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Read about successful eCommerce stores, the best eCommerce apps, marketing, shipping, and much more on the KeepShoppers blog.
Brandify: Match Your Branding to Your Shopify Vision
Shopify appsBrandify: Match Your Branding to Your Shopify VisionHaving unique and memorable branding is an essential part of differentiating your Shopify store from the thousands of others populating the internet, but tweaking the fine elements of your store's aesthetic can often take hours of difficult and tedious coding that very few Shopify sellers have the skillset for. All of that can be nullified with a simple app that offers numerous customization options without the need for coding, and you need look no further than Brandify by Ninety9. Read on to learn more about how this app can help you. How Brandify Can Help You Customize Your Store Fully Customizable Cursors Quickly choose from one of the many available cursors, or go the extra mile and upload your own to really hone your store's identity. In addition to this, implement fun cursor trails to match whatever theme suits you, even the likes of simple snowflakes falling behind your moving cursor during the snowy winter seasons. Aside from the physical look of your cursor, there are also a variety of animations you can add as a reaction to a user click, such as a pointing finger or raindrop ripple effect. Modified Scrolling The scroll bars on the side and bottom of every page mostly go unnoticed, but failing to customize their appearance increases the chance of your store blending in with the others around it. Instead, use Brandify to customize the size, colors, and even shadow to better match the design of your store. Additionally, smooth scrolling, a feature developed by Ninety9, delays the input from your mouse wheel while also slowing the speed of your scroll to increase the smoothness and feel of navigating your store. What Else Does Brandify Offer? Unlike many other branding apps, Brandify offers you premium content protection by preventing mobile and PC users from copying images and text on your website and inspecting your code. Brandify Pricing Ninety9 offers an infinite free plan with some highlight features—such as scroll modification, content protection, and even chat support—to allow you to try out the service for yourself before committing to any money. If you're happy with the result, then you only need to pay $4.99/month to get all the premium features offered by the app. Our Verdict: Should You Use Brandify: Match Your Branding by Ninety9? Honing and customizing your brand is essential to forging your online presence and differentiating your store from the rest, and website design is one of the simplest ways to achieve this, especially if you choose an affordable app that's easy to use and install, and compatible with most Shopify themes and other apps. If you're still unconvinced, then let the reviews speak for themselves. Brandify has maintained—at the time of writing this review—a solid 5 stars on the Shopify app store. Head to their app store page to learn more.
HIKO Social Login—Streamline Customer Logins Through Social Media
Shopify appsHIKO Social Login—Streamline Customer Logins Through Social MediaOne of the most frustrating things that potential customers have to deal with is having to create a separate account for every website they visit. However, this problem is rapidly becoming eradicated as more and more websites are leveraging the capabilities of integrated logins through existing accounts on popular social media services like Facebook, saving time and effort as they won't even be redirected from the page they were on. To learn more about how you can make use of this feature with an affordable and easily integratable Shopify app, continue reading this review of HIKO Social Login by HIKO Software. What Does HIKO Social Login Offer Shopify Sellers? Integration With Most Social Media Platforms The app includes support for all the popular social media services, including: GoogleFacebookAppleTwitterSnapchatTikTokDiscordetc. Customer Presence and Statistics Any users who interact with your store can be identified by their avatar from the platform they chose to sign in with, giving them a sense of presence on your site. Additionally, the app will provide you with exportable customer reports to track daily logins, browser and device usage, origin countries, and more, allowing you to cater your store to your most popular demographics. Customizable Style HIKO allows total customization of your layout and login wizard, including different sizes, shapes, and colors for your login buttons. HIKO Social Login Pricing Before committing to a monthly contract to try this service out for yourself, HIKO Software offers a free plan for their Social Login app that includes all the key features, such as 18 different social logins at 30 logins per day and even customer reports to visualize the changes. If you like the service after trying it, the extremely affordable paid plans are as follows: Professional Plan $2.49/month The additional features you'll receive by paying this monthly cost are: Unlimited loginsCustom social API keysSupport in multiple languagesCustom CSS The only drawback to this plan is that your customers will still see a "powered by HIKO Social Login" link on your store. Premium Plan $4.99/month This plan offers all the features of the other plans, as well as: Apple sign inGoogle one-tap sign inRemoval of the "powered by" link Our Verdict: Should You Use HIKO Social Login? It's frightening to think of how many customers might have been chased away from your store due to a difficult login process and mandatory account creation—just for a pair of pants. This is especially true when you consider the number of stores that already offer 3rd-party logins through social media accounts. Catching up is essential, and now you can do so easily with a Shopify app that will handle all the heavy lifting for you, allowing you to focus on your brand development and growth. If you want more confirmation, other Shopify sellers have given this app—at the time of writing this review—a solid 5 stars on the Shopify app store. Head to their website or app store page to get started.
