What are the Best Payment Options for Shopify in the Philippines?

We all want to earn money in the most efficient or fastest way possible. Starting a business has it's few early stages of hardships and the risk of facing hardships will never fade away. If you're planning or already have started a physical business, times nowadays might be harder for you since we are forced to stay at home. It will be hard to even open up business given the risk of contracting the virus and how we can infect others.

The best way to keep your business alive is to rely on the online market. The safest way to still run a business is to have your products put online and sell it to customers without having physical contact.

You might have already created your Shopify store. Your store will then rely on courier companies to deliver your products. For that, you will need to have secure and safe payment gateway options for your customer so they will have more ways to choose from in paying for the product they bought from you.

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is where a payment transaction occurs in an e-commerce service or online store. They handle the payment processes as well as the information needed to complete the purchase and delivery online. Their role is to ensure the authenticity and security of the transaction.

Here are some of the best payment gateway options for your Shopify store in the Philippines:

Paynamics

Paynamics accepts payments from anywhere. They have over 32,000 cash-in centers and they are connected to over 50+ local banks. They offer lowered transaction fees to other payment providers.

They have thousands of available payment channels including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, GCash, Coins.ph, BDO, BPI, PNB, and Paymaya. They are trusted by some big brands like Starbucks, SM, Lazada, and Air Asia.

Paynamics can be integrated through their API or available integrations for Shopify, Wordpress, and others.

PayMaya

With PayMaya, you can shop online, book flights, buy games, buy tickets, pay bills, and send remittances. You can get a secure Virtual Card for all your online buys just by downloading their app.

They offer payments through scanning QR codes, and you can also like a Physical Card to withdraw from or swipe at your favorite store. You can use the card anywhere as long as they accept credit or debit cards.

Businesses can accept any form of payment through equipping an integrated POS (Point of Sale), QR acceptance, or online checkout systems.

PayMaya is recognized globally and has been recognized as the World's Best Online Payments Solution at the 9th Emerging Payments Awards in London, United Kingdom in 2016.

PayMongo

PayMongo helps businesses get paid by customers anytime and anywhere. They support businesses of all sizes whether you have a startup business or a large corporation.

PayMongo only asks for payments for successful transactions. They don't ask from setup, one-time, or monthly fees.

Payo - COD

Payo offers and efficient business model that enables you to maximize the delivery and cash remittance options while cutting down the RTS percentages, by utilizing all delivery companies, and giving you access to sales across the country. Payo helps you track the order and delivery fees from the moment it leaves your warehouse until the cash is safely secure in your account. You will have access to a high-functionality CRM system that is connected to all couriers. This allows complete and transparent cash flow viewing, giving you insight into past and present transactions.

Payo is partnered with more than 10 couriers and automatically selects the courier with the highest success rate to make sure that the item will reach its destination. Payo will only ask for payments per successful delivery and you will be given access to an online dashboard with a shipment status tracker.

PayTabs

PayTabs is a simple payment gateway that can be integrated with merchant websites and it enables fast deposit of payments to the merchant account. They accept 168 currencies and offer a smart dashboard to help you manage your online business in one platform. PayTabs is equipped with PCI DDS certification and anti-fraud protection. They also offer round the clock customer support for your needs.

PayTabs accepts a variety of payment options such as American Express, MasterCard, Visa, mada, STC Pay, OmanNet, and more.

2checkout

2checkout is a platform built around growing your business. They offer a modular design that lets you adapt to opportunity. This said modular design has been created to hit global payments, digital commerce, subscription billing, global tax and financial services, risk management and compliance, and partner sales.

2checkout covers 200 countries and more than 45 payment methods in over 100 currencies. They also offer 24x7 shopper support.

Paypal

PayPal is accepted in over 10 million online stores across more than 200 markets. You can have the ability to buy quality goods from international stores right from your home. Your purchases are protected by their 24/7 transaction monitoring, anti-fraud technologies, and Buyer Protection so your customers can shop with peace of mind.

You can pay with your preferred card. PayPal works with major banks in the Philippines and overseas. When you change your mind on your purchases, PayPal also covers return shipping and the customers can get a refund of up to $20 on the return shipping cost.

The best payment option will vary on the customer’s preferences.

Each customer will always have their preferences in choosing a payment option. Their choices will vary depending on which payment they have tried before and which one they trust more. As a business, your job is to make sure that they have more options to choose from for payments, and that they will have an easy and secure payment transaction in your online store or business.

