Top 10 Most Successful Shopify Stores to Inspire Entrepreneurs 2021
There’s no doubt that Shopify is one of the most sought-after eCommerce platforms. In fact, some of the most successful Shopify stores are the most successful eCommerce stores. Period. Globally it has an 18% eCommerce market share putting it in second place behind WooCommerce (28%). More than one million businesses are using the platform including huge brands like Hasbro, The Economist, Heinz, Penguin Books, and Red Bull.
However, you don’t need to be an expert to build a Shopify store. It’s a beginner-friendly website builder that combines stunning web templates with a ‘what you see is what you get’ (WYSIWYG) editor to make building an online store accessible to everyone. Shopify’s success has come from its ease of use paired with the advanced features that can support multi-million dollar businesses.
We’ve researched and analyzed the top 10 most successful Shopify stores in 2021 so that you can take some inspiration from the best. We’ve taken notes of traffic, design, and features which all play a role in determining the success of an online store.
Fashion Nova
First on our list of the most successful Shopify stores is Fashion Nova. They are a Los Angeles based company that is “unapologetically sexy” and “obsessed with being the forefront of fashion”. They are a quick-to-market apparel and lifestyle brand that has generated a massive following on social media. Their clever marketing has got them mentioned in some of the hottest chart-topping hits from the likes of Cardi B, Ed Sheeran, and French Montana. While countless celebrities and influencers wear and promote their outfits.
While getting the hip-hop scene obsessed with your business will generate results, we understand that it’s probably not possible for everyone… So, what other elements of the Fashion Nova site can you learn from?
Well, there’s a lot, but there are three things Fashion Nova does really well that anyone could apply to their store. The first is that they create eye-catching promotional banners and back them up with irresistible offers. Who can scroll past 70% off selected styles with free shipping?!
The second is providing a compelling reason to sign up to their email list, they offer 30% off your entire order and the confirm button reads ‘I LOVE SAVING MONEY’ while the close button reads ‘I Will Pay Full Price’. Finally, they show user-generated content with links to the outfits worn in the images. This combines social proof with stunning product images to incentivize visitors to buy their clothes.
While your products might not be as sexy as what Fashion Nova sells, their site is well worth studying to pick up some optimization tips to help you sell more.
Revenue: $25.64 Million
Monthly Traffic: 22.5 Million
Shopify Theme: Over Night Shipping (Custom Theme)
JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi is Australia’s largest and fastest-growing home entertainment retailer. It generates the most revenue out of all the Shopify stores at over half a billion per year with over 15 million people turning up to their site every month. That’s equivalent to nearly two-thirds of the Australian population! Their site isn’t as glamorous as Fashion Nova, but it makes more money. So, what are the eCommerce tricks we can learn from them?
Again there is so much you can learn from spending some time on the JB Hi-FI online store. However, three things stood out that you can use at your online store. The first is offering various ‘buy now pay later’ options. JB Hi-Fi supports the use of afterpay, zip, and Latitude Pay. Research has found that retailers offering ‘buy now pay later’ see conversions increase by 20-30%.
The second is that they are not afraid to create a sense of urgency with their promotions. They explicitly call out when the promotion ends in bright colors and bold text which creates a powerful fear of missing out. Scarcity tactics are a tried and tested method of boosting sales.
Finally, the third thing that we noticed on the JB Hi-Fi site was that they use personalized shopping recommendations based on data from previous sessions. 80% of shoppers are more likely to buy from an online store that offers a personalized experience. Shopify Apps like Wiser, Related Products, and Recomatic will help you to add this functionality to your website.
Revenue: $565.88 Million
Monthly Traffic: 15.2 Million
Shopify Theme: Live (Custom Theme)
Colour Pop
Colour Pop is another LA-based company that was founded in 2014. They are an award-winning, cruelty-free make-up brand that specializes in bold and bright makeup that will make you stand out from the crowd.
They employ similar tactics that we have seen on the Fashion Nova and JB Hi-Fi sites but they also use some additional techniques that we haven’t discussed yet. The first one we want to call out is their collaborations. They have launched products in collaboration with Disney, Animal Crossing, and Malibu Barbie. What’s great about collaborations is that two audiences or communities come together and both companies involved benefit from increased sales and brand awareness. Can you think of any like-minded businesses that you can collaborate with?
