Essential Shopify Apps You Actually Need (and What to Skip)

Principle: Keep your stack lean, fast, and ROI‑positive. Add apps only when they unlock measurable revenue or save real ops time.

1) Start with Built‑Ins (Often Enough)

Before installing anything, fully use Shopify’s native capabilities:

• Search, filters, and recommendations (enhance your theme’s PLPs/PDPs).
• Discounts & automatic discounts for promos and bundles.
• Email & basic automations for welcome/abandoned flows.
• Shop Pay & accelerated checkout for conversion lift.
• Markets, taxes, and duties for international basics.

2) “Near‑Essential” Categories (Add When You Feel the Pain)

• Reviews & UGC: Social proof on PDP/cart; import flow; ask post‑purchase.
• Post‑purchase upsell / cross‑sell: AOV bumps on cart, checkout, and thank‑you.
• Subscriptions (if your model fits): Pausing, swaps, proration, dunning.
• Bundles / Kits: Fixed or dynamic bundles that reflect inventory.
• Search & Merchandising Enhancers: If your catalog is large, use rule‑based boosts, synonyms, and merchandising.
• Loyalty & Referrals: Only if you have repeat traffic and margin room.
• Analytics & Heatmaps: To find UX friction and validate changes.
• Shipping & Returns: Labels, rates, self‑serve returns portal.

3) What to Skip (or Delay)

• Overlapping apps that duplicate features (e.g., multiple SEO/upsell/reviews at once).
• Heavy page builders on live themes; use sparingly or for landing sub‑folders.
• Fake‑urgency timers and spammy popups that hurt trust and CVR.
• Third‑party currency converters if Shopify Payments already handles multi‑currency.
• Apps that inject lots of scripts without async/defer or server‑side rendering.
• Anything you can do with theme sections or native metafields.

4) Decision Framework (5 Questions)

1. Impact: What metric moves (CVR, AOV, LTV, ops hours)? By how much?
2. Cost: Monthly fee + % of sales + engineering time. Worth it?
3. Performance: Script weight, CLS, and TTI impact. Test before/after.
4. Data: What PII is shared? Is there a DPA and data‑export path?
5. Exit: How clean is uninstall? Any theme code left behind?

5) Implementation Playbook

• Sandbox first: Duplicate theme; test apps there.
• Tag and measure: Annotate changes in GA/analytics; watch CVR, AOV, LCP.
• One change at a time: Ship weekly; review impact; keep a changelog.
• Code hygiene: Remove leftover snippets on uninstall; audit quarterly.
• SLAs: Prefer vendors with support and clear uptime.

6) Example “Lean Stack” by Store Stage

Pre‑launch / Small catalog

• Native email + basic popups
• Reviews
• Simple post‑purchase offer

Scaling / 100+ SKUs

• Advanced search/merchandising
• Returns portal
• Bundles
• Loyalty (if repeat purchase ≥25%)

Subscription brand

• Subscription engine
• Churn control (win‑back flows, skip/swap)
• Post‑purchase upsell tied to subscription

7) Ongoing App Audit (Quarterly)

• Remove anything unused or overlapping.
• Re‑test speed (home/PLP/PDP/checkout).
• Verify data sharing and permissions.
• Review invoices vs. attributable revenue.

Bottom line: Start with native features, add a few high‑leverage apps as your pains appear, and keep performance + data discipline front and center.