Ideas for a new Shopify App?

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

A Shopify app developer is seeking input from merchants to identify pain points and build solutions that improve store operations.

Initial app concepts proposed:

  • Apollo.ai integration for syncing orders/customers
  • Real-time order export to Airtable
  • Funnelytics integration for customer funnel tracking
  • AI-powered product description generator

Community suggestions include:

  • WhatsApp customer support hub: Unified chat, order lookup, and status updates without platform switching
  • Smart product bundling: Dynamic pricing with inventory sync and recommendations
  • Advanced abandoned cart segmentation: Categorization by customer type, cart value, and behavior for targeted recovery
  • Pre-sale/waitlist management: Demand tracking, restock alerts, and hype building for upcoming products
  • Localized store experience: Automated translation plus region-specific banners, shipping messages, and product displays

Developer feedback notes:

  • Existing apps like Whatsy (WhatsApp support) and Notify Me! (restock alerts) already address some needs
  • Shopify’s Translation & Adapt handles some localization, but a banner generation tool using base images and translated text could fill a gap

Status: Discussion remains open for additional merchant input. Developer offers discounts/free access to contributors whose ideas are developed.

Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi there!
I have been a Developer working with Shopify Apps and APIs for a few years - previously always working on clients projects, but now I am creating my own Shopify Apps.

I am looking for ideas for new apps to build, to solve problems or help Merchants run their Shopify stores more efficiently.

I’d like to find out what are the main issues/problems people have, and maybe we can build something to help. What would make running your store easier?

Some ideas/suggestions we’ve had so far:

1) Integrating your shopify store with Apollo.ai
Apollo is an AI Sales Platform popular on it’s free tier but there is no existing integration to get orders and customers linked to their platform.

2) Sending orders to Airtable
Real-time sending of your store orders to Airtable, so these can be used for reporting or sending triggers.

3) Funnelytics customer funnels
Using the funnelytics tool on your Shopify store

4) Write product descriptions using AI
Use AI to create interesting and seo-friendly product descriptions.

Would any of these be useful to you?

Anyone’s we work with or anyone whose idea we build, we’d give away discounts or free versions. :slightly_smiling_face:

All ideas welcome!

2

Hey! Thanks for opening this up. it’s great to see developers asking merchants directly. A few of the ideas you listed could definitely have value, especially the Airtable and AI-based product description tools.

Here are some more practical app ideas that could help Shopify merchants with real daily issues:

WhatsApp-focused customer support tools:
A lot of merchants now use WhatsApp to chat with customers, especially in regions where it is more popular than email. An app that combines WhatsApp chat, order lookup, and status updates (without switching between platforms) would be useful.

Smart product bundling tool:
Something that lets merchants easily create and manage product bundles with dynamic pricing, inventory sync, and real-time recommendations. Most bundle apps are either too simple or overly complex to configure.

Advanced abandoned cart segmentation:
An app that not only tracks abandoned carts but also categorizes them by customer type, cart value, frequency of visit, or time spent on site. This would help merchants create smarter email or WhatsApp recovery messages.

Pre-sale and waitlist management:
Many stores need a way to manage hype around upcoming products or restocks. An app that allows waitlist signups, sends restock alerts, and even tracks demand before launch would be valuable.

Localized store experience app:
An app that automatically translates not just the store text but also adjusts banners, shipping messages, and featured products by region (based on geolocation or preferred language). Shopify Markets handles some of this, but merchants still need more control.

If you are offering discounted or free access for testing, I think a lot of merchants would be happy to share feedback. These types of tools, especially if they are easy to set up and maintain, can really help small teams run more efficiently.

3

Hi ShizaRizwan,

Thanks for your reply. Regarding some of your ideas:

> A lot of merchants now use WhatsApp to chat with customers, especially in regions where it is more popular than email. An app that combines WhatsApp chat, order lookup, and status updates (without switching between platforms) would be useful.

There is an existing Shopify App called Whatsy. Have you looked at this? It has good reviews and possibly already has the features you suggest for Whatsapp-based Customer Support. I am not sure if their UI allows customer order look-up (we are going to review this also, and may be a feature suggested to them) but this looks a very popular solution.

> An app that automatically translates not just the store text but also adjusts banners, shipping messages, and featured products by region (based on geolocation or preferred language). Shopify Markets handles some of this, but merchants still need more control.

Shopify’s built-in Translation & Adapt already supports adjusting banners for each region (those added in theme 2.0 page layout blocks) allowing Merchants to manually configure these. Automatically generating images for different translations may be a little more difficult to do accurately and we will need to look into this. It could be possible to create an app that does banner generation? For example, you provide a base image and headlines translated into each language and the app creates all the image variations for you..

> Many stores need a way to manage hype around upcoming products or restocks. An app that allows waitlist signups, sends restock alerts, and even tracks demand before launch would be valuable.

Have you seen the Notify Me! app? This could be the feature you are looking for.

For any one else, if you have any ideas to suggest also please add them!

4

Thanks for the detailed feedback. Yes, I’m familiar with Whatsy and Notify Me!, both solid apps. Your point about Translation & Adapt is helpful, and I really like the idea of building a banner generation tool from base designs and translations. That might actually solve a big manual task for many merchants. Appreciate the input! Will explore these further.