10 Free Shopify Apps To Build And Grow Your Store

Free Shopify Apps to Build and Grow your Business 🚀

With thousands of apps available for download from the Shopify App Store, merchants have a tonne of options when it comes to extending the functionality of online retail.

Whether you’re looking to; add customer reviews, improve your brand’s email marketing outreach or implement a live chat support feature so that your team can offer customer service to your customers in real-time, we bet there’s an app for it.

With a variety of applications to choose from, we thought it would be a good idea to highlight 10 of the best free Shopify apps (which are either completely free/ offer a free plan) that retailers and marketers can add to their store without spending a dime.

So, if you’re eager to discover 10 of the best apps for Shopify merchants, stick with us as we run through the list:

N0.1: Oberlo

If you’re looking for a small business idea or need a product to sell, the Oberlo application may just be the way to source a supplier.

With Oberlo, merchants can search a marketplace of products that are available for direct import into any given Shopify store. So, when an order is received, retailers can choose to fulfill it through a dropshipping supplier via the Oberlo app.

Oberlo will then ship the customer’s order on the merchant's behalf. So, there’s no need to worry about packaging or shipping it yourself - pretty handy right?

N0.2: Shopify Email

The next on our list of free apps for Shopify is none other than Shopify Email. If you’re looking to promote your store with an email marketing strategy, Shopify Email is a great application for building a recipient list and managing campaigns.

With Shopify Email, store owners will have the opportunity to send branded emails to their subscribers directly from the Shopify admin dashboard with just a few clicks.

The application has a variety of pre-made templates that pulls; logos, product images, descriptions, and more from any online store so, the brand at hand can customise the layout and text of their emails with ease.

If you’re wondering how to get started with the Shopify Email app, simply import your contact list into Shopify. Then, create and send your campaigns and that's it!

Once your campaigns are active, you will then be able to track success rates in regards to how many times an email has been opened, the clicks it has generated, and how many customers have added products to their cart and checked out their order after receiving an email.

With Shopify Email, merchants on the platform will receive 2,500 emails for free each month. After which only $1 is charged for every 1,000 emails sent - now that’s smart budgeting.

N0.3: TikTok

We’re sure you’ve all heard of TikTok by now, but did you know that the application ranked sixth among its fellow apps for consumer spending worldwide?

If you want in on the action, why not take advantage of TikTok’s Shopify app? With this application, merchants can create; video ads, manage orders (inside of Shopify) and track results for their online store.

TikTok is also a great way for online retailers to reach a younger audience and drive sales for their business. As a bonus, TikTok for Business accounts will receive free ad credit which can be utilised within the first brand campaign that is published.

N0.4: Printful

Now let’s be real for a second, Printful is one of the best print-on-demand dropshipping apps for store owners that sell print and embroidered goods such as t-shirts and pillows.

So, when a customer purchases a product from a Shopify store using this application, Printful automatically fulfills and ships the order to the customer on the merchant's behalf.

Currently, the company is estimated to ship over one million items per month and handles all; shipping, inventory, and production so that trade teams can focus on building a brand.

N0.5: Smart SEO

SEO is a challenge for many business owners to face, as it can take time, resources, and money to build a website, whilst getting it to rank highly in the eyes of search engines such as Google.

However, with the assistance of the Smart SEO application, Shopify stores can automate SEO optimisation and drive more traffic to their website(s).

This free Shopify app also generates meta tags and alt tags automatically, whilst working to fix broken links and manage a store’s sitemap to keep web pages Google-friendly.

Last but not least, Smart SEO also provides structured data to Google to boost a website’s search results. The only thing that merchants will need to do here is to choose a template for their store and let Smart SEO do the rest of the work.

N0.6: Product Reviews

Moving onto the next of the free apps for Shopify within today’s guide, the Product Reviews app is a great way for online stores to add feedback and comments from real people to their store's product listings.

This provides a way for previous customers to express their feedback. Additionally, online retailers can use positive reviews to their advantage in the form of social proof to encourage other browsers to purchase from their store.

According to an eMarketer report, it is thought that as many as 98% of consumers will refer to product reviews during the purchasing process.

N0.7: Mochi Texting and Live Chat Support

Mochi is another one of the best apps for Shopify merchants to utilise, as online stores can chat with the customers and visitors on their website in real-time.

Mochi can show Shopify retailers how individual users have come to reach their website, alongside the products that they have looked at and the items which have been added to their shopping cart.

With this information, customer services will be able to offer website visitors the right support as quickly and as easily as possible. Furthermore, Mochi also makes it possible for ecommerce stores to offer SMS or web-based support.

N0.8: Shopify Local Delivery

Current consumer trends are showing that more users purchased goods online and had them delivered locally during the first three months of the pandemic than ever before.

Shopify Local Delivery is one of the free Shopify apps that enables brick-and-mortar businesses to capitalise on this new consumer behaviour.

With Shopify Local Delivery, customers that reside within the chosen area will have the option to choose local delivery during the stages of checkout.

In short, this application helps merchants to manage the process by; providing optimised routes, automated push notifications, and order status updates.

Furthermore, all necessary delivery stops will show up in a list within the Shopify Local Delivery app and after a delivery has been completed, the upcoming stops will be moved to the top of the list.

N0.9: PayWhirl Recurring Payments

PayWhirl, one of the most praised recurring payment apps for Shopify, makes it easier than ever for online stores to; create, manage and sell subscriptions through Shopify’s native checkout.

Customers can also; set up their account, view their billing history and make changes to their payment plans (should they wish to) at any given time.

Additionally, customers will also be able to add new payment methods and information associated with their subscription, all without the need of contacting a store’s support team.

N0.10: Gameball: Loyalty & Rewards

Gameball is a customer retention platform that has been designed to help merchants manage their loyalty program(s), whilst increasing referrals and sales.

With the Gameball app, customers can; complete challenges, earn points and level up through different tiers to earn rewards and discount codes. Shopify stores can also create referral programs where they earn rewards for bringing new customers to a business.

In a nutshell, Gameball allows merchants to trigger pop-ups that will encourage customers to promote the store’s program throughout the shopping experience, which could generate further loyal customers in the process.

Getting Started with Shopify

Shopify applications such as the ones listed within today’s guide can unlock new and exciting functionalities that will optimise every store on the platform that utilises them, whilst enabling the brand at hand to improve its customer experience and boost sales.

While the 10 examples above are some of the best free Shopify apps available, there are plenty more that can be leveraged by your business.

When contemplating which apps to download, take the time to consider which app’s functionalities and pricing will best suit the needs of your business.

Have we missed out on any of the best free Shopify apps that deserve to be featured within today's guide? Reach out and let us know.

If you’re actively looking to work with a Shopify agency designer or developer to assist you with your business, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to get started!