We probably don’t need to tell you how important product reviews are for any ecommerce site. They improve SEO, improve conversion, and help to engage your customers. What’s not to like? Well, usually the price tag, which includes the licensing and the implementation costs, which can both be pretty steep. How steep? Well, depending on your platform and the vendor you use, the monthly cost of products like BazaarVoice and PowerReviews can run as much as $1,000 per month or more. And that's after the thousand to tens of thousands you may spend to implement the reviews on some ecommerce platforms (I'm looking at you Mozu/Kibo.).



Now, admittedly, these enterprise tools offer lots of features, but if you’re looking for a review tool that automatically integrates with Shopify’s backend, is easy to implement and customize, and offers imports, exports, and bulk actions, you can’t wrong with this free app developed by Shopify.

2. Google Shopping by Shopify

One of the most effective ways to market your products is through Google Shopping. (Not familiar with Google Shopping yet? We’ll be posting a blog shortly that goes into more detail.) The Google Shopping by Shopify integrates your product database with Google’s Merchant Center. The interface enables you to manage the categories, descriptions, UPC codes, and other data that the merchant center requires.



Okay, so why is this so great? Some third party vendors will charge a minimum of $1,000 per month. Much like product reviews, these tools come with a lot of bells and whistles, but aside from the cost they usually necessitate API integration and setup, which can add considerable to the monthly fees you’re already paying. In comparison, the Shopify app is free to use (ad costs are managed through Adwords), and integrates seamlessly with your Shopify admin.

3. MailChimp for Shopify

MailChimp may not be your first choice for an email service provider (ESP), but its partnership and subsequent integration with Shopify makes it a great choice. One example of this is the MailChimp for Shopify app, which integrates your Shopify site and admin with your MailChimp account.

This integration synchronizes your list and purchase data, enables marketing automation (abandoned cart reminders, drip marketing, post purchase follow up, new customer welcome, etc.), showcases product recommendations, track and segment customers based on purchase history, and easy creation of product campaigns directly from your product database.

Needless to say, this type of automated integration and automation would take considerable development time and costs on other ecommerce platforms, and with other ESPs.



4. Order Printer

A decent looking packing slip or invoice might not seem like a big deal, but the out-of-the-box order printing on Shopify isn’t the best looking. And let’s be honest, the more professional your packaging and packaging slips, the more customers will take you seriously. This free app is customizable, and allows for bulk printing. It can also be used in conjunction with Shopify Shipping to print shipping labels for the US and Canada.



5. Intuit Quickbooks Online Integration

Many, many businesses use Quickbooks to manage their accounting, so having a way to easily integrate online sales can save a lot of time and hassle. The Intuit Quickbooks Online Integration allows you to synchronize your Shopify orders with Quickbooks automatically. This includes orders, refunds, payouts, and fees. Each order will automatically include individual line items, including shipping and taxes. If you’re already using Quickbooks, why not use this free tool to integrate your account? You’ll thank yourself come April.

Oh, and by the way, the screenshots for this blog are from Doc Hotties, a hot sauce website that we designed and manage.



What are your favorite Shopify apps? Let us know in the comments below.