Since its foundation in 2004, Shopify has established itself as the world’s ecommerce platform of choice. It provides start-ups and enterprise businesses alike with a solution to simplify the process of running an online store of any size.
In this article we're looking at some examples of successful Shopify stores and we’ve picked some of the brands with the most popular Shopify stores in 2021. From household names and charities to some of the world’s hottest musicians, you might be surprised to find who's on our list of top Shopify stores.
1. Beardbrand
Beardbrand was launched in 2012 after Founder Eric Bandholz attended a beard competition. He began the company as a way to unite men with beards and build a community. Starting with a blog, YouTube channel and Tumblr blog, the company grew and then launched its store on the Shopify platform. It continues to be a superb example of a successful Shopify store and goes from strength to strength, becoming the go-to brand for grooming products for men.
2. Carex Handwash
When the pandemic took hold in early 2020 and shops closed, Carex urgently needed an online presence so they could continue to sell their products. They came to Eastside Co, and we created and launched a store for them on Shopify in just 4 weeks, enabling them to get essential handcare products to the nation. It's made our list of top Shopify stores because of this, and it was a pleasure to work with them. Read more about how the project came to be in our Carex case study and video.
3. Gymshark
Gymshark's story has been the big success of 2020 and the brand is one of the biggest Shopify stores. Started by student Ben Francis, in just 8 years the gym apparel company has gone from Ben personally sending out orders in jiffy bags from his garage, to being valued at $1.4 billion. Fewer than 25 UK companies have ever achieved this – and only eight since 2001. The brand replatformed onto Shopify Plus from Magento after a disastrous Black Friday, and has not looked back since. The business continues to grow month on month and shows no signs of stopping through 2021 and beyond. As well as being a cool Shopify store, it's a great example of a superb site on the platform.
4. Bailey Nelson
From the latest frames and sunglasses, to accessories, care kits and eye tests, Bailey Nelson is a global eyewear brand that has become one of the best selling Shopify stores in the last 7 years thanks to the platform's flexible structure and international capabilities.
5. The Economist
The Economist decided on Shopify as the platform for its online shop. From diaries, books and accessories, Shopify was the obvious choice for the store. This site is a good example of how the best Shopify stores are not always luxury fashion.
6. Australia Luxe Collective
Hailing from Melbourne and now directed from offices in LA and London, this designer footwear brand has gone from strength to strength on the Shopify platform. It’s become one of the top Shopify stores thanks to its celebrity following, with Sienna Miller, Megan Fox, Beyonce and Britney Spears among those spotted out and about in their products.
7. Black+blum
A series of unique designs have made this brand...well, unique. From stainless steel sandwich boxes and flasks to cutlery and recipe books, their charming products are a perfect fit for the platform's ecommerce structure and it's a great example of an excellent Shopify website.
8. Holland Cooper
This tweed luxury British brand is the quintessential English clothing site. It uses a combination of superb imagery, high quality video and a shoppable Instagram feed to really show off its products and passion. One that deserves a place on our list of top Shopify sites.
The ever-popular drinks brand launched on the Shopify platform with collections under Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Records, Red Bull Spect Eyewear, and more. From accessories to apparel, this is the place to get your Red Bull merch in 2021 and is a lovely Shopify store example.
10. Rocket Dog
Rocket Dog produces laid back, funky women's footwear, from pumps and heels to sneakers and wedges, for fashion conscious females. From a start up in the late 90s to a globally recognised footwear brand, the company needed a secure, robust and scalable platform to facilitate this huge growth - the result? An example of a successful Shopify store that's taken the world by storm.
11. Lazy Oaf
London’s eclectic streetwear brand uses bold colours and a 90s fashion aesthetic in its clothing and onsite imagery. Its ever-evolving collections, collaborations and spirit of non-conformity demanded a platform like Shopify to keep up with its ideas and offerings. We migrated the brand from Magento when they needed a more robust platform and created one of Shopify's top stores in the process, if we do say so ourselves.