They also offer freebies to anyone who makes an order over $40. Colour Pop will send out one of three types of face wipes which makes their customers feel like they are getting more for their money. It probably costs very little per customer to make this a reality but it goes a long way in building brand loyalty and improving customer retention. Another tactic would be to offer free product samples which some research suggests could increase sales by 41.6%.
We were impressed when we clicked on Colour Pop’s about page to find behind-the-scenes video content that featured their founders. Video content has higher engagement levels than text content. So, having a video to show what your company is about will be seen by more people than an about us page that only has text. It also has the effect of building brand loyalty and trust with customers because they get a look at the people and the place that makes the products they love.
Finally, Colour Pop has used trust signals to build consumer confidence. They have featured the logos of a variety of awards that their products have won on their about us page. This is a form of social proof that helps to build trust in the consumer’s mind and reinforces the idea that the products are genuinely great.
Revenue: $70.29 Million
Monthly Traffic: 11.1 Million
Shopify Theme: New (Custom Theme)
Gymshark
Gymshark is a fitness apparel company based in Solihull, Birmingham in the UK. It was founded by two 19-year-old students in 2012 and since then has gone on to be valued at $1.3 billion after a recent strategic partnership was announced. That means that Shopify can help your business get to the 10 figures club and that Gymshark definitely deserves to be on our list of the most successful Shopify stores.
When you take a look at Gymshark’s store, you’ll find that they use lots of the tools and techniques that the top three brands use like buy now pay later payments, trust signals, stunning product visuals, user-generated content, and more. However, we spotted some things they do that we haven’t talked about yet.
The first is Gymshark offers a risk-mitigating guarantee. The 90 day free returns guarantee means that Gymshark customers have almost three months to return their products if they’re faulty, don’t fit, or the customer simply doesn’t like them. Not being able to return a product is a big concern for online shoppers and has caused 50% of 18-44 years olds to abandon their order at some point. So, if you can offer a long and free returns policy this will help to reduce this concern and therefore increase sales.
The Gymshark blog is the second highlight that we wanted to point out. Blogs can have a huge benefit to your SEO and will help you to build organic search traffic. Gymshark has also used it to provide expert fitness advice and to showcase their new product releases. The copy is informal and fun which has created a community feeling. Most of the posts aim to help the reader in some way with actionable tips which help to grow customer loyalty and brand love.
Finally, the last thing we want to highlight from the Gymshark website is the optimized checkout process. They have split the checkout process into five sections and use a progress bar to let the customers know where they are in the checkout process. They have used security-focused copy that uses words like ‘secure’ and ‘encrypted’. There is a padlock symbol next to where you put your card details, and they’ve included the logo of trusted payment types like Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Afterpay. All of these things combined help to create a trustworthy checkout process that will improve conversion rates.
Revenue: $296 Million
Monthly Traffic: 5.42 Million
Shopify Theme: GS Hydra (Custom Theme)
I Saw It First
I Saw It First is a London-based online fashion store that was founded in 2017. They describe themselves as ‘the ultimate one-stop-shop for the stylish generation of authentic fashion-lovers who deserve to see it first and wear it first.’ They partner with exciting brands and design their own clothes to create a catalog of clothing that demands attention. They’ve also collaborated with Ibiza’s most famous club O Beach and the UK’s biggest TV show Love Island in exciting campaigns that showcase their brand.
Being open and transparent about any extra fees is key to reducing your abandonment rate. 49% of people who abandoned their carts did so because the extra fees were too high. So, letting your customers know about the fees as early as possible in the buyer’s journey will help you to reduce your cart abandonment rate. I Saw It First has tackled this issue by listing their delivery fees in the footer. This means the fees are visible on every page of their website, showing they have nothing to hide.
Inclusivity is a big trend across eCommerce in response to several social-justice movements across the world. We are now in an era of value-based consumerism where customers care about what a brand stands for and not just what they sell. A piece of research conducted by Harvard Collage Consulting Group found that 62% of respondents said they would ‘at least be moderately likely to entirely boycott or shop less at a non-inclusive brand’. I Saw It First is an inclusive brand with ranges for Plus Size and Petite body shapes. They also advocate body confidence and equality.
I Saw It First also has a Trustpilot widget that showcases their most recent 5-star reviews. Importing third-party products review adds an extra layer of validity to the reviews because it’s harder to tamper with them compared with self-publishing reviews. You can find out how to install the trust pilot widget here.
