Shopify is the top choice for any Indian online retailer. Shopify makes it easy to set up, run and grow any type of online business be it small or large. However, the competition is fierce and the customers are spoilt for choice. To stand out in the crowd, merchants need to be in touch with the needs of their target audience. It all starts with the products but the buying experience needs to be perfect. In addition, running a business is not easy and one needs to comply with the laws of the land.
To help merchants keep pace with these demands, Shopify boasts of a rich ecosystem of apps that can not only extend the capability of the platform but also help merchants save time, effort and money and help devise the right strategy for the future.
Our in-house team has helped hundreds of merchants choose the right solutions for their business. Here is a list of apps they recommend for Indian merchants.
- Advanced Cash on Delivery (COD) – by Shopify – is a free app specially developed by Shopify for the Indian ecommerce market. This app lets you limit COD to certain zipcodes and also add extra charges if required.
- By adding a snippet to your online store, you can let customers check if COD is available in their area by keying in their zipcode. This is available on the product detail page.
- Restrict COD to certain postal codes – This is a great feature as certain courier companies have restricted coverage for COD. By enabling this app, merchants can upload a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file with zipcodes where they offer COD. Only zipcodes that are mentioned in this file will be accepted at checkout if the COD option is chosen by the customer.
- Set a minimum and maximum order price so you don’t have to bear the cost of COD for very small order sizes.
Explore the official documentation
- Shipway Tracking, Notifications & Order Reviews – By Onjection Systems – is a very useful app that allows tracking of orders on your website. This helps customers find out exactly where their shipment is from the convenience of the store where they placed their order. This reduces customer queries and greatly enhances the user’s purchasing experience. What is even better is they offer SMS notification facility. This is of great importance to Indian customers in general as they are used to receiving such notifications from the marketplaces.
Key Features:
- Notify your customers about their delivery status via SMS and email
- Integrate whitelabeled customizable tracking urls within your Shopify store where customers can track the real time delivery status of their order
- Keep customers informed about important delivery updates such as Shipment Picked, In Transit, Out of Delivery, Delivery Issue, Delivered (both via email / SMS)
- Provide a dedicated tracking link for each shipment
- Allow customers to track shipments across multiple courier companies from the convenience of your Shopify store
- Auto sync status change
- Receive customer feedback on delivered orders
- Cash on Delivery (COD) Verification – By Onjection Systems – is particularly recommended for merchants with a high volume of COD orders.
Key Features:
- Reduce product returns and save money and time by minimizing fraudulent orders
- Automate COD confirmation through missed call or SMS verification (available only in India)
- Verify customer’s contact number and order so you are sure that the COD order is legitimate and you do not lose money on returns
- Order Invoice GST Invoice – By Onjection Systems – As per the new GST tax laws in India, every invoice needs to comply with a standard format. This app addresses the much awaited invoice requirement for India.
Key Features:
- Covers GST invoicing rules such as supplier’s name, shipping and billing address, HSN Codes and appropriate GST Tax Calculation
- Ability to manage GST Taxes, HSN Codes at a product level
- Ability to show the state codes on the invoices
- Ability to show the line items clearly with %
- Ability to generate and download reports based on a time period (weekly, monthly etc)
- Ability to filter invoices based on status
- Aftership Returns Center – By Aftership – In today’s competitive ecommerce landscape, merchants have to make the user experience very smooth for buyers. Returns is an important part of any purchasing experience. To make things simple for customers, merchants need to invest in a Returns Shopify app. Aftership has recently launched a free app that any merchant can use to facilitate returns.
Key Features
- Initiate a return with a few clicks on a branded returns page powered by Aftership
- Easily manage and track returns in one place
- Notify customers of approvals, rejections, refunds
- Update your returns policies and instructions based on your business decisions
- Best of all – it is ABSOLUTELY FREE for now and is backed by the highly acclaimed Aftership team