12. Jones Bootmaker
This UK heritage store dates back to the 1850s and prides itself on the highest level of in-store customer service and after sales care. Shopify’s online capabilities enables this high quality to be maintained from bricks to clicks and its modern iteration on the platform is one of the most popular Shopify stores.
13. Cambridge Satchel
This site beautifully shows the detail and care that goes into the handmade and personalised, 100% leather satchels. With worldwide delivery built into the online store, it’s a pleasure to buy from them, wherever you are on the planet. This is a great example of a successful Shopify store that has gone global.
14. KKW Beauty
Kim Kardashian West’s Shopify store gets straight to the point, with striking header images showing collabs and collections before moving straight into products, with clear, bold imagery and capitalised titles. It's one of Shopify's top sellers and a great example.
15. Rebecca Minkoff
The global fashion brand uses a nifty ‘quick view’ function to quickly see the products in more detail without leaving the page, and has beautiful imagery to really showcase their wares. It's one of the most popular Shopify stores, in no small part to the superb visuals.
16. Boll & Branch
Luxury bedding and bathroom products need a luxury store and the platform has enabled the brand to create an easy to navigate, thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing online presence that is one of Shopify's best stores.
17. Heinz
Heinz launched their new DTC site in one week on Shopify Plus when the pandemic hit, and they needed a new way to get their food to people who were unable to shop in physical stores due to lockdown. Similar to the Carex example earlier in our list of top Shopify stores, it shows how versatile and functional the platform is.
18. Taylor Swift
Who uses Shopify? Yes - that Taylor Swift. She chose Shopify as the place to sell the new version of her albums, plus taylor apparel, beach towels, scrunchies, bags, and even a Taylor Swift-branded paddle ball set. All of which add up to create one of the top Shopify websites from one of the world's top entertainers.
19. Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham founded her eponymous fashion label in 2008. It has since become the voice of modern minimalism, celebrated for its versatility, strong sense of sophistication, and effortless approach to wardrobing women for every part of their lives. Certainly one of the biggest names on the platform, this is also an example of a great Shopify store.
20. BBC Shop
Britain's 100 year-old public broadcasting service is steeped in history and has an unrivalled output when it comes to television and radio broadcasts, whether it's news, comedy, drama, gardening, or anything in between. Set up in 1922, in 2021 its products are available now via its Shopify store.
21. Huel
Launched in 2015, Huel (Human Fuel) in 2021 is one of the UK's biggest success stories. It provides nutritionally complete food - starting in powder form originally, the brand has expanded its portfolio to cover hot food, snack bars, pre-mixed drinks and more, and continues to grow from strength to strength. It uses the Shopify platform to deliver its nutrient-rich products to customers in a growing number of territories, showing the scalability of the platform and how it can cope with a huge number of orders without any issues. It's one of the most popular Shopify stores and has a lovely minimalist aesthetic. A great Shoify store.
22. Oatly
Oatly has really taken off in recent years and in 2021 is seeing huge success off the back of the rise of vegan lifestyles and people looking for more sustainable lifestyles. But the brand dates back to the 1990s when the founders wanted to create a plant-based drink in tune with the needs of both humans and the planet. Thier growing range of products sat perfectly on Shopify which is where you can find them today, as one of Shopify's top sellers.
23. Nicce
'A lifestyle movement inspired by London’s culture and emerging music scenes.' Nicce has one of the most popular Shopify stores - it challenges the exclusivity of street style, bringing contemporary, clean-cut and minimal designs to a global community via the global platform that is Shopify.
24. Adele
Megastar Adele’s merch shop is one of the most popular Shopify stores - it's on Shopify Plus to deal with the influx of traffic and sales that no doubt follow an album launch or tour. The site even allows customers to order merch and then collect it at a gig. It's a great example of a successful Shopify store that is functional, easy to use and simple to navigate.