Revenue: $42.9 Million
Monthly Traffic: 4.2 Million
Shopify Theme: Dalmation (Custom Theme)
Ruggable
You might have guessed that Ruggable is a company that specializes in rugs. Not only that, they created the first-ever washable rugs and patented a two-piece rug system that includes a non-slip rug pad and a lightweight rug cover. This clever innovation paired with intelligent marketing and eCommerce best practices has earned Ruggable a spot in the top 10 most successful Shopify stores.
The first bit of inspirational eCommerce magic that we want to highlight is Ruggable’s ‘How it Works’ product videos. Research tells us that 73% of online shoppers are more likely to buy a product after they’ve watched a video that explains how it works. In the example above, Ruggable has created an unboxing and how to install video. This gives customers a better idea of what the products will actually look like when they arrive and helps them with advice on how to install them correctly.
Ruggable takes advantage of user-generated content and has taken it one step further by allowing you to find the products shown in the photos with just one click. The photos selected to be on the Instagram shop page are carefully curated and feature glamorous homes that make the products look amazing. 82% of shoppers say that user-generated content is extremely valuable when considering online purchases. So, this is an eCommerce tactic that you might want to think about using if you’re customers post about your products.
Ruggable also offers 15% off referral discounts. Both the referrer and the referee get 15% off their next purchase. This is a fantastic way to develop word-of-mouth marketing which is the most trustworthy form of marketing. Let’s imagine a conversation involving the Ruggable products:
Person A: “Omg I love your rug, where did you get it from?”
Person B: “I know I love it too, I got it from Ruggable. Wait, I’ve got a discount code, let me find it for you”
Person A: “Thank you so much! I’ll check them out later. We need a new rug for the guest bedroom”
Then Person A and Person B buy a rug with a 15% discount. Winner-winner chicken dinner for eCommerce brands that can make this scenario work for them!
Revenue: $32.9 Million
Monthly Traffic: 3.2 Million
Shopify Theme: Slate (Custom Theme)
Morphe
Morphe is another LA-based Shopify store that was born in 2008. They claim to be a beauty brand for the creators and have used LA artists and influencers to spread their brand across the globe. They offer cruelty-free make-up and accessories that honor individuality and self-expression. It all sounds great, right? But what can we learn from their eCommerce store to apply to your online business?
The first thing that stands out is their whole page that’s dedicated to product videos. The videos show a range of Morphe products in action which helps their customers to see exactly what they are buying and how to use them. They have also teamed up with a variety of influencers to promote their products such a Tik-Tok’s D’Amelio sisters, beauty-influencer Bretman Rock, and pop-singer Madison Beer. The combination of video content and influencers creates something that customers are extremely likely to engage with and has the chance of going viral.
Morphe also does more than just say they are an inclusive brand that stands up for the LGBTQ community. They run collaboration campaigns that raise money for non-profit organizations that work towards positive change within the LGBTQ community. Then, they make sure that their customers know about it.
For those of you who might not be at the stage where your budget can stretch to working with A-list influencers and donating 100% of campaign proceeds to non-profits, yet… the promotional pop-up banner that Morphe uses to communicate sales events is something that any eCommerce store owner can adopt. At the time of writing, Morphe was offering 30% off sitewide for one week only. They have created some urgency with a time limit and 30% is a very compelling offer that is likely to create a sales spike.
Revenue: $3.54 Million
Monthly Traffic: 3.4 Million
Shopify Theme: Unknown (Custom Theme)
Ring
Ring is the first billion-dollar doorbell company and they use Shopify as their direct-to-consumer website platform to bring in $430 million a year. Ring’s website is simple, clean, and trustworthy which is exactly what customers will expect from a company that’s claiming to keep them safer with improved home security systems. How exactly did a doorbell company make it into a list of the most successful Shopify stores?
Well, something that stood out as unique compared with other sites in this list was the use of images in the navigation menu that represent each product category. It’s more visually appealing than just text and research shows that images are easier to understand and more memorable than text. So, using images in your navigation menu can help your visitors to find what they are looking for more quickly. Navigation menu images work best for companies with smaller product catalogs.