You must be in the business of Ecommerce long enough to have used Magento as the platform for your online shop. Considered as one of the most established online selling programs out there, it is no surprise that many are using it—or had used it—to conduct business to a larger scale via the internet.

But being one of the longest-running Ecommerce platforms does not mean that Magento is the best in what it does. While this notion may be easily disputed several years back, nowadays more and more people are convinced that there is another better platform among the contenders—Shopify. That is, considering user-friendliness, functionality, and overall relative convenience.

On this article, I'll detail out how to migrate from Magento to Shopify, why you need to do the migration from Magento to Shopify, what are the steps, what are the ways to automate it, and how to do it on your own (if you are brave enough!).

Why do you want to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

At its core, Magento is a platform for people with a technical knowhow who can take advantage of its advantages while paying regards to its disadvantages. But to the general entrepreneurs who is not equipped with the right set of skills to utilize this level of functionality, Magento is a platform that is not easily played with, let alone learned.

One of the major qualms with Magento, especially in 2019, however, is its relatively outdated mechanics which, for the most part, leave its organization and maintenance a task indeed fit for the experts. Even expert coders argue that tapping on the potentials of Magento takes time to learn among themselves. 

That is a major downside considering that not all those who engage in Ecommerce are mentally equipped to handle or keep up with the technological features which Magento inhabits or adds over time.

Therefore, if you are not a technical guru nor are you at least aware of the goings-on within Magento, having a shop in this platform would mean you requiring the service of a real expert. Intuitively, following this step would connote to a substantial increase in your expense’s bottom line. 

Overall, not really a very good premise about running a personal business, especially from a solopreneur perspective. 

Quick checklist when migrating from Magento to Shopify

Granted you have an existing shop at Magento and was convinced to make a leap to Shopify, it is worth noting that there are things you should consider when choosing to migrate. The most common elements in any Ecommerce shop would include all the pertinent information of your products, customers, order history, and status. 

Furthermore, you would also want to bring along other valuable components of your Magento shop to Shopify which includes the blogs you have published and other marketing materials.  

For very old existing Magento users, you may want to limit the data you are going to transfer to just the updated and relatively important ones. This will significantly trim off the unnecessary fats thereby making the shift to be as much efficient as possible. 

However, as much as we would like to sugarcoat the experience of migrating your Magento store to Shopify, the process is not without its faults. This is particularly true for those who are dabbling with large amount of data, originating from Magento. 

As the process itself puts additional load on the server, the method can actually be cumbersome—a lot more, in fact, in vast chunks. Worse, not all migration process is always 100% smooth or without error. In some cases, data losses occur whether by faulty data transfer, via a misinterpretation, or sheer discrepancy between the two unique platforms. 

What are the different options for migrating from Magento to Shopify?

Currently, there is only one of two ways you could jump from Shopify if you are having a shop in Magento—either by availing Cart2Cart’s professional service or by doing it yourself (DIY).

While, from the outset, one (going DIY) is significantly more affordable than another—opting to do it via DIY is free, actually—the other (Cart2Cart) offers a more positive result because of the more thorough approach applied to the method, but is not without cost. 

Comparing both procedures, there is substantially more benefit in the idea of shelving a little bit of cash and letting Cart2Cart do the migration for you instead of risking it yourself. 

However, there is no denying that DIY is a tempting option as well, if you are particularly tight in cash. 

How much will it cost to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Is money, therefore, not an issue that you are keen in opting for Cart2Cart’s service to make the jump to Shopify from Magento?

Right off the bat, allow us to reveal that the cost you pay for Cart2Cart’s service is completely commensurate to the level of information you are asking to transfer. Considering the array of information which can be moved between platforms, the total amount you pay is directly proportional to the tasks that you are requiring. 

Meaning, the overall expense of making the transfer can either be “cheap” or incredibly expensive, depending on how big or small the amount of data that requires moving. 

For instance, if you are asking Cart2Cart to transfer at least 1000 products and two lists containing 500 customers as well as 500 orders, you can expect to pay $69 for the process and with the allowance of 2 hours to complete everything. 

However, things can become significantly costlier—not to mention, slower—when you ask to include other pieces of valuable data like the images you have used in all parts of your Magento shop (+$49), the categories and SEO URLs applied for every product (+$59), etc. 

