What happens when your Shopify inventory gets messy? You lose sales, deal with more returns, and spend too much time fixing avoidable mistakes. This guide looks at Shopify apps for inventory management that help with common store problems, from sizing issues and barcode tracking to restock alerts and multi-channel syncing.
Key Takeaways
- Shopify inventory management apps help reduce returns, improve order accuracy, and give customers a smoother buying experience.
- Different apps solve different inventory problems. Some focus on sizing and returns, some help with reporting and forecasting, and others are built for barcodes, warehouses, or pre-orders.
- Stores that sell in more than one place can use inventory apps to keep stock levels synced across Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, and other marketplaces.
Online retailers live or die by inventory management. You can’t sell what you don’t have, and going too long without favorites in stock can make shoppers look elsewhere. On the other hand, Shopify stores with no-hassle purchases and a smooth checkout experience get more customers, more positive reviews, and more sales.
To keep everything running well, many store owners turn to apps for extra support. What are the best Shopify inventory management apps, and how do they help your store?
Must-Have Shopify Inventory Management Apps
Managing store inventory isn’t just about ordering enough units to not run out of stock. That part is essential, but inventory management best practices also involve making sure your customers receive the right items and enjoy a positive experience every time they buy from you.
1. Kiwi Sizing
A recent survey by industry group ICSC shows that returns are a big deal for online sellers. On average, e-commerce stores have a return rate of 15%. That’s like refunding three items for every 20 sales you make. Each return is an inventory management headache with the potential for mistakes on the digital side and at the warehouse.
Kiwi Sizing can help you avoid this inventory nightmare by targeting one of the main reasons for returns: products that don’t fit. Customers hate sizing problems just as much as damaged goods.
Use Kiwi to set up an apparel size recommender for clothing. This interactive tool calculates the ideal size for shoppers based on a few measurements that they input and their preferred fit (snug, loose, etc.). Kiwi can also enhance the form and functionality of size charts on your product pages with eye-catching graphs, photo carousels, and videos.
2. Better Reports
Being able to predict inventory needs month to month is a vital part of inventory management. Metrics help you use your cash wisely, avoiding overordering while making sure you’re stocking the right products.
Unfortunately, most Shopify plans only let you track sales data for six months. There’s no way to compare sales of Product X for May 2023, May 2024, and May 2025. You can’t even compare Mother’s Day to Black Friday.
Better Reports can change that, aggregating your monthly product, sales, and inventory data into long-term metrics. You can generate custom reports for specific items or broader product categories. This allows you to see multi-year trends from within Shopify.
3. Lifetimely
Lifetimely offers granular inventory reports for wholesalers, distributors, and B2B Shopify stores. This app lets you track product inventory levels and sales data on a per-customer basis, not just by month. Knowing how many items your main clients need weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually helps you plan your own ordering pattern strategically.
You can also maintain a database for the total lifetime value of specific products or customers. Product LTV statistics show you which items are your most profitable. It’s one thing to run out of stock with items people rarely buy. But your top sellers deserve your undivided attention when it comes to inventory management.
4. EasyScan SKU & Barcode
Barcodes and stock-keeping unit numbers can significantly speed up inventory tracking, order fulfillment, and shipping prep. SKU labels also improve inventory management accuracy, making it less likely for employees to ship the wrong item or place variants in the wrong bin.
EasyScan SKU & Barcode is designed for e-commerce warehouse management. The app has a variety of digital tools:
- Barcode scanner integration
- Mobile device scanning
- Direct connection to Shopify inventory records
- Printable SKU and barcode labels
- Automatic barcode generator
- Bin indicators for faster order picking
Being able to instantly access Shopify inventory levels from a mobile device saves time when receiving shipments, processing returns, and fulfilling purchase orders.
5. Restock Rocket (and Pre-Order Now)
Being realistic, even the best Shopify stores can underestimate customer buying habits sometimes. A good inventory management strategy should have a plan for handling out-of-stock products in a customer-friendly way.
For example, if you let shoppers know when the item will be back in stock, you may avoid lost purchases. Just using “sold out” gives the idea that the item probably isn’t coming back. “Available on Tuesday, June 5th” keeps shoppers interested.
With Restock Rocket, shoppers can sign up for notifications as soon as the product is back in stock. The app also integrates with Klaviyo and Mailchimp for automated email delivery, taking customers right to the product page for checkout.
