Successful Shopify Stores
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In total, over $100 billion in sales have been made on the platform, with over 200 million buyers in the last year alone.
Shopify merchants are building their dreams from the ground up, and some of them are creating empires that blow the doors off the traditional retail model.
But while there are hundreds of thousands of stores using Shopify, not all of them are truly successful.
So, what are some of today’s truly successful Shopify stores? And what can we learn from the way they built their business, designed their website, or run their marketing campaigns?
We focus on direct response and customer acquisition in e-commerce, lead gen, and mobile. When it comes to results and leads, we speak your language.
It’s time to discover 10 of the most successful Shopify stores, plus the lessons that you can learn from them when creating your own Shopify store.
10 Successful Shopify Stores You Can Learn From
1. Cheekbone Beauty
Jenn Harper, founder of Cheekbone Beauty, was on the edge of losing everything. After a battle with alcoholism that left her family in tatters, Jenn finally gained control of her life and turned her addictive tendencies towards something worthwhile: her business.
The growth started slowly, and Jenn had to learn a lot about building a business before she could really get off the ground.
Now, though, Jenn has quit her full-time job, and Cheekbone Beauty has grown to over $300,000. Also, she’s been able to give over $5,000 to the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, giving back to the native people of Canada.
The Lesson
When starting a business, it’s important to learn as much as you can before you take off. Also, when you expect your growth to come little-by-little, you can avoid disappointment as you work through the difficult times to get that sweet reward at the end.
2. Hardgraft
Simplistic elegance and luxury quality: that is the mindset behind Hardgraft.
Started by a nomadic power couple who love travel and fashion, Hardgraft has grown into a brand that sells beautiful accessories around the world.
The minimalist style of the website is consistent with their brand, and portrays the elegance of the products they’re selling. Even the text within their website has a very casual, yet elegant feel to it.
The Lesson
Your website is the portal for your brand’s personality and vibe. Understanding the kind of impression you want to make on your potential customers is essential to creating the right design for your website.
Hardgraft would never work if the website was full of bright, flashy colors or lots of images. Their website perfectly speaks for their brand and style.
3. NOBULL
A real connection with your audience can make all the difference, which is exactly what fitness brand NOBULL found.
They had a clear target audience made up of people who love to train hard and don’t make excuses. NOBULL plainly admits that their shoes won’t make you fitter: hard work is what makes an athlete stronger.
And that’s exactly the message their audience wanted to hear.
Their marketing strategy involves highly-anticipated midnight product launches. Now the brand has grown so popular that their products often sell out within minutes. Their customers keep coming back for more amazing shoes and a healthy dose of the NOBULL message they love.
The Lesson
Creating a brand that revolves around your audience is the best way to get ahead of the competition. In a field that is overrun with megabrands, NOBULL has created a successful Shopify store because they really get their customers.
When you develop a clear brand message that is in harmony with your audience and their everyday struggles, you develop strong relationships and gain a loyal following, just like NOBULL.
4. Luxy Hair
Every woman deserves beautiful hair. That’s the ideology that Luxy Hair has grown up around, and they’ve worked hard to become one of the best (and most well-known) hair extension brands. Now, they’re raking in 7 figures worth of profits annually.
One of the biggest reasons for this successful Shopify store is their fantastic content.
The Luxy Hair blog is full of how-to articles that help users choose, care for, and style their hair extensions. On top of that, Luxy has become known for their great video tutorials.
In fact, Luxy runs a YouTube channel with over 3.2 million subscribers. Their most popular videos boast over 20 million views.
The Lesson
In the online retail world, content is king. By creating content that is practical to their customers, Luxy Hair has built a brand that is followed by loyal customers.
Guides, how-to articles, and video tutorials are all great pieces of content that capture your audience. By building a library of this kind of helpful content, you too can win the love of loyal customers.
5. Evy’s Tree
Miraflor, the brains behind this innovative high-end hoodie brand, was a stay-at-home mom who couldn’t sew.
To save money, Miraflor decided to teach herself how to sew clothes for her family, and posted pictures of some hoodies she had sewn.
When people asked if they could buy the hoodies, Miraflor added a PayPal link to her blog, and within half an hour she had 15 orders.
That was where Evy’s Tree was born, but the story didn’t stop there.
To stand out, they created hoodies that were named after real women, alongside a story about why that woman was so inspiring.
Today, Evy’s Tree has a retention rate of 50%, which has much to do with their innovative product launches.
Promotion starts a few days earlier on their Facebook and Instagram pages, and revolves around the inspirational story of the women who inspire these high-end hoodies. Then, when the product is launched, VIP subscribers get first dibs on pre ordering the new product.
This is how Evy’s Tree has tripled year-over-year sales.
The Lesson
Telling a story gives customers the feeling that they’re a part of the process, while giving early access to VIPs makes them feel special and appreciated. These are two great ways to put customers first and improve your retention rate.