What is the step-by-step procedure to migrate from Magento to Shopify?

Whether you choose to do the migration process yourself (DIY) or prefer a more careful approach as to make a reputable process (via Cart2Cart service) do it for you, both these routes require steps that you personally must take to become fruition.

Migrating Magento data to Shopify Via Cart2Cart

Without a doubt, the label Cart2Cart is a “household name” within the Ecommerce sphere, thanks to its extensive capability of making transition possible between platforms. Magento, being, a no exception.

Without further ado, let us get on with the steps:

1. Register for a Cart2Cart personal account

Before you could avail of Cart2Cart’s migration service, it is important that you must have a personal account registered from Cart2Cart’s website itself. If you have not done so already, you can register here. 

Registration is free and can be expedited if you are already logged into your Google or Facebook account on the same web browser. You would just have to pick which account you would like to use to sign up.

2. Choose the type of migration

Once registered, the next step in the process involves choosing the kind of migration you would like to take. It can be one of two options—you can do it on your own or with the help of professionals from Cart2Cart. Opting for the latter, however, does not mean that it’s free. 

3. Set up the Source Cart

From the source cart type, choose “Magento” as an option within the drop-down list. Subsequently, put in your Magento shop’s URL at the source cart URL. 

Before proceeding to the next step, do not forget to download the “Connection Bridge” whose step-by-step procedure is guided within Cart2Cart’s site itself. 

4. Set up the Target Cart

From the target cart type, choose “Shopify” among the list of options. This is for the obvious reason that you are migrating from Magento to Shopify to begin with. Consequently, put in your existing Shopify URL at the target cart URL.

There will still be two boxed left that is empty that need filling of information. Specifically, the API Key and API Password. In order to get this two information, log into your Shopify admin panel, navigate to the “Apps” menu, and click on the button labeled “private API key”. Both the API key and password will be presented to you automatically and are something you would just have to copy and paste in the migration wizard. 

5. Select the “Entities” you would like to transfer

Reaching this point of the migration process, you will be asked which entities from your Magento shop you would like to be migrated which is divided mainly into two categories—your products and customers. 

Under the “products” section, there are also two options, namely Product Categories and Manufacturers.  

You can simply choose whichever or all, depending on your preference. 

6. Set the Multi-store Configuration

If you own multiple Shopify stores—most likely differentiated by countries— and would like to migrate the contents of your Magento shop to all of them, this is a critical step towards that choice. 

7. Configure the Currencies Mapping

If you are not based in the United States and therefore uses a different currency in your business, the Currencies Mapping section of the migration process will help you set your store’s default currency setting. Simply choose whichever currency applies to you. 

8. Kickstart a Demo Migration

As its name implies, this part of the migration process is simply a demonstration and not yet the full implementation of its methodology. While this might seem like a tease and a waste of time, there is actually a good reason why this step is in place—it gives a test run of the process which gives a slight assurance that things will go well in the next and last phase.

Alternatively, you can skip this step altogether and proceed with the full migration if you are so inclined. 

9. Confirm for Full Migration

Whether you chose to skip the demo migration or not, this is the final step of the overall migration process. By choosing to proceed with this step, you allow the “magic” of the migration process to happen solely at your web browser, the method of which may be time-consuming. So, just set back and leave everything to the system to do its job, even if your web browser is closed. As soon as the procedure is done, you will receive an email to notify you about it. 

Voila! You now have successfully migrated your Magento shop to Shopify.

DIY Method of Migrating from Magento to Shopify

Do you feel brave enough to do the migration process on your own, regardless of the possible issues that might ensue? 

Then follow this DIY method:

1. Create your Shopify store (if you have not already)

It is imperative that you already have an existing Shopify store to begin your transition from Magento to Shopify. If you have not yet opened a Shopify shop, register from here.

2. Export your Magento data

Log into your account and from the Magento admin panel, choose to export your shop’s data—products and customers—from the System menu. This process should produce you an individual file for either your products or customers in CSV format which contains all the data and structure extracted from your Magento shop.

3. Import the CSV File in Shopify

Going back into your Shopify account, navigate to the “Products” section and choose the option to make an import. Under the “Choose File” option, locate the CSV file you’ve extracted from Magento and upload it. 

Proceed to do the same thing when importing information for your Customer base. 

