Essential apps for a Shopify store: customer service, reviews, email, shipping and returns

Before you start

Every app you add can read some of your store data, may add a monthly charge to your Shopify bill and may leave code in your theme when you remove it^1,2,3. So start with the jobs, not the apps. For most stores, five jobs come first. Shopify has its own tool for four of them.

Job	Start with Shopify's own tool	Apps that go further (A to Z)
Customer service	Shopify Inbox, free, with an optional AI agent4,5	Re:amaze, Tidio6,7
Product reviews	Shop app reviews, shown in the Shop app only8	Judge.me, Loox, Okendo, Yotpo9,10,11,13
Email and SMS marketing	Shopify Messaging, 10,000 free emails a month12,31	Klaviyo, Omnisend, Postscript (SMS)14,15,16
Shipping and tracking	Shipping labels in the admin17	AfterShip Order Tracking, CWILL Order Tracking, ShipStation19,20,21
Returns and exchanges	Self-serve returns23	AfterShip Returns & Exchanges, Loop, ReturnGO22,24,25

The apps are examples, listed alphabetically. They are not ranked or recommended, and no developer paid to appear here. Each line comes from the app's own Shopify App Store listing. Ratings and prices change, so check the listing before you install.

Worked example: a candle shop selling 40 products in the US and Canada, about to launch, with one person answering customers.

Steps

1. Write down the jobs you need help with. For each of the five jobs above, note what you need on day one. The candle shop needs chat during opening hours, reviews on product pages, a launch email, labels for US and Canada orders and a simple return form. Start with Shopify's own tool for each job and add an app only where it falls short.

2. Install an app and review its access. Log in to the Shopify App Store, search for the app and open its listing, then click Install¹. On the Install app screen, read the data access requirements and the privacy policy, then click Install to authorize it¹. The screen lists the personal data the app can view and the store data it can view and edit, such as products, orders and discounts¹. Installed apps appear on the Apps page in your admin¹.

3. Set up customer chat with Shopify Inbox. Shopify Inbox is free and made by Shopify⁵. Install it from the Shopify App Store, add the chat widget to your online store, then set up its chat settings⁴. To set your hours, go to Sales channels > Inbox, click Chat settings and Availability, choose a start and end time in the Hours section and click Save²⁸. In Automated first reply, write what customers see during and outside your hours²⁸. The Inbox agent, an AI that answers questions about products, shipping, returns, sizing and store policies, is opt-in²⁹.

4. Choose a help desk if one chat window is not enough. A help desk puts email, chat and social messages in one inbox, with order details next to each conversation. These are examples from the Shopify App Store, A to Z:

   • Re:amaze AI Helpdesk & Chat. Email, live chat, social, SMS and calls in one inbox, with an AI agent and Shopify order management. 14-day free trial. Rated 4.4 from 181 reviews⁶.
   • Tidio: AI Chatbot & Live Chat. Live chat, email and social messages in one inbox. Its Lyro AI agent answers support questions and can process refunds and order edits within rules you set. Free plan; paid plans from $29 a month. Rated 4.8 from 1,354 reviews⁷.

5. Add product reviews with an app. Shopify's own Shop product reviews appear in the Shop app, not on your online store⁸. To show reviews on your product pages, install a review app. Examples, A to Z:

   • Judge.me Product Reviews App. Product and store reviews, photo and video reviews, and automatic review requests. Free plan; Awesome plan $15 a month. Rated 5.0 from 48,338 reviews⁹.
   • Loox ‑ Product Reviews App. Photo and video reviews in widgets you can style, with AI sorting and translation. Free plan; 14-day trial on paid plans. Rated 4.9 from 9,832 reviews¹⁰.
   • Okendo: Reviews & Loyalty. Reviews plus loyalty, referrals, surveys and quizzes. Free plan; 14-day trial on paid plans. Rated 4.8 from 1,432 reviews¹¹.
   • Yotpo: Product Reviews App. Reviews and star ratings on your store. Free plan up to 50 orders a month. Rated 4.8 from 4,633 reviews¹³.

6. Put the review widget on your product page. From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store and click Edit theme³⁰. Open a product page, click Add block, and under Apps select the review app's block³⁰. Drag it where you want it and click Save³⁰. Some apps use an app embed instead: click the App embeds icon, turn the app on and click Save³⁰.

7. Send your first emails with Shopify Messaging. Shopify Messaging, formerly Shopify Email, sends email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans¹². Each store gets 10,000 free emails at the start of every month, then $1 per 1,000 emails up to 300,000³¹. Go to Apps > Messaging and click Create campaign³². The full setup is in Email marketing with Shopify Messaging.

