25 Best Shopify Stores That Every Aspiring DTC Founder Should Check
Published On: 02 Sep 2024
By:Lifesight
Shopify generated a revenue of over $1.4 billion just in the previous quarter of 2022. With hundreds of thousands of merchants using Shopify to build their business and succeeding at it, maybe you have wondered – can you do it too?
Before you go down a rabbit hole of information about setting up a store on Shopify, let's hit you with some inspiration. We have listed 25 high-performing stores across various niches on Shopify. Check out their annual revenues and visits and get ready to dream big!
Brainstorm with our list of Shopify store ideas in 3...2...1
Best Shopify Stores 2022 for Apparel
Planning to launch your own fashion line? Here are the best Shopify stores for clothing.
1) Fashionnova
Founded - 2006
Annual Revenue - $200.0M - $500.0M
Total Visits - 23.1M
FashionNova started with the goal of making upscale fashion trends accessible to women worldwide. It now commands the partnership of a significant community of influencers on Instagram and YouTube and endorsements from the likes of Cardi B and Kylie Jenner. Recently, it was the official partner for the leading hip-hop festival, Rolling Loud New York. It is one of the most popular fashion stores on Shopify and is a great case study for anyone looking to set up a fashion brand.
2) Reddressboutique
Founded - 2009
Annual Revenue - $25.0M - $50.0M
Total Visits - 651.1K
Not including the Red Dress boutique in the top Shopify store examples would be a mistake. The founder, Diana, wanted to create women's apparel that was unique, timeless, and beyond fashion trends. Most of her products clock in below the 100-dollar threshold cost, making it one of the most affordable fashion brands on Shopify.
With both offline and online stores (Diana launched the latter in 2012), Red Dress has shown that small but consistent investments in your fashion business can lead to satisfaction and growth, on Shopify and outside of it.
3) Cupshe
Founded - 2015
Annual Revenue - $2.0M - $5.0M
Total Visits - 1.9M
Cupshe is one of the best Shopify stores for clothing. It started with the goal of empowering women as they confidently don beachwear that made them feel stylish and confident. Since then, they have expanded into regular apparel, including winter wear and dresses. Bustle, Elle, Refinery29, and Oprah Daily have featured their products. The brand is known for its affordable options and twists on classic looks. Their focus on body positivity has made it one of the most sought brands on Shopify.
4) Blvck Paris
Founded - 2017
Annual Revenue - $5.0M - $10.0M
Total Visits - 218.1K
Blvck Paris is a famous all-black brand featuring monochrome clothing, leather goods, and accessories for men and women. The goal of this brand was to present an alternative shift from vanity colors to something more minimalistic. It is also known for its unique NFT collections. The most recent NFT set includes 9,999 avatars designed by the brand's founder. These avatars don Blvck Paris outfits with on-brand tattoos and hairstyles. They also have a thriving Discord community. It's a great example of offbeat products and marketing to acquire and retain customers.
5) Cettire
Founded - 2017
Annual Revenue - $15.0M - $25.0M
Total Visits - 3.2M
Cettire is a luxury fashion shop that captures the creations of over 500 designers. These designers and brands include Prada, Valentino, Gucci, and Saint Laurent. Cettire has been bridging the gap between luxury and accessibility by providing affluent clothing at low prices.
In October, its share prices rose due to excellent financial health in 2022 and an active customer base of over 250,000. Cettire serves as inspiration for the best Shopify stores. Apparel brands often feel the pressure of crowded segments, but Cettire has set itself apart.
Best Shopify Stores 2022 for Electronics
Check out the best Shopify stores for electronics:
1) Reliefband
Founded - 2015
Annual Revenue - $2.0M - $5.0M
Total Visits - 63.7K
Reliefband is a wearable technology manufacturer positioned for those struggling with nausea and vomiting. This drug-free approach to nausea stemming from mental health issues, migraines, chemotherapy, and travel sickness has made it popular amongst those looking for alternate solutions. It is on our list of top Shopify store examples for exactly that reason.
In October 2022, Tivic Health, a health technology and bioelectronic medicine business, acquired some assets of Reliefband. Their partnership demonstrates that with the right product and strategy, entering the big boys club is possible even for DTC Shopify stores.
