The App Collective Episode 55
Tariffs
Hello App Collective!
Thanks for being a part of this community. The open rates of the last 2 episodes and the support of many of you upgrading to paid plans is telling that there is an appetite for more information about Shopify app growth and news. This newsletters, unlike a lot of others in your inbox, are fully supported financially through you, and not sponsorships from other apps. This is mostly by design because the audience is largely made up of you, the app developers! So thanks for your support and if you want to support the newsletter through your business in lieu of sponsorship, you can by subscribing! (I’ve had a few requests lately so I thought I would address that here) :-)
Anyway, this will be a free episode today because of the nature of the content. I want everyone to have access to it as I think you should all attend Tech Tonic and I also think you should have a contingency plan for the tariffs that the US is imposing on certain countries. If those topics seem interesting, keep reading!
What’s inside:
Mantle’s Tech Tonic Event in May
What tariff’s mean to your business
Tech Tonic by Mantle
It’s that time of year again where the Shopify partners and developers convene in Toronto for a few days of talks, parties, and socializing. Mantle is back at it again for a 1 1/2 day event right before the start of Shopify Editions on May 27th and 28th, 2025.
I will be there and I hope to see you there, too. The location last year was amazing and this year it will be even better. My trip is all booked up from the flight to the hotel. Let’s go!
Registration is open for Tech Tonic and there’s a sweet discount happening right now! Lock it in before the pricing goes up.
Tariffs
There is a lot of chatter and concern about the tariff’s the Trump administration in the US just imposed this week on Canada, Mexico, and China. I am sure several of you are wondering what this means for the future of your app businesses growth. We don’t know for sure what to expect. We do know that in the past, depending on the nature of the app you offer, merchants do tend to cut down on their tech stack. However, despite the unknown, we do need to make a plan. Right? right.
What we know
Looking at data across multiple Shopify apps I’ve worked with in the past and present, I can safely say that somewhere around half of the stores that install apps are from the US, Canada, and Mexico. There is still a lot of uncertainty around whether or not the tariffs will be a lasting issue or something that will require a work-around. I have heard talks about a potential deal being made with these countries but that the tariff’s, regardless of a deal, will likely still be in effect.
Worry not! There is always an opportunity whenever we are faced with a challenge.
The opportunity
There seems to be a newer trend of a lot more of Shopify store growth in the rest of the world. This presents an opportunity to double down on that growth by doing a few different things.
I am sure there are more things to do, but let’s start with this short list here:
targeting new territories (countries) through paid ads and marketing messaging
multi-lingual translation for your app mostly if it’s a front-end facing app with functionality that is visible on the Shopify store
special (undisclosed) pricing for merchants in the US/Canada/Mexico who might churn or contact support requesting help with a discount to off-set their new costs/profitability
taking #3 a little further but still a separate suggestion - offer quarterly/bi-yearly/annual pricing plans that have tiered discounts so you get a level of guarantees while helping the merchant out no matter where they are located in the world
Those are just a few ideas. What else can be done? Sound off in the comments in the web version of the newsletter and let’s all help each other succeed during these times of uncertainty. There is plenty of opportunity and plenty of ways to grow so chin up and stay positive!
Until next week,
Deb