6. Ithaca Laundry
In this case, a successful Shopify store is not measured by the profit it makes, but by the help it’s able to provide to those in need.
Thanos Spiliopoulos, founder of Ithaca Laundry, wasn’t looking at a very bright future himself. With a dire financial crisis and almost half the people his age unemployed, Thanos needed to find a dream or leave Greece to find work elsewhere.
The idea to create his nonprofit became the dream of three friends, and together they created a free, mobile laundry service for the homeless in Athens. With sponsorships from large international brands like Procter & Gamble, Sanitas, and Nissan, Ithaca Laundry has made a difference in the community.
Today, they help 350 people per month, and have over 2500 beneficiaries. They’ve also been able to give meaningful employment to some of the former recipients of their help.
The Lesson
By looking at the needs of those around you, you can generate opportunities that benefit both you and the community around you.
7. KharaKapas
With a $1,200 investment, Shilpi Yadav started a brand. With no website and no physical store, Shilpi started advertising her products on Facebook and taking calls and emails to get new orders.
Her brand was based on a modern take on her country’s native dress, and all of her products were made from pure cotton.
The demand grew so fast, she knew she’d need to create an online store.
While building the KharaKapas website, Shilpi also brought her clothes to exhibitions and held pop-up shops.
There, she was able to interact with her customers face-to-face. She listened to their opinions, got to know their point of view, and used those insights to build her brand around the people she was selling to.
Today, KharaKapas rakes in $1,500 per day in sales.
The Lesson
When building an online store, it’s essential to get to know your customers. While not everyone can do pop-up stores, you need to make sure you’re listening in other ways to what your customers are saying about you, whether it’s on social media, in reviews, or anywhere you find your customers online.
8. Endy Mattress
Who really wants to buy a mattress online?
While it seems like an impossible business model, Endy has actually made this work. In fact, they’re set to exceed $20 million in annual revenue.
How do they do it?
First, they’ve created a product that is ridiculously comfortable, which is really what everyone wants in a mattress.
But the most important aspect of their business model involves their trial period. When you buy an Endy mattress, they give you 100 days to test it out. If you don’t like the mattress at the end of those 100 days, you can return it for free.
The Lesson
Trust is a powerful tool when it comes to developing relationships with customers. With Endy’s unique return policy, they show that they are 100% confident in the quality of their product. That, in turn, makes the customer feel more confident about his purchase.
While easy returns may seem counterproductive to greater revenue, giving customers a way out is a great way to show them you believe in what you’re selling, and they should too.
9. PuraVida
PuraVida harnessed the power of micro-influencers and referrers in order to create a multimillion-dollar brand that converts at 5 times the industry average.
PuraVida created a tiered rep program that gave referrers exclusive items for free. To get new items, reps work their way up the tier by referring more sales. The reps are also included in a special group on Facebook where they like to show off the rewards they’ve earned, creating friendly competition.
This means they’re not asking the company to pay them: they’re referring sales for the simple joy of being included in something special and getting cool rewards.
Today, PuraVida has amassed an army of over 110,000 reps that truly care about the brand. This has resulted in a 300% increase in rep sales year over year, building an even more successful Shopify store.
The Lesson
Micro-influencers can be extremely valuable to your brand. You can find these kind of brand reps on social media, where they’re already showing off their love for your products, and entice them with special rewards and inclusion in exclusive groups.
However, PuraVida shows us that organization is key to making your micro-influencer marketing work. With a bit of effort, this type of marketing can clearly pay off for your Shopify store.
10. Piper
With an innovative idea, Piper has been able to create a product that appeals to kids, parents, and teachers from around the world.
The Piper Computer Kit is a way for kids to build their own working computer in a DIY setting. Originally a Kickstarter project, this brand raised over $280,000 to get started, and was able to deliver the product to over 1,300 backers in just eight months after receiving funding.
In a short amount of time, Piper was seeing 10 times year-over-year growth in sales. More than that, Piper’s product has helped children to grow in confidence in subjects such as computers and electronics, while giving them a ‘maker mindset’ and helping them become creators of technology.
Today, Piper receives orders from around the world, and is working to develop even more tech for kids.
The Lesson
Innovation is a state of mind that anyone can achieve if they work for it. Making a product that helps the user feel good about themselves and can bring real benefits is one of the most satisfying ways to develop a successful Shopify store.
Feeling Inspired? Get Ready to Create Your Own Successful Shopify Store
These inspirational stories are only the beginning: there are thousands of shops using Shopify to create strong brands with a loyal following and huge revenue.
Is your Shopify store ready to be the next one on this list?
Above, we’ve learned valuable lessons about creating a successful Shopify store. Ultimately, by delivering a message that resonates with customers, solving their day-to-day problems, and improving your product to fit their opinions and needs, you can create a brand that is customer-centric. That’s the way to a truly successful Shopify store.
So, are you ready to get started?