4. Optimize your new Shopify store

There might be differences between Magento and Shopify which makes the transition from one to another less optimal. Another important step to take after transferring your Magento shop’s information is to ensure that everything is in alignment with their new platform which, highlighting the discrepancy between the two platforms, might not be the case. 

Simply just make needed adjustment in such a way that your Shopify’s integration is fully accounted for. 

Final thoughts on migrating from Magento to Shopify

Making a transition from Magento to Shopify may not be an easy thing. But comparing the cost of doing the migration and the long-term benefits that come with using Shopify as a seller platform, the time or money it takes towards that goal is, in the end, all worth it. 

Are you in the process of migrating from Magento to Shopify? Let's help each other out - comment down below what your experience is and I'll definitely reach out!

Do you have an existing online shop at Wix which is growing rapidly more than the platform can accommodate or you simply thinking of making a switch to a more solid eCommerce platform?

Whatever your reason for wanting to make the migration from Wix to Shopify, you are probably right about it—Shopify is increasingly becoming the perfect platform for selling online, thanks to its robust features and easy customization.

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Table of Contents:

• What is Wix and Shopify and why migrate?
• How to migrate from Wix to Shopify via Cartt2Cart?
• How to migrate the Wix template into a Shopify theme?
• The DIY method to migrate from Wix to Shopify
• Final Thoughs on converting from Wix to Shopify

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What is Wix and Shopify and why migrate?

Remember the time when all the beginning ads on Youtube videos are Wix ads?

Wix is a pretty good all-around content management system or CMS that is marketing itself as a very simple and easy platform for anyone to use to launch their business or personal website. They've incorporated ecommerce functionality and even email marketing functionality to some extent, but as with any other swiss-army knife solutions like Wordpress or Squarespace, it tries to do a lot of things but not being able to do so great with the ecommerce function.

Shopify, on the other hand, is exclusively built for ecommerce. It does have some of the functionalities of a CMS, and more functions can be added when you factor in the vast options for Shopify Apps, but at its core you can easily launch and scale your business with the basic Shopify setup. That's why entrepreneurs are now looking for ways on how to migrate from Wix to Shopify so that they can continue to grow and not worry about the technical aspects of their business.

However, there is one major hurdle to the migration process—moving all your data from Wix to Shopify is no simple feat and is significantly time-consuming. This is not to mention that the procedure is also prone to mistakes which could only add to the overall problem.

Although there are plenty of tools out there which claims to automate the steps needed to make the transfer, any of these tools is not cheap and, worse, does not necessarily produce a seamless output. Meaning, you will be spending lots of cash on an instrument which promises to do the job on your behalf, based on an algorithm, but with the caveat that the end-result will come with its own problems.

The guys at Cart2Cart saw this gap in the industry and took action and made a system to import all the data from Wix to Shopify as smooth as possible.

If you haven't signed up with Shopify yet, make sure to sign up using this link so that I can see your progress. Once you signed up from my link I will personally contact you to see how you're doing with your Wix to Shopify migration.

How to Migrate from Wix to Shopify Using Cart2Cart

1. Register for a Cart2Cart account

First up, you will need to create your personal Cart2Cart account. This can be done by heading to Cart2Cart’s website and register using either your pre-existing Facebook or Google+ profile. 

2. Choose Wix from the source cart selection

At the “source cart” option, choose Wix from the drop-down list. From there, provide your Wix store’s URL as well as admin email and password attributed with your store. 

3. Choose Shopify as target market

Next, you will be asked to provide the information of which market the migration is targeted for. With the obvious intention of migrating from Wix to Shopify, choose “Shopify” among the options. 

From here, give your existing Shopify store URL. If you have not a legit Shopify store yet, better make one first in order to proceed from this step. If so, you can go to the next step which will have you giving your Shopify store’s URL and API password (check out Cart2Cart’s website on how to get your API password).

4. Select all the elements you would like to migrate

Subsequently, Cart2Cart will prompt you to choose which elements found in Wix you would like to migrate with to Shopify. You can simply opt to transfer everything by choosing “Select All”.

For added flexibility, Cart2Cart is also letting users to opt for more options prior to the actual import. 

5. 6. Kickstart the migration process through the Free Demo

Choose to begin the migration process by launching the free demo which will roughly last not more than 30 minutes. You will be informed about the status of the procedure with an ongoing progress bar.

7. Continue with the Full Data migration

After the Free Demo has made its validation, you can then proceed to make a full-scale data migration by clicking on “Start Migration”.