Pixcleaner Background Remover—Efficient Quality Image Editing for Shopify
Shopify appsPixcleaner Background Remover—Efficient Quality Image Editing for ShopifyMost customers are visual shoppers, meaning that a professional image of a quality-looking product can mean the difference between a sale and a bounced customer. Unfortunately, very few services offer the required editing capabilities you need to showcase your products authentically. That can all change with an app like Pixcleaner by Proxima, a Shopify image editing app that integrates directly to your store. Read on to learn more. What Does Pixcleaner Offer Shopify Sellers AI-Powered Background Removal One of the necessities of a great product image is a plain white or colored background instead of awkward shadows and dirty tablecloths, but paying for a professional studio is out of the budget of most Shopify sellers. Instead, Pixcleaner offers an AI-powered background removal tool to simulate the presence of a professional studio. Plus, the feature is customizable and allows you to make fine-tuned adjustments to match your standards. The smart AI has studied millions of images to be able to identify precise features and minute details like strands of hair. Intuitive Photo Editor The app comes fully equipped to handle all your basic image editing needs, including: CroppingResizingRotatingLayer adjustmentsText additionsWatermarkingShadow additionsColor gradients This allows you to ensure that all your images match your brand, style, and sense of quality. Bulk Operations In addition to all of the individual editing features, Pixcleaner also offers bulk productivity operations, allowing you to automate your workflow and apply features and touchups to multiple images at once. Not only can this save time and effort, but it also ensures that all images you're choosing to export will have the same features and style. Pixcleaner Pricing Pixcleaner doesn't offer a paid plan. Instead, the app is free to install and use, only charging you a small fee of 0.20$ to 0.05$ when you decide to export an image for use, meaning you never have to pay for a service that you aren't currently using. Instead, you can keep the app installed and only have to spend money when you need more product images. Our Verdict: Should You Use Pixcleaner by Proxima? If your Shopify product images are poor quality or nonexistent, you might as well say goodbye to any potential customers coming your way. Quality images are a necessity, but the price of most reputable image editing software can easily cost you thousands of dollars for licensing before you even know how to use it. Instead of the hassle, leverage the capabilities of a pay-per-use service that offers all the necessary features you need to lift your store with great images like Pixcleaner. At the time of writing this review, the app didn't have a single negative review or comment on its Shopify app store page listing. Head to their website to learn more, or go straight to their Shopify app store page to get started.
Shopdigits—Offer Your Customers Professional Toll-Free Support
Shopify appsShopdigits—Offer Your Customers Professional Toll-Free SupportWith the sheer number of emerging e-commerce stores these days, it's becoming more and more challenging to differentiate yourself from all other stores in your niche. Businesses are doing everything they can to identify themselves as the most professional company offering the best customer support—but there are a few prerequisites for even being able to compete with other stores. One of these prerequisites is toll-free support for your customers, and now you can offer them that with Shopdigits by Random Forest Inc. Read on to learn more. What Shopdigits Offers E-Commerce Merchants Toll-Free Calls and SMSes A toll-free line bills the receiver for the airtime instead of the caller. Although this might sound scary—especially if your business receives a lot of call or message traffic—all professional companies offer toll-free options for their clients. It shows that you value their support and are willing to help them with any questions or concerns without them having to pay for it in any way. Toll-free lines might not help you obtain more customers, but they'll definitely keep them around. Integrated Customer Data Shopdigits allows the saving and recalling of customer data once they make a call, allowing you to view their entire history with your business while you are communicating with them. See customer names, order history, and more without having to leave the Shopify dashboard. Additionally, any notes you leave about customers on the mobile app will sync to the desktop app for future use. Shopdigits Pricing All of the pricing plans come with a 7-day free trial and a $3.00 charge to change your number, as well as the following: Apps for iOS and Android to manage calls while on the goUnlimited calls within US & CanadaUnlimited voicemail Paying for higher plans allows more employees to use the same number, increasing the efficiency of your business and customer support. The plans are as follows: Small Shop—$10/month and 1 employeeMedium Shop—$20/month and 3 employeesEnterprise—$40/month and unlimited employees Our Verdict: Should You Use Shopdigits Due to the growing number of e-commerce stores and the affordability of premium services like toll-free business lines, these features are becoming a requirement if you want to have the chance of competing with other stores. Professionalism is everything in the eyes of the consumer, and toll-free support options are a great way to show that you care about their wellbeing and are confident in your own company. It's clear from the 5-star rating on the Shopify app store (at the time of writing this review) that other Shopify sellers would agree. Head over to their website to learn more, or go straight to their Shopify app store page to get started.