8. Move to an email and SMS app when you need more. These apps add their own list tools, flows and text messaging. Examples, A to Z:

   • Klaviyo: Email Marketing & SMS. AI-assisted email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns. Free for up to 250 email contacts; paid from $20 a month for email and $15 a month for SMS. Rated 4.7 from 3,366 reviews¹⁴.
   • Omnisend Email Marketing & SMS. Email and SMS with popups, signup forms and automated messages such as abandoned cart and welcome emails. Free plan; paid from $16 a month. Rated 4.7 from 3,188 reviews¹⁵.
   • Postscript SMS Marketing. Text message campaigns and automated flows. 30-day trial on the Growth and Professional plans. Rated 4.7 from 1,207 reviews¹⁶.

9. Buy shipping labels in the admin. Shipping labels in Shopify send tracking details to customers automatically, and label discounts vary by Shopify plan¹⁷. Go to Orders, open an unfulfilled order and click Create shipping label¹⁸. Choose a package and a shipping service, then click Buy shipping label in the Summary section¹⁸. Labels need an eligible fulfillment location, and eligibility varies by carrier and country¹⁷.

10. Add a tracking or shipping app if labels are not enough. Tracking apps give customers a branded tracking page; shipping apps manage orders from several channels. Examples, A to Z:

    • AfterShip Order Tracking. A branded tracking page and automatic shipping updates. Free plan for 50 shipments a month; 7-day trial on paid plans. Rated 4.6 from 1,502 reviews¹⁹.
    • CWILL Order Tracking (formerly ParcelPanel). A branded tracking page, delivery problem alerts and shipping notifications. Free plan; 7-day trial on paid plans. Rated 5.0 from 3,177 reviews²⁰.
    • ShipStation Orders & Inventory. Orders, inventory and returns across sales channels and warehouses. 30-day free trial; from $14.99 a month. Rated 4.2 from 707 reviews²¹.

11. Turn on self-serve returns. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Customer accounts and turn on Self-serve returns and cancellations²³. Choose Return and cancel requests, Return requests only or Cancel requests only²³. If you need exchanges, store credit or return rules beyond this, returns apps include, A to Z:

    • AfterShip Returns & Exchanges. Rule-based returns that turn refunds into exchanges or store credit. Free plan; 7-day trial on paid plans. Rated 4.7 from 1,544 reviews²².
    • Loop Returns & Exchanges. Returns, exchanges, order tracking and fraud prevention. Free plan; paid from $155 a month. Rated 4.6 from 446 reviews²⁴.
    • ReturnGO Returns & Exchanges. A branded self-service return portal. 14-day trial on Premium and Pro; from $147 a month. Rated 4.9 from 406 reviews²⁵.

12. Add Shopify's free apps for search and automation. Shopify Search & Discovery is free and adds search filters, synonyms, boosts and product recommendations²⁶. Its listing is rated 2.6 from 509 reviews, so read recent reviews first²⁶. Shopify Flow is a free automation app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans; install it from the Shopify App Store²⁷.

Check your work

• Open your store as a customer. The chat button shows, and a message outside your hours gets your automated first reply²⁸.
• Preview a product page. The review widget shows where you placed it³⁰.
• Go to Settings > Billing and click View current charges. Every app charge listed is one you expected².
• Go to Settings > Apps. Every app on the list does a job from step 1³.

Common problems

• "Reviews show in the Shop app but not on my store." Shop product reviews appear only in the Shop app⁸. Install a review app and add its block in the theme editor³⁰.
• "My review widget doesn't appear." The app may use an app embed. In the theme editor, click the App embeds icon, turn it on and click Save³⁰.
• "I uninstalled an app and still got charged." Uninstalling stops future billing cycles but not a charge already generated, and charges billed outside Shopify must be cancelled with the developer^2,3. To ask for a refund, contact the developer before you uninstall³.
• "My theme still shows parts of an app I removed." Some apps add code to your theme that uninstalling doesn't remove. Check the app's listing or ask its developer for removal steps³.
• "I lost data when I removed an app." Some app data can't be recovered after uninstalling. Export what you need first³.
• "I can't buy labels for my orders." Labels need an eligible fulfillment location, and eligibility varies by carrier and country¹⁷.
• "Customers can't find the return form." Self-serve returns don't work with legacy customer accounts. Upgrade, or add the customer accounts URL to your footer or refund policy²³.

Further reading

• Installing and setting up apps¹
• Uninstalling apps³
• Setting up Shopify Inbox⁴