2) Ring
Founded - 2013
Annual Revenue - <$1.0M
Total Visits - NA
Ring is a home security system brand. Its products include security doorbells that come with video identification. The idea is to be the "caller-ID for the front door" for neighborhood safety and home surveillance. Businesses can seek inspiration from Ring because it deals with one of the most common customer pain points: home security. The brand converted this pain point into a business opportunity through innovation. You will often find Ring featured on product review platforms for home surveillance.
3) Smart Nora
Founded - 2015
Annual Revenue - $2.0M - $5.0M
Total Visits - 39.5K
Smart Nora commands a customer base of over 130,000. The brand's pillow inserts are a unique solution to address snoring problems. These inserts offer contact-free snoring solutions by replacing mouthguards and slimy strips with a cool and comfortable AI-based alternative.
The brand is popular in the anti-snoring pillow market. It has been featured on UW Daily, Forbes, and other big platforms. Smart Nora has an excellent, purpose-driven content strategy with insights and articles on circadian rhythms, sleep hacks, and other useful information.
4) Pimax
Founded - 2014
Annual Revenue - $5.0M - $10.0M
Total Visits - 116.2K
Pimax is a VR headset brand with its origins in Shanghai, China. It is known for releasing the world's first VR headset. The brand has ties with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. They together established a video development alliance to help contribute to VR hardware research. Pimax has won several awards, including the "Top 50 VR Enterprises" (2019) by the Electronics Information Industry Development Academy of China and the best VR product at CES Asia 2016. Pimax has disrupted the VR space and become a leading inspiration for VR manufacturers everywhere.
5) U-Turn Audio
Founded - 2012
Annual Revenue - < $1.0M
Total Visits - 98K
U-Turn Audio manufactures turntable components of record players and speakers, records, and other peripheral equipment. Their headquarters is located in a small town in Massachusetts.
U-Turn's website enumerates the interesting process of putting together turntables and immediately captures the attention of music and record player aficionados. The brand educates customers with detailed blogs on connecting turntables to your systems, setting up and maintaining your turntables, and obtaining high-quality sound. These "how-to" articles are a rich resource for customers and make the brand valuable beyond its products.
Best Shopify Stores 2022 for Cosmetics
Here's the ultimate list of cosmetic brands breaking barriers. You can get some of your best Shopify store(s) ideas:
1) Kylie Cosmetics
Founded - 2015
Annual Revenue - $200.0M - $500.0M
Total Visits - 776.8K
Kylie Jenner started Kylie Cosmetics when she was just 18 years old. Kylie Cosmetics has emerged as the winner among other flailing beauty businesses started by Rihanna, Bella Thorne, and Selena Gomez. One of the brand's most successful product launches came with an astonishing statistic - their lip kits sold out within a minute of going live.
Kylie Cosmetics is a brilliant case study for Shopify owners in the cosmetics niche. Financial investment is not the only thing you need for a great brand; you need consistency and creativity to stand out, which Kylie Cosmetics did with its holiday pop-up stores and relying solely on Instagram for marketing in the early days.
2) SKKN BY KIM
Founded - 2022
Annual Revenue - NA
Total Visits - NA
Joining Kylie Jenner on this list is Kim Kardashian, with her gluten-free skincare brand. The brand is different from Kylie Cosmetics, focusing only on skincare products and routines. It offers something only a few skincare brands have been able to put together: the system of refills for conscious buying practices. This shows that the brand listens to customer concerns regarding sustainability. All product containers are made of recycled materials and fall within the $100 range. The goal of this brand is to bring accessible skincare routines to customers of all kinds of skin types. SKKN By Kim is one of Kim's many business initiatives, thus constantly showing the need to experiment in the ecommerce space.
3) Colourpop
Founded - 2014
Annual Revenue - $50.0M - $75.0M
Total Visits - 4.5M
Colourpop's focus on affordable skincare and makeup products while being cruelty-free is front and center in all its marketing campaigns, which is why we feature it in our top Shopify store examples list. The brand's collaborations with beauty influencers like Snitchery (the queen of Cosplay) have produced transformative products that no other beauty brand has achieved. In October, Colourpop released a Star Wars-themed powder palette named after the much-loved character C-3PO. The brand has won multiple awards since its inception.