HelloBrand—Shoppable Video Links for Shopify Merchants
Shopify appsHelloBrand—Shoppable Video Links for Shopify MerchantsIf you're looking for a new way to market your products, then you should consider the simple concept of shoppable videos. Users are far more likely to retain the information they see in a video than in a mess of text scrawled across your website—so why not throw in a purchasing link and let them buy directly from the video? Keep reading to learn all the different ways that HelloBrand's shoppable video service can help your store. What Does HelloBrand Offer Shopify Merchants? More Effective Social Media Marketing Have an Instagram business account but aren't seeing the conversion rate you'd like? Reuse your product videos from any social media platform and embed them on your store as shoppable video carousels or floating videos on your homepage or product pages. Each video comes with a link that you can share on all your socials, emails, and SMSes to redirect users straight to the shoppable video, increasing your conversions. UGC With More Impact Every e-commerce merchant is familiar with the benefit of user-generated content in the form of product reviews and ratings. Now, with HelloBrand, you can turn your UGC product review videos into shoppable ones to improve the effectiveness of your social proofing apps. Live Video Shopping If you haven't started hosting live videos to promote your brand and engage with your community, then now is the time to start. And with HelloBrand's technology, you can add purchasing links to your live videos when discussing products, allowing you to remove any doubt and answer customer questions in real-time before they purchase. On top of that, you can save and reuse live videos as conversion-boosting shoppable videos on your store. HelloBrand Pricing The cost of running HelloBrand on your e-commerce store works a little differently from most other Shopify apps. Instead of a few strict plans to choose from, the app is free to install and remains so up to 200 monthly views of your shoppable videos. After that, it's only $0.02/view for the rest of the month. Additionally, if you're worried about your company growth costing you more in the long run, you don't need to worry. HelloBrand offers you the control to set a flat rate that you're willing to spend each month, whereupon the service will simply pause for the rest of the month once that limit has been reached. This ensures that you have the chance to test the app and only have to pay for what you get. Our Verdict: Should You Use HelloBrand? E-commerce store owners are always looking for new ways to improve their marketing and increase conversions, and shoppable videos are a simple and effective way to do so. And with the free-to-use capabilities that only require a small, custom payment after a certain number of views and the excellent customer support available 24/7, there's really no good reason not to try it out for yourself! It's clear that, from the 5-star reviews on the Shopify app store, other e-commerce merchants feel the same. Head to their website to learn more or jump directly to their Shopify app store page to get started.
6 Best Shopify Apps for Efficient Product Restock Planning
Shopify apps6 Best Shopify Apps for Efficient Product Restock PlanningHave you ever placed a "sold out" banner with one of your products? Satisfying right? It's a sweet feeling to know that your product is so popular, buyers are scrambling for it. But then customers start getting restless and frustrated. You get daily queries about when you'll have stock again. Do you have a plan? To avoid this issue, you need a reliable product restock planning strategy in place—but a successful restocking plan requires the right tools. Shopify has a wide range of apps that can help you monitor your inventory levels, set up automated notifications, and more. Here are six great apps to get you started. Our Top Picks for Best Shopify Tools for Efficient Product Restock Planning Out-of-Stock Police - Best overallSimple Purchase Orders - Best for purchase ordersInventory Planner - Best for product forecasting and analysisReplenishme - Best for small and medium businessesThrive by Shopventory - Best for multiple storesAuto Purchase Orders - Best for automated restocking 1. Out-of-Stock Police: Best Overall KeepShoppers Score: 9.9 Key Features Easy configurationAutomated notifications and reportsSEO management Out-of-Stock Police by Egnition automatically pushes your sold-out items to the bottom of collections or hides them completely until they're restocked, all the while ensuring that your out-of-stock products still get indexed for better SEO. Stay updated easily with your stock levels via notifications and reports the app sends by email. Why We Liked It What stood out the most about Out-of-Stock Police is that the app is big on saving you time and effort through automation, but you still maintain complete control. Its tagging feature and easy configuration let us create rules about when we want to receive notifications about specific products (low stock vs out of