Running a Shopify store involves more than adding products and processing orders. Merchants regularly run into the same set of challenges: customers leaving without buying, products going out of stock, low average order values, poor product discoverability, and a lack of repeat purchases.
The good news is that most of these problems have app-based solutions that don’t require custom development. Rather than listing “the best Shopify apps,” this guide is organized around six specific problems — and the app that solves each one.
1. Customers aren’t returning to products they liked
Not every shopper buys on their first visit. They may want to compare options, wait for a sale, check with someone else, or simply come back later. Without an easy way to save products, they often forget about them — or have to search your whole store again when they’re ready to buy.
Solution: Wishlist Guru: Favorites List
Wishlist Guru gives shoppers a simple way to save products they’re interested in and come back to them later. It acts as a bridge between browsing and buying, so customers keep their favorites organized instead of losing track of them after leaving the store. This is especially useful for stores where people take time to compare products or think through a purchase.
Key features:
- Create Unlimited Wishlists for different occasions, collections, or customer needs
- Multi-Wishlist Support for better product organization
- Multi-Variant Support to save specific product variants
- Unlimited Multilingual Support for global stores
- Language targeting based on Domain URL
- Klaviyo Integration for personalized wishlist marketing
- SMTP Integration for reliable email delivery
- Up to 5,000 Monthly Wishlist Emails
- Social Media Wishlist Sharing
- Control Who Can Share Wishlists — Guests or Logged-in Customers
- Wishlist Share Reports to track sharing activity
- Customizable Shared Wishlist Templates
- Shopify Flow Integration for automated workflows
- REST API Support for advanced integrations
- JavaScript Events Support for custom functionality
- Affiliate Tracking via Customer Metafields
- Product Options App Support
- Advanced Wishlist Analytics & Reports
- Customizable Wishlist Buttons, Icons & Widgets
- Guest Wishlist Support
- Back-in-Stock, Price-Drop & Low-Inventory Alert
Best for: Stores that want to help shoppers save products and give them a reason to return.
Another option: Gift Registry Guru
If your products are commonly bought as gifts, a registry takes the “save for later” idea a step further. Gift Registry Guru lets customers create, manage, and share registries for weddings, birthdays, baby showers, and other occasions. Recipients can buy directly from the registry, and it tracks what’s already been purchased to help avoid duplicate gifts.
Features
- Unlimited Active Registries
- Customizable button styling
- URL-based registry sharing
- Show icon or button on collection
- Customization for header & floating icon
- Order reports and analytics
- Allow multiple registry per user
- Detailed analytics reports
- Private & password protected registry
- Create registry by admin
- Social sharing
- Editable email templates
- Multi-language support (2 languages → unlimited)
- Co-registrant
- Custom code integration/Custom JS/CSS
- Data migration support
- VIP support
Best for: Stores selling products commonly bought for weddings, birthdays, baby showers, holidays, and similar occasions.
2. Customers leave when a product is out of stock
An out-of-stock product doesn’t have to mean a lost sale. If a shopper still wants the item but has no way to order it or get notified when it’s back, they’ll likely buy from a competitor instead.
Solution: Preorder Guru
Preorder Guru – Back in Stock helps merchants capture demand even when inventory isn’t available. Instead of a dead-end “Out of Stock” message, customers can place preorders for upcoming or temporarily unavailable products — or sign up for a back-in-stock notification. It’s particularly useful for new product launches, limited inventory, seasonal items, and temporary stockouts.
Key Features
- Unlimited PreOrders – Accept unlimited preorder purchases without restrictions.
- Back-in-Stock Alerts – Notify customers when out-of-stock products become available.
- Up to 5,000 Email Alerts – Send up to 5,000 automated customer email notifications each month.
- Klaviyo Integration – Connect with Klaviyo to manage and automate customer communications.
- Shopify Flow Integration – Automate preorder-related tasks and workflows with Shopify Flow.
- Scheduled PreOrders – Set specific dates and times for preorders to start or end.
- Partial Payment Support – Allow customers to pay a portion of the order upfront.
- PreOrder Confirmation Emails – Automatically send confirmation emails after customers place preorders.
- Inventory Limits – Control the maximum number of preorders available for each product.
- Countdown Timer – Display a countdown to create urgency around preorder availability.