4) Beardbrand
Founded - 2012
Annual Revenue - $5.0M - $10.0M
Total Visits - 492.9K
Eric Bandholz, the founder of Beardbrand, came up with the idea when he was running low on self-confidence and went on a beard-growing journey to try something new. When he started the brand, beards were stigmatized for being unprofessional in the workplace. Beardbrand's marketing and products are rooted in building confidence in men.
Unlike other skincare brands that are often mysterious about their ingredients, Beardbrand lists all its formulations on its website, thus making purchases as transparent and reliable as possible. This is what makes Beardbrand stand out in a cluttered skincare space.
5) Manscaped
Founded - 2016
Annual Revenue - $200.0M - $500.0M
Total Visits - 3.4M
Manscaped is a riveting example of a brand that continues to grow years after being on Shark Tank (2018). Despite being a globally acclaimed brand, it stays true to its roots by partnering with local sports organizations. The most recent partnership with Ball State University's sports teams is a play on Manscaped's product utility and passion for innovative partnerships.
The idea behind the brand was to bring to the forefront the grooming and hygiene practices for sensitive male body parts, an area that not many brands venture into. This stems from deep consumer research, an approach that many businesses, especially small Shopify stores, don't take very often.
Best Shopify Stores 2022 for Home Decor
Now, we move on to home decor with the five best Shopify stores. Design inspirations unloaded:
1) Brookline
Founded - 2013
Annual Revenue - $25.0M - $50.0M
Total Visits - 1.3M
Brooklinen, a home decor and bed & bath accessories brand, boasts over 117,000 5-star reviews on its website. Its bedsheets, loungewear, furniture, and wall art have transformed the home decor space.
The brand is run by a couple (Vicki and Rich Fulop) who wanted to mimic the top-notch quality of hotel bed linens they experienced while vacationing in Vegas, but at lower prices. They handled every aspect of the business in the early days, from coding the first website to learning Facebook advertising from scratch and personally delivering prototypes to bloggers. Brooklinen is a sign for the best Shopify stores for home decor with humble beginnings, too, can translate into burgeoning empires.
2) Leesa
Founded - 2014
Annual Revenue - $100.0M - $200.0M
Total Visits - 317K
Leesa is a bed accessories brand with mattresses, pillows, pillow inserts, and duvets. Its CSR initiatives provide quality sleep to those with poor bedding conditions. Leesa considers its products a social responsibility and highlights the link between poor sleep, drop-out rates and mental health issues. Through its ‘1 Good Bed Promise' initiative, the brand provides 1 bedding to local communities for every ten Leesa sales.
Leesa is an excellent example of creating social impact, even with products as essential as bedding. This innovation and consistent effort to give back to the community is something every Shopify business can learn from.
3) Fyrn
Founded - 2012
Annual Revenue - $25.0M - $50.0M
Total Visits - 9.1K
Fyrn is a furniture brand of timeless but modern woodwork. Reminiscent of traditional furniture styles, it has carved (literally and metaphorically) its niche with the brand's pieces on display at Michelin Star restaurants and wineries across the US.
The brand's roots lie in the Hitchcock Chair Company, a legendary brand dating back to the 1800s. Fyrn aims to create reusable furniture. Even the best Shopify stores in the USA can learn the art of combining traditional practices and modern innovations from Fyrn.
4) Common Deer
Founded - 2013
Annual Revenue - < $1.0M
Total Visits - 10.8K
Common Deer is a gift store brand with gift guides, DIY games, body care products, food, accessories, and clothes. The brand brings together the work of 500+ local artists and manufacturers across North America, creating and offering an entirely Made In America product range.
Common Deer is a favorite among local politicians like Kesha Ram and Chip Mason, who rely on it for Vermont-themed gifts. Its founders exhibit safe community practices, such as opting out of in-store Black Friday sales in 2020 to avoid crowding at the store. Shopify merchants who feel online channels are insufficient to create a big brand can take a leaf out of Common Deer's playbook which even their small team of three full-time employees can execute. The brand founders believe that for small businesses, offering free shipping and other inexpensive retail options is not a prudent strategy. They believe that if you are true to the value you provide, customers will support your business.