stock), if products should be hidden or pushed down, and how long until a product is hidden because restocking is late. Apart from day-to-day use, we believe this will be particularly useful for seasonal promotions. We're also especially impressed that the app takes things a step further by helping you to improve your SEO and organic traffic by making sure your sold-out items are still indexed. Out-of-Stock Police Pros and Cons Pros7-day free trialFree planEasy tagging feature to create rulesRegular stock level updatesImproved SEO and organic traffic24/7 customer supportConsPricing could be clearer » Read our review of Out-of-Stock Police for more details 2. Simple Purchase Orders: Best for Purchase Orders KeepShoppers Score: 9.7 Key Features Automatically generate purchase ordersImport products and cost prices from suppliersCreate templates Simple Purchase Orders simplifies your communication with your suppliers. Once you've imported their products and cost prices, you can send your purchase orders directly to them from the app. Either manually create purchase orders or generate them automatically from your customer orders. Finally, update your inventory directly once your new stock arrives. Why We Liked It Simple Purchase Orders definitely lives up to its name. We appreciate how the app manages the entire process between you and your supplier: from ordering your stock to receiving it and capturing it on your system. We also like that you can customize your purchase order forms and add that personal touch. Simple Purchase Orders Pros and Cons Pros14-day free trialFree planAutomatically create and send purchase ordersCustomizable templatesConsNot all features are available with all plans 3. Inventory Planner: Best for Product Forecasting KeepShoppers Score: 9.6 Key Features Product forecasting and analysisSync sales historyIntuitive inventory reporting Inventory Planner helps you to make accurate product restocking decisions. By analyzing your sales history and how long your suppliers take to deliver, the app automatically gives you a forecast of your products. You can optimize your cash flow by no longer over- or underselling. Why We Liked It Data is our new best friend. Previously, keeping track of numbers (and analyzing them!) was a chore. We love how this app manages all of this for you, saving you time and effort. We won't be surprised if this automated way of analyzing and forecasting points out problem areas you never knew you had and now have the opportunity to address. Inventory Planner Pros and Cons Pros14-day free trialIntegrates with other platformsRecommendations based on dataCustomizable reportsConsSetup can be complicatedPricing structure not always clearCan be expensive 4. ReplenishMe: Best for Small to Medium Businesses KeepShoppers Score: 9.5 Key Features Easy-to-use dashboardPopulate purchase orders automaticallyPredict future inventory needs ReplenishMe is a fast-growing app that helps you make smarter decisions on which products to restock and when. Ideal for small to medium businesses, ReplenishMe takes both your sales data and your plans for forthcoming promotions into consideration to make sure you'll have enough stock. The user-friendly dashboard makes it easy to get an overview of your stock status. Why We Liked It What we appreciate most about ReplenishMe is its ability to blend your historical sales data and your future campaigns to give you accurate forecasting. The app's algorithm can adjust to your sales structure, so small to medium businesses can find this especially useful as they grow. We also think the price is more suited toward smaller businesses, while the gracious 90-day free trial creates a great incentive to try the app before committing. ReplenishMe Pros and Cons Pros90-day free trialFactors in seasonal salesAutomated purchase ordersOverview of analytics on the dashboardConsFew reviews on Shopify 5. Thrive by Shopventory: Best for Multiple Stores KeepShoppers Score: 9.5 Key Features Connect multiple stores and locationsAutomated purchase ordersAdvanced reporting for each store Thrive by Shopventory is a powerful restocking tool that centralizes the reporting, ordering, and inventory of all your sales channels, whether it's physical or online stores. This one-stop shop keeps real-time track of your products and catalogs and sends you detailed reports that you can break down according to each sales channel. Why We Liked It Thrive by Shopventory does it all and removes the headache of keeping stock in several stores straight. The app goes the extra mile by not limiting you to online stores or a single platform. We appreciate this versatility and the app's goal of making your business better. Additional tools like a scanner, automated purchase orders, and per-channel reports make managing multi-location stock a breeze. Thrive by Shopventory Pros and Cons Pros30-day free trialIntegrate with different platformsConnect up to 20 storesIncludes a scanner to track stock movementGood customer serviceConsCan be expensive 6. Auto Purchase Orders: Best for Automated Restocking KeepShoppers Score: 9.4 Key Features