Pre-Order Now provides the same functionality with an emphasis on pre-orders. One of the best apps for clothing stores, Pre-Order Now helps you measure interest for products ahead of launch day and adjust your inventory levels accordingly. This app also works well for high-value or specialty inventory, such as tech products, luxury goods, limited-edition collectibles, and handmade items.
All-in-One Shopify Apps for Inventory Management
Some Shopify Plus apps focus completely on inventory management for e-commerce. These tools cover the most common pain points for managing store inventory, such as keeping multiple warehouses organized. The downside is that an all-in-one approach is usually more expensive, often surpassing $100 a month even for smaller sellers.
1. Prediko
With an average rating of 4.9 stars, Prediko is one of the most popular inventory management apps for Shopify. It seems geared toward mid-size and large fulfillment centers. The app includes low-stock alerts, custom reorder reminders, and in-depth inventory syncing tools. In addition to centralizing your finished goods inventory, Prediko can track raw materials, forecast your needs, and send you reorder alerts automatically.
2. Thrive
Thrive is the BMW of all-in-one inventory management apps, with pro features, flexible integrations, and huge scalability — but also a price tag to match. The biggest selling point is that Thrive connects seamlessly between point-of-sale systems and Shopify. This makes it an excellent choice for stores that sell on Shopify and in person.
Put simply, if you need it for inventory management, Thrive has it, including barcode scanner support and purchase orders/invoices. But you can also expect to pay at least $129 a month for two store locations.
3. Stock Sync
Stock Sync doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of larger platforms, but this app streamlines the actual process of updating inventory. And its lower price point is a plus for smaller stores.
Stock Sync turns external files into trackable store inventory automatically. For example, if your warehouse uses an Excel spreadsheet, you can use Stock Sync to instantly update Shopify records instead of changing product quantities manually. There are integrations for XML, CSV, Dropbox, Google Sheets, and other formats.
Top Shopify Inventory Management Apps for Multiple Marketplaces
There’s no “right” way to approach online retail. Many Shopify stores thrive by pouring all their passion into a single website. Other sellers aim to maximize total sales by juggling Shopify with marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay. However you sell, Shopify apps can turn you into a product fulfillment ninja.
1. QuickBooks
It’s easy to overlook the fact that QuickBooks includes inventory tracking tools. It’s not just a platform for payroll and taxes.
In fact, QuickBooks can automatically pull data from multiple marketplaces, including Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy. On Shopify, the QuickBooks integration can help you track product orders, supplier payouts, expenses, and net profits.
One downside is pricing. All inventory tracking and reporting features are limited to QuickBooks Plus or higher tiers. This means spending an extra $60 a month. But if you already use QuickBooks to manage your business, why not use it to manage your inventory, too?
The QuickBooks Online integration for Shopify is free to Intuit customers, and setting up the app is a breeze. You can view reports from inside your Shopify Admin or in QuickBooks, whichever you prefer.
2. Etsy Integration by QuickSync
The downside with QuickSync is that you need to pay for app integration for each of your third-party marketplaces. The upside is that more than 1,000 merchants give the app rave reviews. It essentially lets you coordinate everything from your Shopify dashboard, getting the extra visibility on Etsy and enjoying full Shopify e-commerce functionality for sales and shipping.
3. Shopify Marketplace Connect
If you’re still growing your brand and need to keep your overhead down, Marketplace Connect is one of those essential apps that you should install from day one. It may be a little rough around the edges, but it gets the job done at the best price point: free. Use it to sync inventory levels between Shopify and Walmart, Amazon, Target, and other online storefronts.
Use Shopify Inventory Management Apps To Solve Store Issues
Inventory mistakes are usually a symptom of larger store issues. They often mean that you’re spreading yourself too thin, trying to do too much by hand instead of using Shopify inventory management apps to automate the process.
If you have to manage 1,000+ items plus variants, you may be tempted to copy and paste the same generic size chart, but that would be a massive mistake.
With Kiwi Sizing, you can bulk edit size charges and still deliver amazing customer experiences. Ditch frustratingly vague “M” or “XL” sizing and give customers accurate info. Show instead of tell with image-driven size guides.
Request a free demo of the top Shopify size chart app for better inventory management that starts today.