So, there you have it. An effective and efficient method to make a data migration from Wix to Shopify as facilitated through Cart2Cart.

But that take's care of the data only. You will still need to configure your site's internal settings and also the themes. You can do this on your own or ask the help of Shopify Experts.

How to Migrate Wix Template into Shopify?

There is no direct way of migrating your Wix template design into a Shopify theme so that will need further customization or just select from any of the available free and paid  themes in the Shopify Theme Store

If you'd like to get your hands dirty and actually learn while you experience working with Wix and Shopify, you can do the Wix to Shopify migration yourself with the instructions provided below.

The DIY Method of migrating from Wix to Shopify

Does the idea of getting the process done without using Cart2Cart bother you that you personally would want to know how the process is done, the DIY way? 

Although this method is less favorable than letting Cart2Cart do the technical method of making the transition for you, there is indeed a manual procedure you can follow.

1. Make a Shopify account (if you have not already)

In order to migrate your Wix store to Shopify, you must first have to make a Shopify account. Simply register for an account at Shopify.

2. Export your Wix store data

Log into your Wix account. From the dashboard, choose to export all your web store products into CSV format. You can also employ the same method with regards to your existing customer base. 

3. Import the exported data in your Shopify store

Log into your Shopify account. Choose to import the CSV files you have exported which includes the data for all of your pre-existing Wix store products and the list of all your available customers.  

4. Double-check the result of the importation process

There is a discrepancy to the amount of details shown on products between Wix and Shopify. Merely making an import of the data from Wix does not automatically fill the missing details on the other. Other times, some information will simply not reflect properly after the import which includes data on product names, titles, meta descriptions, descriptions, images, etc.

Double-checking the details of the imported information for products is therefore imperative. In addition, you would also want to categorize your products into collections or groups to give the system a better view of your existing inventory, which is significantly a major benefit to large stores. 

5. Modify your Shopify website

As much as possible, you would want your Shopify store to be presentable to build on your pre-existing customer base. Fortunately, there are plenty of templates you could use for this purpose. For optimum effect, make sure that the template you’re going to use applies directly to the industry you belong in. 

6. Migrate your website’s domain name

As an established Wix seller, you have probably already built a good reputation with certain search engines to earn top ranking. You would want to preserve that credential as much as possible. Therefore, you would want to transfer your Wix domain name.

To do so, log into your Wix account, and navigate your way to “My Domains” section. From there, choose your domain name. In the “Advanced” section, choose “Transfer away from Wix”. Select the EPP code and have it sent to your email. 

If you pass all the requirements in the ICANN rules, you are already good to go, which can be finalized by specifying on the Shopify domain transfer route. The migration process will be completed within 7 days.  

7. Make a final tweak to your Shopify store

Make final touches to your Shopify store by adjusting pertinent settings, including payment, shipping, and tax.

Final Thoughts

Entrepreneurs, like you, who started their online businesses with minimal knowledge about the different ecommerce platforms might have chosen Wix because of their heavy marketing through influencers and across social media. While it has worked out well at the start, when it comes to scaling up the Wix platform becomes the bottleneck.

Then you discover Shopify and through its current popularity especially on Youtube, and now they've decided to move their business on Shopify but are now faced with the issue of migration.

Hopefully through this guide, you're able to successfully migrate from Wix to Shopify, and know where to find help when your stuck. Ultimately, your choice of migration might be the best decision you will make for your business if you are in the ecommerce industry.

Are you in the process of migrating to Shopify? Let me know how its going in the comments below!

 

We live in a world where literally every place is a spot for commerce—even for something virtual as the internet.

Appropriately called “ecommerce” for its specific location in the virtual space, shopping has never been more convenient—and oftentimes faster—than the one conducted online.

Yet, where there is commerce, there are also the tactics which entrepreneurs employ in order to generate a sale that is fundamental in any money-making scheme.

But the internet is a completely different platform than the traditional kind of commerce we were used to. Not only do the old tricks in the marketing book remain applicable, it also employs newer methods that may not be possible without technology as its aid.

Here is a list of techniques which marketers apply in order to rake in that much wanted sales and profits:

Social Media Marketing

With billions of people using the many social media available on the internet right now, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. have become a “gold mine” for business people who tap on them. The platforms themselves are not shy in admitting that they cater to business people, thanks to the introduction of commerce-oriented features which drive buyers and sellers alike.