Manage emails and stock directly in the appAutomatic stock level updatesCreate split orders Auto Purchase Orders by Magic Bits aims to make your ordering process as seamless as possible by removing many manual processes. This includes automatically updating stock levels when you receive new products and automatically creating and sending purchase orders to your suppliers as orders come in. The app also has its own email functionality, so you can easily track correspondence. Why We Liked It Auto Purchase Orders is easy to set up and lets you hit the ground running—no developers or complicated installation. After that positive start, it's easy to become dependent on the app's automated features. We admire the efficiency behind automatically creating and sending purchase orders directly and keeping stock levels updated. We particularly enjoyed the email feature and its easy functionality. Auto Purchase Orders Pros and Cons Pros14-day free trialFree planEasy integrationAutomated ordering and stock capturingReliable email functionalityGood customer supportConsFree trial restricted to Shopify Staff or Trial Plans KeepShoppers Takeaway: What's the Best App for Efficient Product Restock Planning? Managing your inventory better and making sure it stays up to date is essential for growing your business and keeping your customers happy. There's a lot that's happening in the backend of your e-commerce business, so it's important that you use a Shopify app that's best suited for your needs. While we've rated Out-of-Stock Police as the best overall app because it helps with both frontend and backend product management, each app listed here holds great value. Thrive by Shopventory can be a game changer if you have multiple stores, and Inventory Planner and ReplenishMe make stock forecasting a breeze. KeepShoppers Methodology Here’s how we compared the Shopify apps for efficient product restock planning. We scored each of them based on the breadth of options, integration potential, customization options, integration support, user-friendliness, and customer service. We also took into account the time and resources required to make the best use of the app—more feature-rich solutions are usually more complex and require a greater time investment to learn. Our team aimed to examine the range of options that work for different users, as each company will have different needs and use cases.
The Benefits of Using a Product Review App on Your Shopify Store
Shopify appsThe Benefits of Using a Product Review App on Your Shopify StoreDue to the rapidly increasing number of e-commerce stores available today, customers are spoiled for choice when it comes to buying products online. With so many options available to them, consumers are becoming increasingly meticulous about the entire buying experience, including exceptional product quality and excellent customer service. In order to decide where to shop, consumers will rely on any information that indicates that a seller is trustworthy. So, in order to run a successful e-commerce business, you will need to gain consumer trust. There are many ways to do this but one of the most valuable methods of gaining customer confidence is by using a product review app on your Shopify store. What Are the Benefits of Allowing Product Reviews on Your Store? Product reviews are important in e-commerce because they allow potential buyers to read the true life experiences and insights of previous buyers. Customers are much more likely to trust the unbiased opinions of their peers than they are to believe what is said by the sellers of the products themselves, making product reviews a great peer-driven marketing tool that can greatly influence a consumer’s decision of whether or not to buy a product. Product reviews, whether positive or negative, show consumers that a seller is willing to be transparent about their products and services by allowing others to leave their own opinions and experiences on their website. Product reviews can, therefore, often help position a seller as credible and trustworthy, if used correctly. Many new retailers tend to shy away from product reviews in fear of receiving negative feedback on their products or customer service. However, negative reviews should be seen as an opportunity to demonstrate your customer service skills and commitment to customer satisfaction. By responding to bad reviews in a professional and competent manner, potential customers will see that you are willing to be held accountable and prepared to correct your mistakes. Product reviews are not only for the benefit of potential customers but can, in fact, provide useful insights into your current products and identify shortfalls in your offerings, allowing you to continually adjust and improve your offerings and business as a whole. Why Should You Use a Shopify Product Review App? Many of the Shopify product review apps available will not only allow customers to leave reviews on your store but may also encourage them to leave reviews through post-purchase email campaigns or surveys. Typically, the more reviews you have on a