Guide

Do you need your own app if your customers use the Shop app?

Many of your customers may already have Shop, Shopify's shopping app, on their phone. So why would they install an app just for your store? The two do different jobs: Shop helps shoppers discover brands and follow their orders, while your own app gives you a direct, branded channel to your customers. This guide explains the difference and how to use both.

1. What the Shop app does for your store

Discovery — shoppers browse and follow many brands in one place, so Shop can help new customers find you.
Order tracking — buyers follow their deliveries from different stores in a single app.
Shop Pay — buyers who use Shop Pay can check out quickly with their saved details.

Your products can appear in Shop through the Shop channel in your Shopify admin. For many stores it is a useful extra source of visibility, and there is no reason to give it up.

2. What your own app adds

Your brand only — the whole app is your store: your logo, colors, home screen and collections, with no other brands next to your products.
Your icon on the home screen — customers open your store with one tap instead of finding you inside another app or a browser tab.
Push notifications to your customers — you decide what to announce and when: new arrivals, restocks, sale launches and abandoned-cart reminders. See our push notifications guide.
Your listing on the App Store and Google Play — customers can search for your brand name and install your app from a link or QR code.
Your orders and customers in Shopify — with Mobilefy, app orders go through your Shopify checkout and appear in your Shopify admin under the Mobilefy sales channel, next to the rest of your customer history.
A place for loyal customers — repeat buyers get a fast, dedicated way to reorder and to see what is new in your store.

3. Side by side

Main job — Shop: discovery and order tracking across many brands. Your app: repeat purchases from customers who already know you.
Branding — Shop: your store inside Shopify's app. Your app: your name, icon and design everywhere.
Reaching customers — Shop: through the features Shop offers. Your app: push notifications you write and schedule yourself.
Setup — Shop: the Shop channel in your Shopify admin. Your app: an app builder or custom development, plus Apple and Google developer accounts.

4. How the two work together

Let Shop help new customers find you and keep your Shop channel up to date.
Invite buyers to install your app after their first order — on your website, in order confirmation emails, on packaging inserts or with a QR code.
Use your app to bring them back with new arrivals, offers and reminders. Our guide on increasing repeat purchases goes through the tactics.

5. What it costs to add your own app

Besides the builder or development cost, you need an Apple Developer Program membership ($99 per year) and a Google Play Console account ($25 one-time). Our guide on how much a Shopify mobile app costs compares the options, and app vs PWA covers the lighter alternative.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Shop app the same as having my own app?

No. Shop is Shopify's shopping app for buyers: it brings together many brands, order tracking and Shop Pay. Your own app is published under your brand on the App Store and Google Play and only shows your store.

Does launching my own app remove my store from Shop?

No. Mobilefy is a separate Shopify sales channel. Installing it does not change your Shop channel settings, so you can keep selling in Shop and in your own app at the same time.

Will customers be confused by two apps?

Usually not, because they serve different moments. Shoppers often use Shop to follow deliveries from many stores, and your app when they want to browse and buy from you. Explain what your app offers — new arrivals, offers, push notifications — when you promote it.

When is my own app not worth it yet?

If most of your customers buy once and never return, or if your catalog rarely changes, a branded app has less to work with. It pays off when repeat customers make up a meaningful share of your sales.

Your own app with Mobilefy

Mobilefy installs as a Shopify sales channel, syncs your catalog and builds a native iOS and Android app under your brand, with checkout on Shopify and a 7-day free trial. Get started, see plans or browse all guides.