Content Marketing

Engaging your target market towards your product line has never been more effective than with contents that tell a compelling story or a strong pitch which they could relate with. While content marketing may seem like a mix between making blogs or videos about a particular product; nowadays, there have been more outlets by which content marketing is done—such as optimizing your product’s copy and creating a dedicated FAQ page with relevant SEO keywords.

Search Engine Marketing

Google and other search engine’s algorithms are often flimsy and ever-changing that which makes an up-to-date understanding critical for an impactful search engine optimization (SEO). But knowing the ins and outs of the search engine for SEO is only half the battle which a full-blown search engine marketing does, as it also includes paid advertising in its task. You know, as they say, you need money to make money, right?

 

Email Marketing

Marketing via email is one of the oldest tricks in a marketer’s book, with it being the most convenient feature the internet has to offer at the time. But while email marketing may be old, it is not necessarily jaded—it still works, so long as you know the right ways toward reaching your target market by electronic mail.

While pushing certain products to your customer base’s faces is one common use of email marketing, there are also other alternative—and sometimes more effective—means to make this familiar method works: making follow-up after a client makes a purchase or as a reminder when a customer did not push through after putting an item in the cart.

Unlike the traditional application of email marketing, these new alternatives are significantly more subtle about selling a product. Which, in today’s mindset, makes for the norm instead of being “pushy.”

Influencer Marketing

In the age where people appear more connected than ever, thanks to technology, any person who makes a great following from the crowd is easily granted the title “influencer” akin to a celebrity. But unlike contracting a superstar to market a product which can be expensive, a relatively famous non-showbiz influencer is less as expensive, yet has the same power of affect to people.

Think about this—why spend a fortune having a single person sell your product when you can get multiple heads, which offer an equal or better result, for the exact same price?

 Affiliate Marketing

There are a lot of willing open hands out there that can help sell your product. But these people do not function for an entity’s benefit without the right incentive. Affiliate marketing is the key to that, which is a commission-based incentive which expands the exposure—and therefore marketing—of products through the affiliates.

What makes this tactic so effective is that people have different ways about the same thing, the acts alone of which are not necessarily paid, that adds a layer of interest to commodities.

Localized Marketing

Targeting a specific market based on location is a typically applied maneuver to marketing which substantial gains. By choosing to narrow down the scope of your market, you are catering to a more compact demographics that provides guaranteed results as derived from gathered interest.

For instance, by being able to pinpoint the location of your customer base which has the most engagement and conversion e.g. by the data gathered by the cookies from each visitor’s browser, you can selectively start a campaign which continues to reap the benefit of their interest. This could be anything, such as rolling a discount, free shipping, or freebie campaign, all exclusively towards that single or a handful of special areas.

Personalization

It is a well-known fact that people like the idea of being treated “special”. While this may seem like an impossible feat when you handle large volumes of customers at any given time, it only makes the act of making a “tailor-made”—or a personalized—approach to each and every client seem so much more valuable.

For instance, if a particular consumer has a strong profile for being an avid gadget lover, to use that specific client’s name in an email which contains a recommendation of products that suit his/her interest makes it feel that his/her presence is appreciated.

User-generated Content

In a nutshell, a “user-generated content” kind of marketing is mixture between “influencer marketing” and “affiliate marketing,” except that the participants are not necessarily paid—nor are you obligated to—in the process.

Basically, this is like “free marketing” as done in volition by consumers themselves who like certain products.

But a “user-generated content” marketing can also be itself “induced” by a bit of incentive, which can be as simple as handing out a product to an individual consumer-turned-user-generated-content-marketer like.  

Word of Mouth

You need not have an eloquent person for him/her to make an impact with his/her words. Just being able to utter to people, particularly involving a product, can easily sway any listening ear to make heed and subsequently commit to action towards it. Yes, the old word of mouth marketing is still very much a thing as it resonates to the human aspect of business.

 

 

 

 

I've been creating Shopify stores for a couple of clients now, and one thing that I'm always asked is - "what are the apps that you will install". Here are some of my Go-to Shopify Apps for improving conversion rates.

These are the Shopify Apps that other Shopify owners don't want you to know, because these apps work really well in increasing conversion rates. Take my word for it - these Shopify apps work! Let's get straight to it!

10. REFERRAL CANDY

Let your customers or visitors promote your products for you by sharing a specific coupon code within their social media accounts. Referral Candy is a Shopify app that lets your customers send out referral links to their social media accounts in exchange for prizes, discounts or store credits.

