customer care and satisfaction. 

Increasing Lifetime Value: LTV.ai

Increasing customer lifetime value is one of the most efficient ways to scale profitably and stay around for a while.

LTV.ai is all about increasing lifetime value (as you can tell by the name) -  they drive higher lifetime value and revenue per customer through hyper-personalized email/sms marketing, ensuring that each customer feels individually heard, valued and cared for resulting in greater repurchases and brand loyalty. 

Automation: Alloy Automation

In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, efficiency is key. 

Alloy Automation enhances operational efficiency by automating repetitive tasks across various platforms, allowing teams to focus on growth and customer engagement with features like workflow customization and app integration.

Customer Service: Kustomer

Exceptional customer service is not a luxury but a necessity for ecommerce brands. 

Kustomer has changed this space for the better by offering a platform that supports personalized, immediate support across channels, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty with features like a unified customer view and automation capabilities.

Affiliate: Social Snowball ☃️

Affiliate marketing isn’t used as much as it should be by ecommerce stores considering it’s efficiency in helping drive revenue.

Social Snowball simplifies the affiliate marketing process with a user-friendly interface that turns customers into affiliate partners, equipped with features for easy tracking and payment automation.

Pop-Ups: Amped

As an ecommerce brand owner you need to maintain a delicate balance between capturing visitor attention without disrupting their experience.

Amped does this masterfully with intelligent pop-ups designed to boost engagement and conversions, offering customization options and trigger-based display settings.

Branded Payments: Tandym

A seamless and branded payment process increases customer trust and conversion rates. 

Tandym helps achieve this experience with branded payment solutions that integrate directly with your ecommerce platform, featuring customizable checkout experiences and enhanced security options.

Recover Failed Payments: Churnkey

Failed payments can significantly hurt cash flow and customer retention. 

Churnkey solves this challenge through recovery strategies that minimize churn and maximize revenue, with features like customizable recovery campaigns and detailed analytics.