10 Free Shopify Apps To Install in 2023

Ten Free Shopify Apps To Install in 2023

E-commerce is now a part of our daily lives, and Shopify stands out as a leading platform for creating and managing online stores. Its simplicity, scalability, versatility, and reliable support make it a top choice for both newcomers and established e-commerce businesses.

One standout feature of Shopify is its App Store. While Shopify covers the basics that every business needs, the App Store offers a wide range of third-party apps to enhance your store's capabilities.These Shopify apps, which are third-party extensions, can be seamlessly integrated into your store, providing additional features and functionality. They are essential for customizing your store, improving efficiency, aiding in marketing and sales, enhancing the customer experience, and providing advanced analytics and reporting tools for overall success.

With more than 8,000 apps available on the Shopify App Store, part of which is free,  there's a high likelihood of finding one that suits your specific e-commerce needs. To simplify your search among the multitude of apps, we've curated a list of the top 10 Best Free Shopify Apps for 2023. We've organized them based on their primary functions and provided brief explanations of why you might find these apps beneficial for your e-commerce business.

1. Incentive and urgency offer apps

A whopping 92% of consumers actively hunt for deals when shopping online. Except for standard special offers, discounts, or rewards to attract customers' attention and motivate them to complete a transaction, another highly effective tactic is employing limited-time offers accompanied by countdown timers. The mere indication of low stock levels can significantly bolster e-commerce sales conversions. While it might sound like a trick, it undeniably works like a charm. If you haven't already, consider adding such apps to your store to tap into the power of incentives and urgency, both of which can work wonders for your online sales.

Ultimate Sales Boost is one of the best free Shopify apps to promote your sales from a landing page or product page to the checkout page, displaying consistent sales-boosting messages throughout your customers' shopping journey and increasing sales. It includes a customizable countdown timer, stock countdown, and free shipping to help create a sense of urgency and encourage visitors to buy. The app works exceptionally well with impulse buying products. 

2. Cart recovery apps

Around 70% of shopping carts get abandoned, but you can recover some of them using cart recovery apps. These apps send messages when someone abandons their cart through email, Facebook Messenger, SMS, or web push notifications. Whether your abandonment rate is higher or lower than 70%, it's wise to consider using cart recovery apps, as each saved cart means more sales for your business.

Keep Cart is a free Shopify app that reduces abandoned carts by simplifying the shopping experience across different devices. Customers who log into your store can effortlessly access their cart and find the products they added, regardless of the device they're using. Many shoppers begin their search on mobile but complete the purchase on a desktop or vice versa. Ensuring their cart is accessible on all devices is a helpful reminder, encouraging them to complete their purchase and boosting sales.

3. Free shipping offer apps

In online shopping, customers value transparency when it comes to shipping costs. While "free shipping" is an enticing incentive, it significantly outperforms other offers regarding its impact on e-commerce conversions. However, it's important to note that implementing free shipping involves more than simply adding a "free shipping" app to your store. You have to do that in reality. Yet, the effort invested is worth it, as it can notably boost e-commerce sales conversions. To maximize its effectiveness, you can inform customers that your store offers free shipping on all orders or set a clear threshold to encourage higher average order values. Installing a visible shipping details bar on your website can help potential buyers easily access this information, thereby facilitating their decision to make a purchase.

Free Shipping Bar by Hextom is a free Shopify app that displays progressive messages when customers put more items in their shopping carts and lets them know how much more to buy for free shipping. The bar is fully customizable with advanced targeting options including geo-location, customer, page, etc. You can have multiple free shipping offers for different countries or customers and optimize the sales. The bar is clear and visible, allowing browsers to access shipping information without going through the checkout process. It likely helps lower abandoned carts as well.

4. Email marketing apps

Email marketing serves two primary purposes. First, it's a powerful tool for converting new visitors into sales leads and nurturing them into loyal customers. Second, for existing customers, ongoing email engagement can substantially boost their average lifetime value. Despite challenges such as lower email opening and response rates, email marketing remains the most cost-effective method to engage users, increasing conversions and sales.

Omnisend, a free Shopify app, goes beyond standard email marketing apps for Shopify. With this app, you can effortlessly create powerful automation workflows using customizable templates, incorporating multiple channels like email, SMS, Facebook Messenger, push notifications, WhatsApp, and more. This app is a valuable tool for online sellers looking to send precisely tailored messages to their customers, whether it's through enticing email capture pop-ups or SMS reminders to recover abandoned carts. Omnisend's intelligent segmentation further aids in pinpointing your audience based on customer data, campaign engagement, and shopping behavior.

5. Exit pop-ups

While exit pop-ups may not be everyone's favorite, they work effectively to increase sales. It's important to note that the exit pop-up alone won't directly contribute to sales; it must collaborate with other features like incentive offers or email lead capturing. Pop-ups can be an extremely effective way to turn your site visitors into email subscribers.