It is very easy to setup, but requires a $49 monthly fee. If you have a growing Shopify store then this app is a must-have. Referral Candy will pay for itself and the profits. You can avail of their 30-day free trial, and cancel anytime if it is not working for you. Some brands that have been using Referral Candy are: Reebok, Uniqlo, BlueSmart and Greats.

Referral Candy is simply the best referral app on Shopify right now.

9. WHEELIO

Wheelio is the original interactive, gameified exit intent popup. Email marketing works in 2017, and there's no easier way to get emails from visitors than Wheelio.

If you have not seen this kind of exit-intent popup yet, Wheelio is a spin-a-wheel popup. The visitor enters their email, and the wheel spins to point to a specific discount "pie". It is highly engaging and way more effective in capturing lead emails rather than the simple plug-and-play popups that are provided by other email marketing platforms.

Wheelio is also very easy to setup and configure. You can change the style of the wheel, the trigger when it will pop-out, and also the weights of each discount pie. It can integrate with the most popular email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Aweber, Mailerlite, Constant Contact and many others. The Wheelio developers have also recently launched a Pro version where you will have access to more advanced features like email validation, email duplicate prevention, segmentation, campaigns, custom fields and advanced analytics.

Wheelio has a 7-day risk-free trial and after that it will cost $14 per month. Other Shopify owners have had great success already with their email list growth with using Wheelio, and you should definitely give this a try!

8. ABANDONMENT PROTECTOR PLUS

Shopify already has a built-in automated abandoned cart follow up email. You can optimize that one to the best that you can, but there's just so much you can optimize. You will not be able to follow up again once the abandoned cart email has been sent. For some Shopify stores this might suffice, but the conversion rates for the default abandoned cart email is slim to none.

Abandonment Protector Plus solves this issue by providing more advanced functions for following up abandoned carts. With simple tools, you can configure the sending of recovery emails, new offers for abandoned orders, new offers for completed orders, a thank you email after being completed the purchase, an email to introduce your social networks, and a newsletter welcome.

I still can't get over how some of my clients are leaving money on the table and not optimizing their abandoned cart emails. If you want to improve your conversion rates, make sure you optimize this part of your Shopify business.

The Abandonment Protector Plus has a 21-day risk-free trial, and after that it will only set you back $8/month for 3,000 follow up emails & you can increase the number of follow up emails as you scale up for not that much money. In my opinion, that expense is definitely worth it considering you are automating a neglected part of your business, which are the abandoned carts.

7. FOMO - SOCIAL PROOF MARKETING

If you've seen those little popups in other Shopify stores that shows a notification of the site's recent purchase activity, most pobably that is the Fomo Shopify App. Fomo is a social proof marketing app - it increase purchase conversions by highlighting what other customers are doing. You can build your credibility by displaying orders, product reviews, and more in real-time. It creates online equivalent of a busy restaurant, showing prospective customers that other people are buying your products.

The Fomo app gets its customer information from a ton of third-party app integrations, but the configuration process is really not that complicated. In my experience, the social proof does work to generate conversions. The Fomo developers are always adding in new features so definitely check out all its capabilities.

Fomo has a flexible payment scheme, starting from $19 / month after a short free trial period of 7 days. Serious Shopify businesses use social proof extensively, there's no reason why your store should not integrate this one.

6. HURRIFY - COUNT DOWN TIMER

Adding scarcity and urgency have been proven to increase conversion rates, especially with Shopify stores. I won't say this is applicable to every Shopify store, but a lot of them were able to improve the conversions simply by installing a countdown timer. And among the other countdown timers that I've tried, the Hurrify app is the best of the bunch.

With the Hurrify app, you are able to customize the look of the timer and it is also mobile-friendly. The monthly cost with this app on your Shopify store is $6.99, and you will have 2 days risk-free trial to determine if the app is worth it for you. Some don't like putting in false urgency with their stores, but still the numbers don't lie and countdown timers do bring in the sales!

5. LOOX PHOTO REVIEWS

Loox Photo Reviews is another social proof marketing app where you can gather reviews and customer photos of your products from different sources. For Shopify dropshipping stores, this is a very neat feature especially if you have not gathered your own customer reviews yet. It will also help you to gather reviews from your current customers automatically through email. There are plenty more functions on this Shopify app but those I think are the most useful features of the Loox Photo Reviews app.