product, the higher the conversions for that product will be. Using a product review app can also help improve your store’s search engine optimization (SEO), as these reviews will become visible in Google search results and drive organic traffic to your store. Product reviews are a great way to create a lot of user-generated content on your website that is typically full of relevant keywords which can further help to improve your Google rankings. Pros and Cons of Using Product Review Apps on Shopify There are many advantages and a few disadvantages of using a product review app on Shopify. Here’s a breakdown of the main ones: Pros Positive or negative, customer reviews showcases to visitors that a your business is willing to be transparent and honest about their products and services.Negative reviews can actually help your store. It shows a willingness to improve and gives you a chance to respond to criticism. By the way, many product review apps for Shopify will actually allow you to remove any super negative or troll reviews.Many product review apps for Shopify are set and forget. The app will automatically ask customers for store reviews, that way you can sit back and relax as the social proofing of your brand increases. Cons Some product review apps for Shopify can be quite expensive, particularly as more customers make use of your review system. Fake Reviews When kickstarting a new online business or endeavoring to increase site traffic and conversions, there is a temptation to make use of fake reviews. Fake reviews may seem like a good idea in theory, although in the long run, they can actually work to hurt your store and your customer’s trust. Why? Well, often fake reviews sound disingenuous and most customers are fairly savvy to this kind of underhanded approach. Ultimately, this is more likely to hurt your store’s image than help it. With that in mind, fake reviews are best avoided. It’s better to have no reviews on your product pages than ones that are clearly manufactured. Which Shopify Product Review App Is the Best? Finding the right product review app for your store will depend entirely on your store’s required functionality and features. Some of these apps allow customers to rate your products using a simple “Star Rating” system, while others allow for more detailed descriptions along with the ability for customers to add images to their reviews. The majority of the product review apps allow for a high level of customization, seamlessly integrating the product review features into your Shopify store. Here are some of the best-rated Shopify product review apps available: Yotpo Yotpo is a cloud-based content marketing tool that specializes in fostering user-generated content (UGC) from e-commerce customers. The app integrates with a wide range of CMS platforms and third-party apps, it’s fairly simple to set up, and it showcases text, photo, and video reviews in an engaging and captivating way. Pricing: Free PlanGrowth Plan - starts at $29 and scales with use Judge.me Judge.me is a highly regarded marketing tool that seriously takes the hassle out of managing site reviews and socially proofed leads. Simply set, forget, and sit back and relax as Judge.me automatically adds rich snippets to your review content, boosts site traffic, and manages everything from social media posting to email, push notification, and SMS marketing. Pricing: Forever Free PlanAwesome Plan - $15 USD/month » For a side-by-side comparison, check out our Yotpo vs Judge.me article Stamped.io Stamped.io is a highly-rated marketing platform, featuring a wide range of integrated tools aimed at helping capture and showcase high-impact user-generated content (UGC). Stamped.io's features include the ability to display and showcase written, photo, and video reviews on product pages, category pages, and social media channels, plus facilitate the addition of helpful on-site Q&A sections. Pricing: Free planBasic plan - $19 USD/monthPremium plan - $39 USD/monthBusiness plan - $99 USD/monthProfessional plan - $249-999 USD/month Loox Loox aims to help e-commerce merchants foster UGC through their review and referral-based Shopify app. The apps accomplish this by specializing in, what they term as, “photo-centric” reviews and referrals. Or in other words, super engaging and social media-esque photo reviews. Pricing: 14-day free trialBasic Plan - $9.99 USD/monthAdvanced Plan - $29.99 USD/monthPro Plan - $59.99 USD/monthUnlimited Plan - $99.99 USD/month Product Reviews by Shopify Product Reviews is not only a free product review app offered directly by Shopify, but the app also allows users to both import reviews and export reviews from third-party review services. This is facilitated by formatted CSV spreadsheet files that site managers can use to easily transfer and showcase high-converting UGC onto a new, remodeled, or relocated store. Pricing: Absolutely free Conclusion Quickly and easily gain customer trust, boost brand outreach, and ultimately boost revenue by following the above tips and using one of the great Shopify product review apps mentioned within this post.