Optimonk Pop-up app is an excellent free Shopify app that can be used to offer special discounts, limited-time offers, or free shipping bars to attract new followers and subscribers. It is an excellent strategy for building your email list and encouraging purchases from visitors who may have otherwise just browsed your site. Plus, it helps reduce cart abandonment through exit pop-ups. Remember that while pop-ups can be effective, they can also be annoying, so it's advisable to remove any other pop-up apps you may have. Additionally, don't forget to test the app's functionality on your mobile site to ensure a smooth user experience and maintain optimal conversion rates.

6. Live Chat & Chatbots

Live chat is necessary for e-commerce businesses to ensure smooth customer experience and maximize conversions. Having a real-time communication channel with your customers can help you answer their questions quickly so they can purchase products with certainty. 69% of US consumers "say being able to message a business helps them feel more confident about the brand," If you're looking for a way to engage customers continuously, even if you already have email marketing apps in place, you should consider live chat & chatbots apps because it has several advantages over email – easier connect, higher response rate, and more conversions, just to name several.

Tidio Chat is a free, versatile live chat platform that combines messages from various channels into one easy-to-use interface. It's a valuable plugin for Shopify stores, offering a unified customer support solution. Beyond chat management, Tidio also serves as a robust helpdesk tool, allowing support teams to access important information like order history, cart previews, and product recommendations directly from the chat.

7. Product review apps

Building trust is paramount in online conversions, and product reviews are pivotal in this trust-building process. Product reviews build credibility and trust in your products, showcasing real experiences from satisfied customers. While some platforms like WooCommerce include built-in review features, Shopify doesn't. Luckily, excellent review apps are available to help Shopify store owners gather and display customer feedback, enhancing trust in their products.

Judge.me is a top-notch, free Shopify plugin that simplifies the collection and display of reviews and star ratings for your store and products. With this app, you can automate email requests for reviews from customers. It also connects seamlessly with Google Shopping and social media, making it easy to gather reviews. Judge.me is user-friendly, loads quickly, and supports 38 languages. You can schedule automated review requests, import reviews from other apps, and boost your conversion rate by displaying reviews and star ratings on your store, sharing them on social media, and improving your SEO with Google star ratings. 

8. SEO apps

Traffic is vital as no traffic means no sales. E-commerce SEO is a challenge for many business owners. Building a website and ranking it high in search engines can take time, resources, and money. Having SEO apps helps you better optimize your web pages by suggesting how to improve.

If your Shopify store's images aren't optimized, they can slow down page loading, potentially driving away customers and harming your SEO. TinyIMG solves this by optimizing images without quality loss. Although the visual difference may be imperceptible, the impact on search engine ranking positions (SERPs) is substantial. Moreover, TinyIMG offers the convenience of automatic image optimization, saving you valuable time. Additionally, the service provides valuable site speed reports and practical suggestions for resolving speed-related issues, ensuring your Shopify store loads swiftly and efficiently.

9. Advertising apps

While stores can increase organic traffic through SEO and social media posts, advertising remains one of the most effective methods for driving traffic and boosting sales. Advertising offers distinct advantages, including ease of implementation and precise ROI measurement. While it is hard to find entirely free advertising apps, in addition to running standard ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, explore the following app to see how it can potentially enhance your traffic generation efforts.

Automizely Traffic & Ads is a free app designed to boost e-commerce traffic to your Shopify store. With this app, you can participate in an ad exchange network to strategically place your products in front of potential customers actively looking to make a purchase. The process is swift and seamless – connect with other relevant Shopify stores and exchange high-quality e-commerce traffic effortlessly. Once you've installed the app, create captivating ads that will be displayed on partner stores, driving traffic to your website without requiring any technical skills. Additionally, the app offers a centralized platform for managing your ad campaigns and tracking performance analytics.

10. Loyalty apps

It's important to show your customers you appreciate them. In business, nurturing existing relationships is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new customers. It is where loyalty apps shine, enabling you to build a loyal customer base by offering rewards, discounts, and tailored experiences. One exceptional feature of these apps is the ability to delight customers with exclusive offers on special occasions, like birthdays. It makes their day more memorable and firmly establishes your brand in their hearts and minds. This personal touch goes a long way in strengthening customer bonds and driving sustained business growth.

Smile is one of the most popular freemium Shopify apps for rewarding customers with points, making it a top choice for those aiming to run a loyalty program. Customers accumulate points that can be redeemed for exclusive offers like discounts, free products, or free shipping. It's a powerful tool for motivating your audience to purchase more while spreading the word about your web store. You can effortlessly check results and performance through Smile analytics, ensuring you're on the right track to boost sales and enhance customer loyalty. Moreover, Smile.io offers easy customization to align your brand's aesthetic with the rewards launcher, panel, and emails.

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