The photo reviews are presented in a tasteful way that is also mobile-friendly. I highly recommend this app as one of the first that you need to install if you are currenlty setting up your dropshipping store.

You can try out Loox Photo Reviews free for 14 days, and after that it will cost you $9.99 per month. It might be pricey for shops that are just starting, but getting lots of reviews automatically and instantly right now will encourage your visitors to convert into customers, turning them intor profit, and that's why this app's cost is fully justified.

4. PRODUCT UPSELL BY BOLD APPS

Bold Apps has a number of great Shopify Apps, but this one is what I recommend to my clients to install to their stores, especially those that have multiple products. Here a summary of why this app should be installed in your Shopify store today:

- Increase the amount of every sale through last minute, customizable upsell offers
- Offer relevant add-on products to customers based on cart content, total $ in cart, or even a combination!
- Promote various specials or items based on order value. Pair it with the Product Discount app and run BOGO Buy One Get One offers!

This app is not for the faint of heart, as it will cost you a fair amount of money if you are just starting out. Their plan starts at $9.99 for 200 views and goes up from there. But don't fret since the revenue from your upsells can pay for it and more. There are other alternative Product Upsell apps for Shopify, but the Bold Apps Product Upsell is the best among the bunch. Its loaded with the best features, has a great support team and they are constantly updating their apps to match the market demand. If you are serious with your Shopify Business, they offer 30-day free trial so you can evaluate if this app is worth the money.

3. FACEBOOK CHAT BY BEEKETING

If you mainly advertise on Facebook, then being available for them through chat support is one of the best ways to convert them from visitors to customers. If you are able to answer their questions about the product instantly with a live customer support representative then it will increase their confidence in buying from your store.

The Facebook Chat from Beeketing is a FREE app that will allow you to talk to your visitors directly from your store using their Facebook accounts. You are able to connect to them through their hangout place on the internet, which is Facebook, and give customer support right from there. It also encourages them to interact more with your shop, your brand, and in turn get close with your visitors and gain their trust.

The Facebook Chat from Beeketing is free, so if you don't have it installed yet I suggest you do that right now!

2. PRIVY - FREE EMAIL POPUPS WITH EXIT INTENT

Privy is one of the best - if not the best - email popup with exit intent. I have installed this on almost all of my clients' Shopify stores that are not yet using Wheelio or any other email capture strategy. Building your email list is important for any business website, and using Privy will be one of the best decisions you can make right now. It is not an email marketing tool like Mailchimp or Aweber, rather it is the front-end of your lead capture strategy. It is the app to use if you want to increase your email list in a stylish way. And once you have that list, you will have more people to present your products through email marketing and increase your profits simply by capturing the emails of the visitors.

Privy is an exit intent app with highly customizable design, configurable fields and triggers, and can be integrated with almost all of the email marketing services currently available. It is free to use, and you can upgrade later on to remove the Privy branding on the popups and get more useful and advanced functions from their dashboard. I highly recommend you install this Shopify App if you don't have any email capture popup yet in your store!

1. CONVERSIO

Conversio will automate a big part of your email remarketing strategy for you, and some of you might be skeptical at first but I've seen a very big success from emailing back and following up previous customers and converting them into repeat buyers from the store. One store I've worked on previously make 25% of their sales from email remarketing efforts that are automated from Conversio. Here's the summary of what Conversio is and what it can do for you:

- Get started in minutes by seamlessly connecting your Shopify store with your Conversio account.
- Sell more using our supercharged, intelligent and automated email options: Receipts, Follow-Up, Abandoned Cart and Newsletters.
- Upsell and cross-sell using our easy on-site widgets: Product Recommendations, Product Reviews, Feedback and Search.

Ultimately, Conversio is almost an all-in-one platform for your marketing strategy. From what I've witnessed in my previous clients, it generates profits from your backend - which are your past customers and your abandoned carts. There are already a lot of success stories of businesses using Conversio, and the best part is that you can try this out for Free even after their 30-day trial. After the 30 days you can opt in for their premium plans, which are based on your success, or continue using the limited Free plan. Conversio is defenitely on top of my most recommended Shopify apps to increase conversion rates.

I hope this tips will be valuable to those who use Shopify as their eCommerce platform. And do let me know if you would like to add in to this list, lets continue the discussion on this thread, eCommerce hustlers!

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