3 Apps to Analyze Dummy Data: Streamline Your Shopify Store Design
Shopify apps3 Apps to Analyze Dummy Data: Streamline Your Shopify Store DesignAs e-commerce store owners, we've learned the hard way that it's better to test your Shopify store with dummy data before going live. It's so much better to work out all your issues and experience every possible disaster in a development store than with a real, paying customer. Before you start worrying—dummy data doesn't have to be a manual process and doesn't require coding. Just use an app! Our Top Picks at a Glance Simple Sample Data - Best overallSafetyTest - Best for testing processesRewind Staging - Best for staging stores 1. Simple Sample Data: Best Overall KeepShoppers Score: 9.9 Key Features Test extensive dummy data with one clickIncludes 3 data themesFree for developers The Simple Sample Data app by Egnition allows you to easily install dummy data onto your store, including products, customers, and orders. You can use this dummy data to test your store's functionality, design, and checkout process without using real customer information. Why We Liked It Simple Sample Data is our best overall choice because it's so user-friendly and completely customizable. With just one click, our development store was instantly populated with dummy data. But what we really liked was that we could choose what data we wanted to use, and the app delivered each time. No glitches or hassles, and we could delete the data again just as easily. ProsFree plan availableAffordable paid plan availableEasy to use and customizable3 built-in themes give an immersive experienceExcellent customer serviceConsProvides a less detailed experience for stores that don't use the built-in themes » Read our Simple Sample Data review for more details 2. SafetyTest: Best for Testing Processes KeepShoppers Score: 9.7 Key Features Automatic testing every 12 minutesImmediate email notification if a problem is detectedLive test previews The SafetyTest Shopify app allows you to test your store's order and checkout processes and payment gateway safely and securely. It tests everything automatically and immediately notifies the shop owner if it detects any problems. Why We Liked It SafetyTest is focused on a single task and does it really well. The automation element of this app is really attractive—and quite a stress reliever! Where other apps require you to manually check your processes, SafetyTest looks after your order and checkout processes in the background. Suddenly, we had time we didn't know what to do with. We also really liked that the app keeps a really good record of its tests and gives a fairly detailed description if something is wrong, so you know where to start looking. ProsFree plan availableHands-off automated functionalityDetailed feedback and reports from testsConsOnly works for orders and checkouts 3. Rewind Staging: Best for Staging Stores KeepShoppers Score: 9.5 Key Features Copy all of your store data to the staging storeEasily carry your changes over to your live storeCreate and test up to 100,000 products in your staging store Rewind Staging allows you to create a separate, isolated copy of your live store, known as a "staging environment." You can use this staging environment to confidently test changes, updates, or new features without affecting the live version of your store. Why We Liked It Are we seeing double? We've never worked with both a live store and a permanent development store, but we can get used to this. We love the app's user-friendliness! It's so easy to create the staging store and then carry any changes back over to the live store. The app gave us more control, flexibility, and safety. The customer service was also very responsive. Pros7-day free trialTest new functionalities without impacting your live storeEasily carry information over between the staging and live storeExcellent customer serviceConsAdditional costs if you want to set up more than 1 storeMonthly cost can be expensive Don't Be a Dummy! If you were worried about dummy data being time-consuming and complicated, we hope you can see now that an app will make the entire process a breeze (and even fun!). You can quickly analyze customer behavior, product performance, pricing strategies, and more to accurately understand your store's performance. Optimize your Shopify store in no time and get the best results by unlocking the power of dummy data analysis. KeepShoppers Methodology Here’s how we analyzed the dummy data apps on our list. We scored each of them based on ease of use, number of functions, value for money, customer reviews, customer service, and more. We also took into account the time and resources required to make the best use of the app—more feature-rich solutions are usually more complex and require a greater time investment to learn. Our team aimed to examine the range of options that work for different users, as each company will have different needs and use cases.
5 Best Shopify Apps for Managing Multiple Stores in 2023
Shopify apps5 Best Shopify Apps for Managing Multiple Stores in 2023Running a Shopify store is hard enough—but running multiple stores can be an even greater challenge. Not only do you have to worry about managing the inventory and keeping track of sales, but you also need to make sure that each store is optimized for search engine ranking and customer experience. Thankfully, with the help of these top 5 Shopify apps, managing multiple Shopify stores just got considerably easier. Our Top Picks for Best Apps for Managing Multiple Stores Multi-Store Sync Power - Best overallBestsellers reSort - Best sorting app for managing multiple storesKatana - Best app for managing multiple stores for manufacturersBack In Stock - Best app for managing multiple stores for dropshippingStock Sync - Best app for managing multiple stores for ease of use 1. Multi‑Store Sync Power KeepShoppers Score: 9.9 Key Features Two-way syncEasy configurationCustom pricing Multi‑Store Sync Power is a multi-store inventory sync software that allows you to manage the inventory of all your stores