- Customizable PreOrder Buttons – Customize preorder button text and appearance to match your store.
- Email From Your Domain (SMTP) – Send preorder emails using your own store domain for better branding and deliverability.
Best for: Stores that want to capture sales ahead of inventory arriving, or recover demand lost to stockouts.
3. Customers don’t trust your products
Getting traffic is only half the battle — you also need to convince visitors your products are worth buying. Shoppers look for proof from other customers before they commit, and without reviews or social proof, even a strong product page can struggle to convert.
Solution: Judge.me Product Reviews
Judge.me helps merchants collect and display customer reviews and ratings, along with customer photos and other social proof. A consistent review-collection process builds credibility across product pages and gives new customers the confidence to buy.
Best for: Stores that want to build trust and strengthen social proof on product pages.
4. Your average order value is too low
Growing revenue isn’t only about acquiring new customers — it’s also about getting more value from the customers you already have, whether through relevant add-ons or larger bundles.
Solution: FoxKit: Upsell & Bundles
FoxKit helps merchants create upsell, cross-sell, and bundling offers based on products that naturally complement what a customer is already buying — not random recommendations. Used well, this increases order value while helping customers discover products they actually need.
Best for: Stores looking to increase average order value through upsells, cross-sells, and bundles.
5. Customers can’t find products easily
As a catalog grows, discovery gets harder. A store with a handful of products is easy to browse, but once you’re into the hundreds or thousands, customers need better ways to narrow things down — by price, category, size, color, availability, brand, and more.
Solution: Product Filter & Search
A dedicated filter-and-search tool lets customers search for specific products and filter results instead of clicking through collection pages one by one. Better discovery means less effort to find the right product and a smoother overall shopping experience.
Best for: Stores with large catalogs, multiple collections, or many product variants
6. You don’t have enough repeat purchases
Getting a first purchase matters, but earning repeat purchases is where long-term value comes from. Customers who’ve already bought from you know your brand and products — they just need a reason to come back.
Solution: S Loyalty
S Loyalty helps merchants build rewards programs that give customers an incentive to keep shopping. Instead of treating every sale as a one-off transaction, a loyalty strategy turns customers into repeat shoppers over time.
Best for: Stores focused on improving retention and repeat purchase rate.
How to Choose the Right App
You don’t need all six. The right one depends on the biggest problem your store is facing right now.
| Problem | App to consider |
|---|---|
| Customers aren’t ready to purchase | Wishlist Guru |
| Products are out of stock | Preorder Guru |
| Customers want to create gift lists for special occasions | Gift Registry Guru |
| Customers need more trust before buying | Judge.me |
| Average order value is low | FoxKit |
| Customers struggle to find products | Product Filter & Search |
| You need more repeat purchases | S Loyalty |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Each app solves one specific problem. Install only the app that matches the biggest issue your store is currently facing — adding tools you don’t need adds cost and complexity without helping conversions.
Wishlist Guru lets a single shopper save products to revisit later. Gift Registry Guru extends that into a shareable list tied to an occasion (wedding, birthday, baby shower) that other people can purchase from, with duplicate-purchase tracking and notifications.
An “Out of Stock” label ends the sale. Preorder Guru lets the customer commit to the purchase (or sign up for a back-in-stock alert) so the store captures demand instead of losing the shopper to a competitor.
App-based solutions vary in performance impact. Check each app’s Shopify listing for load-time benchmarks, and test on your own theme before committing to a paid plan.
Preorder Guru and FoxKit (upsells/bundles) tend to show the fastest measurable revenue impact, since they act at the point of purchase. Wishlist Guru, reviews, and loyalty programs build value over a longer window by improving return-visit and repeat-purchase rates.
Yes — they address different funnel stages (discovery, trust, stockouts, order value, retention), so most stores end up running two or three in combination rather than just one.
Final Thoughts
Shopify apps work best when they solve a specific problem — not when they’re added just to add more features.
If customers aren’t ready to buy, a wishlist keeps products within reach. If products go out of stock, preorders capture demand that would otherwise be lost. Reviews build trust, upsells and bundles increase order value, and better search improves discovery in large catalogs. Loyalty programs give existing customers a reason to return.
The goal isn’t to install as many apps as possible — it’s to install the right one for the problem you actually have.