5) Ruggable
Founded - 1998
Annual Revenue - $15.0M - $25.0M
Total Visits - 2.6M
Ruggable or Rugs USA is a leader in the rugs market, with its washable rugs commanding a consumer base of over one million homes. Their products are featured on popular home decor websites and product guides, such as Architectural Digest and Better Homes & Gardens.
Some of Ruggable's products are touted as the “Amazon Coat” of rugs, a reference to the olive green parka that went viral in 2019 due to massive coverage by product review websites.
Best Shopify Stores 2022 for Jewelry
Want to sell some bling? Have a sneak peek at the best Shopify stores examples in the jewelry niche:
1) Missoma
Founded - 2010
Annual Revenue - $10.0M - $15.0M
Total Visits - 600.3K
Missoma has fans among the royal family (Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle). Celebrities like Bella and Gigi Hadid, Kendal Jenner, and Dua Lipa have also made appearances donning Missoma jewelry. It is one of the first demi-fine jewelry brands in the world. Missoma combines its vision of making demi-fine products simultaneously accessible and sustainable.
The brand came about because the Founder, Marisa Hordern, could not find fashion-forward jewelry for herself at low prices.
2) Ana Luisa
Founded - 2019
Annual Revenue - $2.0M - $5.0M
Total Visits - 1M
Ana Luisa is a fully carbon-neutral jewelry brand, making it an obvious pick for the best Shopify stores-on-jewelry list. They have a thriving group of affiliate partners who feel they are trusted as creators who can channel their style while promoting products. The brand doesn't believe in going solely for the 500K-followers club and works with smaller creators and influencers worldwide.
Ana Luisa is also one of the best sustainable jewelry brands because it uses recycled materials. Its ethical practices have set the standard for sustainable jewelry and affiliate partnerships.
3) PDPAOLA
Founded - 2014
Annual Revenue - $2.0M - $5.0M
Total Visits - 682.5K
PdPaola is a Spanish DTC brand that has made lab-grown diamonds extremely popular. Influencers like Chiara Ferragni and celebrities like Gigi Hadid have worn this brand's jewelry.
PdPaola founders combined their architecture and design knowledge with entrepreneurial skills to create a hybrid ecommerce and wholesale business model. Their products are in international department stores across the world. Shopify businesses can learn from PdPoala's swift but deliberate and organic expansion.
4) Metal Marvels
Founded - 2012
Annual Revenue - < $1.0M
Total Visits - 18.3K
Meta Marvels is a women-owned business that defies conventional beauty standards through its graphic apparel, jewelry, and paper products. This brand is a brilliant story of weaving social value systems into your offerings and interactions, as is apparent from their bold blog posts like ‘The best Pro-Choice T-Shirts to fight the patriarchy + Piss off your conservative family.' The founder, Katie Seller, wishes to be as "unladylike" as possible through her brand.
Meta Marvels brand is an inspirational brand for women entrepreneurs who want to do something quirky and/or break stereotypes.
5) Vivien Frank
Founded - 2015
Annual Revenue - NA
Total Visits - NA
Vivien Frank is a handcrafted fine jewelry brand based in Switzerland that started out on Shopify. Its niche style is Urban Bohemian exhibiting Swiss quality of the highest degree. Before launching her own brand, founder Simona Isler, used to design jewelry as a hobby for her friends and family and worked full time in the movie industry.
Vivien Frank's designs have been featured in Vogue UK and Glamour magazine, among others. This brand has an inspiring story. It exemplifies how even hobbies can turn into thriving international ventures when done right.
Join the club of the best Shopify stores with Lifesight
The above list of the best Shopify stores examples have one thing in common: robust customer retention with high quality products and excellent CX. It has helped develop these small businesses into thriving ecommerce leaders in their industry. Want to know how they retain their >100k customers? Sign up for Lifesight to discover customer retention trade secrets for DTC hyper-growth.
With deliberate automation, we streamline your retention engine in a way that chisels your bottom-of-the-funnel activities. These include unique onboarding, customer education platforms, robust customer feedback, and loyalty programs. You focus on the product; we focus on making your customers stay.
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