Keeping with category pages, Ring has created super-detailed category pages that attempt to answer all of the questions a potential customer might have about their product. They use a variety of content to help them do this such as videos recorded of the products, how it works sections, testimonials, product comparison tables, feature lists, and FAQs. This level of detail won’t be right for every product but everyone can learn from taking a look at Ring’s category landing pages.
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book but holiday-specific discount codes still work. This is because we humans dig a little deeper into our pockets during the holiday periods. Over the past decade, eCommerce has captured an increasingly higher percentage of holiday spending. At the time of writing, Ring was offering ‘Memorial Day’ deals to their customers. It’s hardly the most famous shopping holiday but it points out that using holiday events to drives sales is worth doing. More traditional holiday sales events include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Black Friday.
Revenue: $430 Million
Monthly Traffic: 13.12 Million
Shopify Theme: Ring (Custom Theme)
Dr. Sqautch
Dr. Sqautch has used Shopify to sell millions of bars of soap and describes itself as one of the first companies who decided ‘to make honest, natural soap for dudes’. They also prove that you can have some fun while building one of the most successful Shopify stores. Just watch some of the videos on the about us page.
We’ve talked about sign-up incentives a lot throughout this article but Dr. Squatch has a unique twist to its sign-up incentives that made me want to give them my email address. They offer a mystery prize and if you’re anything like me, curiosity immediately makes you wonder what it could be. Is it money-off, a free gift, or even better – free soap for life? The only way to find out is to give them your email address and that’s exactly how they lure people in. If you take this idea and hand out a small number of life-changing prizes, imagine the PR and word-of-mouth that you would benefit from…
Something else Dr. Squatch uses to boost sales is a product quiz. The idea behind a product quiz is to help your customers find the perfect product by answering a few simple questions. Product recommendations have been shown to increase sales by 7.8% and interactive product quizzes are one of the ways to offer this to your customers.
Finally, something else that we haven’t talked about yet is bundle offers. Bundling helps eCommerce businesses to increase their average order value which helps to combat the rising costs of customer acquisition. It also enhances the customer experience by relieving the pressure of decision-making and by providing discounted products.
Revenue: $8.25 Million
Monthly Traffic: 4 Million
Shopify Theme: Dr. Squatch (Custom Theme)
KITH
Our final brand on our list of the most successful Shopify stores is KITH. KITH was established in 2011 and now runs one of the most successful multi-brand apparel and footwear Shopify stores. As well as five brick-and-mortar retail stores and eight cereal bars – yes that’s right, breakfast cereal.
Part of KITH’s rise to success has been its strategic partnerships with other brands. They often team up with big brands to create limited edition ranges of clothing or footwear. They’ve teamed up with the likes of BMW, Clarks UK, Nike, Vans, Asics, and G-Shock to name just a few. Brand partnerships can create a synergy from two audiences combining which will attract new customers to both brands. This works for smaller businesses as well. You don’t need to partner with D&G, Microsoft, or Tesla to feel the benefits of brand partnerships.
KITH ships worldwide which some of you might do as well. A problem when you have people coming from all over is that your customers will have to convert prices into their local currency. This can be time-consuming and lead them to abandon their order. KITH’s website is customizable to show every currency of the countries that they ship to. They use the promotion banner space to house drop-down menus that allow customers to change the country and currency they would like to shop in. Then all of the prices are converted into the chosen currency.
KITH has a huge product catalog which can be overwhelming for some shoppers. So, to help their customers find what they are looking for faster, they have included product filters that help narrow the search. KITH customers can search by category, product type, size, and brand. If you’ve got a large product catalog you should have a way for your customers to filter your products. According to the Baymard Institute, only 16% of online stores offer a good filtering experience. So, you’ll have a huge competitive advantage if you get it right.
Revenue: $54.5 Million
Monthly Traffic: 1.66 Million
Shopify Theme: Friday Home Page Refresh (Custom Theme)
Final thoughts on the most successful Shopify stores 2021
Hopefully, taking a look at the top 10 most successful Shopify stores has given you some inspiration for your eCommerce store. Between the 10 brands we have looked at, they have covered all of the hottest eCommerce tips and tricks that are used to boost sales, brand loyalty, and website traffic. We highly recommend spending some time on each of the sites mentioned in this list to get a deeper understanding of how all of the optimization tips work. Seeing them in action will help you to identify the tactics that resonate with you the most.
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