Minimum Viable Shopify App Stack for a New Store
Apps are leverage until they become technical debt. Start with a minimal stack, measure impact, then expand only when the ROI is obvious.
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Tier 1: launch essentials
- Reviews: social proof and UGC capture.
- Email capture: pop-up + basic flows (welcome, abandoned checkout).
- Analytics: baseline events and attribution sanity checks.
Tier 2: after product-market fit
- Bundles/upsells: raise AOV once your hero products are validated.
- Subscriptions: only when repeat purchase cadence is real.
- Customer support: helpdesk when ticket volume demands it.
Anti-patterns
- Installing multiple apps that do the same job (e.g., 3 popup tools).
- Using a page builder to fix basic theme issues.
- Keeping apps after you stop using them “just in case.”
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