in one place. With an easy-to-use dashboard and hassle-free setup, it will help you save time and money by ensuring that your products are always available, no matter where they are sold. Why We Liked It Multi-Store Sync Power is a good all-around solution that's responsive, and we were particularly impressed with the friendly customer service. In addition, it supports inventory management synchronization and easy setup that makes managing multiple stores a breeze. Multi‑Store Sync Power Pros and Cons ProsInventory management syncMultiple location POS streamliningMultichannel customer serviceAffordable monthly pricing options7-day free trialConsConfiguration can be confusing » Read our review of Multi-Store Sync Power for a full description and details 2. Bestsellers reSort KeepShoppers Score: 9.9 Key Features No-limits configurationCustom sort orderingTag sorting Bestsellers reSort is a unique Shopify app that helps online merchants organize their on-site products into highly optimized collections without wasting any time. The app specializes in automatically creating collections based on metadata (tags, attributes, titles, SKUs, and more) so that you can focus on growing your business instead of organizing products manually. It also comes with a suite of powerful automation features that allows you to do things like add inventory alerts when an item sells out or remove items from the collection as soon as they sell out. Why We Liked It Bestsellers reSort breadth of options and deep functionality cannot be underestimated. It allows for the creation of real-time collections and automatic sorting by pretty much any number of different options. Bestsellers reSort Pros and Cons ProsAuto sorts real-time collectionsLots of product sorting options7-day free trialConsCan be non-responsive » If you're interested and want to read more, check out our article on Bestsellers reSort 3. Katana: Manufacturing and Inventory Management KeepShoppers Score: 9.7 Key Features Syncs online and offline stores in real timeDrag-and-drop functionalityTotal shop floor control Katana Inventory Management is an order tracking and production control software for Shopify stores. It allows manufacturers to keep track of their orders, inventory, and production in one place. Katana makes it easy to see what needs to be produced and when, so you can stay on top of your production schedule and meet deadlines. Why We Liked It Katana is a truly standout app for manufacturers who are managing their e-commerce stores. With multiple-store management functionality and deep integration potential, it allows for total shop control, and it's a must-have if you're running a manufacturing business. Katana Pros and Cons ProsShop-floor inventory managementReal-time calculation of stock levels14-day free trialConsMore expensive than other optionsReport snapshots can be limiting 4. Back in Stock: Restock Alerts KeepShoppers Score: 9. 6 Key Features Quick setupMessaging integrationHigh level of customization Back in Stock is an essential tool for online businesses that want to ensure they never run out of stock or miss a restock. It provides email and SMS alerts when products are back in stock or available for restocking, so businesses can quickly replenish their inventory and keep sales flowing. Why We Liked It Back in Stock has a very quick setup, great features, and great support. Additionally, its notification and analysis tools can help businesses that are mainly focused on resale as it allows for excellent inventory tracking and updates. Back in Stock Pros and Cons ProsAutomatic inventory updatesStock level notificationsPerformance and inventory analysisConsSyncing can take a whilePartial or split orders cause issues 5. Stock Sync: Connect Suppliers KeepShoppers Score: 9.5 Key Features Comprehensive schedulingExport inventory to supplier or vendorAutomate product and inventory import If you're tired of spending hours updating your inventory spreadsheet, Stock Sync is for you. This automated inventory update tool can connect to Google Sheets, SFTP, or any other feeds to keep your stock levels up to date in minutes. Plus, it's easy to use—even for non-techies. Why We Liked It Two words: easy updates and scheduling. Store Sync's comprehensive scheduling and inventory management options allow for an almost fire-and-forget approach to managing e-store inventory. Any manual updates can be done very quickly and efficiently. Stock Sync Pros and Cons ProsScheduled inventory updatesInventory management and stock level sync14-day free trialConsDoes not include Shopify POSNo multiuser options for large teams KeepShoppers Takeaway: What's the Best Shopify App for Managing Multiple Stores? These five apps are ideal for managing multiple Shopify stores. While Multi‑Store Sync Power and Bestsellers reSort are definitely standouts, that doesn't mean others don't deserve your attention. Back In Stock is definitely worth a look if you're a dropshipper and Katana offers some standout functionality for manufacturers. However, there's more to running a successful Shopify-focused e-commerce business than store management. We suggest taking a look at our other blogs explaining the types of apps that are essential for your store, and we even explain how to choose the apps that offer the most help with Shopify. Because we know that optimizing business expenditures is essential for all small business owners, there is also a handy guide outlining how much you should spend on Shopify apps. KeepShoppers Methodology Here’s how we compared the Shopify apps for managing multiple stores on our list. We scored each of them based on the breadth of options, integration potential, customization options, integration support, user-friendliness, and customer service. We also took into account the time and resources required to make the best use of the app—more feature-rich solutions are usually more complex and require a greater time investment to learn. Our team aimed to examine the range of options that work for different users, as each company will have different needs and use cases.