Shopify Roundup - August

Shopify Roundup – August

September 06, 2017 - Milen Vasilev

The world of eCommerce continues to expand and in the month of August, Shopify has been making some strategic moves, announcements, and integrations.

First, Shopify took a moment to celebrate an important milestone. The platform now operates more than 500,000 stores. Then, they announced their 2017 Shopify Commerce Awards, with 16 exciting new categories.

In addition, Shopify has now integrated with Sendle, a shipping company in Australia, and Corra, an established digital agency with an impeccable reputation in high-end commerce.

Here in our Shopify Roundup – August, we have rounded up the details for these moves and all the best new app releases on the Shopify store:

Source: Shopify

Shopify Announced the 2017 Shopify Commerce Awards

On August 3, Shopify announced its Commerce Awards. The competition is a reincarnation of what was Shopify’s Design Awards. This time, they’ve expanded their reach beyond just design to include 16 different categories.

The all-star team of judges includes Cynthia Saucier, Director of Design at Shopify, Vitaly Friedman, Editor-In-Chief at Smashing Magazine and Ezra Firestone, CEO of Smart Marketer.

Shopify’s competition celebrates its partners and developers, for you have to be one in order to take part in the competition. If you are doing something awesome and innovative in eCommerce, you should definitely submit your work. These awards are for anyone who is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and bending the eCommerce world into better shape.

Take advantage of this opportunity for you to shine and show off your awesome advances and unique approaches.

You can submit your own work or nominate a colleague who you think is doing something unique. The prizes are many and include VIP tickets to Shopify Unite 2017

However, the real rewards from winning at the Shopify Commerce Awards are

the enormous exposure,
the boost to your brand’s value,
becoming an industry thought leader, and
a well-deserved portfolio boost.

Your project must be completed and/or launched between January 1 and December 31, 2017. There are 16 awards in 4 major categories:

Design
UX & UI
Apps & Development
Marketing & Branding

Submit your work here.

Source: Sendle

Sendle is Now Integrated with Shopify

Sendle adds another layer of convenience to the Shopify ecosystem in Australia. The shipping provider offers flat rates without minimum volume at budget prices as low as 40% below standard postage. The integration allows you to move your orders directly to a Sendle dashboard for seamless label printing, shipping booking, and tracking.

Sendle’s CEO, James Moody, shared that the move is part of the company’s expansion into eCommerce and that his vision is to make shipping easy for all small business owners around Australia. Their goal is to bring big commerce logistics to small sellers, so they can remove the hassle of shipping and handling.

Simpler shipping means greater time economy and lower cost. Keep in mind that Sendle’s pricing can be tricky, and it surges for the somewhat remote suburbs. You can generate a quote for each address to keep spending in check.

Source: Corra

Corra Joins the Shopify Plus Partner Network

Corra is a digital agency that creates high-end commerce journeys for international fashion and lifestyle brands. The firm offers strategic, creative and technical solutions to businesses that aim to scale to global markets.

After vetting Shopify Plus for a while, Corra has finally added them to its Strategic Alliances program.

Shopify Plus offers comprehensive and streamlined solutions to merchants and that is what attracts brands to it. Corra brings an eCommerce expertise and impeccable reputation as well as an established list of high-profile clients that are looking for the best platform to scale their businesses.

Corra’s wide range of technical expertise makes it the perfect agency partner for Shopify Plus. The platform continues to improve and shows it can serve the top brand that Corra carries in its portfolio.

Shopify Plus has proven it can innovate and sustain growth in an easy and scalable way, which naturally attracts players like Corra and its clients.

New Shopify Apps Released in August

Retargeting on Autopilot by Shoelace

Shoelace uses both automated tech and human professionals to aid your remarketing efforts. Your retargeting strategies just got smarter with measurable results and ROI. This app has a price tag of $49 per month, but you can give it a 14-day free trial to test its effectiveness and evaluate if it makes sense for you.

Omniconvert

This is a marketing app that allows for highly individualized campaigns. If you are looking to optimize your conversion rate and improve your consumer journey, this platform certainly has the muscle. You’ll have A/B testing, user surveys, pop-up banners, and advanced segmentation at your disposal.

Shippit

If streamlining your shipping and making labeling and tracking easier are among of your top priorities, this app is a great solution. Shippit boasts discount rates with Australian carriers, an easy order close out process, and carrier notifications.

rBux

This app rewards your customers for referring your products to their network. Turn your buyers into promoters by offering them incentives to share and track the data from the interaction. rBux offers a comprehensive referral marketing ecosystem, and it’s free.

Chester: The AI Assistant That Sells

Chester is easy to set up and quite hands-free on your end. This app has the ability to learn your customers’ individual journeys and recommend products based on them. If your goal is to boost the average amount your buyers spend, this is a smart way you to go about it.

Chester is nestled in the corner of your store and pops up at appropriate times with advice and motivation for buyers.

Source: Rvere

Gobot

Gobot is a free chatbot that works well in engaging visitors and collecting emails. The app has several tools including social buttons, surveys, polls, forms, scheduling, video, and text. You can use a template or customize it with a drag-and-drop builder.

Gobot can be highly targeted and generates data that can come in handy. It also runs on autopilot, for the most part.

Wishy

Wishy is a simple wish list app that allows your customers to save the items they like. If you are looking for a free way to make your store look more professional while boosting retention and order size, this app is for you. Wishy integrates seamlessly with any theme and even allows for the social media sharing of wish lists.

These are the highlights in the life of Shopify in August. The flow of announcements, strategic moves, integrations, and apps is bound to go on next month so stay tuned for our next roundup by signing up for our email updates!