A Shopify store selling handmade candles gets 500 visitors/day but only 1.2% convert. The founder adds a social proof popup showing recent purchases — 'Maria from Chicago just bought Lavender Dreams — 2 min ago.' Within a week, conversion jumps to 1.8%. That's a 50% increase in sales from a $9/month widget.
ProveSource, Fomo, and Nudgify have proven the model works. Fomo (originally UseProof) peaked at $2M+ ARR before the founder moved on. ProveSource charges $21-166/mo. But these tools have gotten bloated — notification types, A/B testing, integrations with 50 platforms. Most Shopify store owners just want the simple 'someone bought this' popup.
At $9-19/mo with a dead-simple Shopify app install, there's room for a lightweight, fast, modern version. Focus on speed (no conversion rate impact from slow scripts), beautiful default designs, and zero configuration needed — just install and it works.
💰 Revenue Blueprint
Three-tier value ladder to monetize from day one
50 notifications/day, 1 notification type, basic design, powered-by branding
Unlimited notifications, 5 designs, custom colors, recent purchases + signups, no branding
Advanced targeting, A/B testing, custom CSS, review notifications, analytics dashboard, WooCommerce support
Why Now?
Shopify has 4.6M+ stores globally. Social proof is proven psychology. E-commerce competition is fiercer than ever, making trust signals more important.
📊 Market Evidence
The Market Gap
ProveSource ($21+) and Fomo ($25+) are expensive for small stores. Free tools look spammy. No clean, modern social proof widget at $9/mo.
Revenue Examples
Peaked at $2M+ ARR
Growing steadily, profitable
🏆 Competitor Landscape
How existing players stack up in this market
| Competitor | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ProveSource | $21-166/mo | Full social proof platform, many notification types |
| Fomo | $25-99/mo | Pioneer in space, $2M+ peak ARR |
| Nudgify | $9-89/mo | Social proof + urgency notifications |
Full social proof platform, many notification types
Pioneer in space, $2M+ peak ARR
Social proof + urgency notifications
Launch Strategy
1) Free tier on Shopify App Store for organic installs. 2) Target Shopify Facebook groups. 3) Before/after conversion rate case studies. 4) Partner with Shopify theme developers. 5) A/B test data as content marketing.
🛠️ Recommended Tech Stack
Suggested tools and technologies to build this idea
Why this stack: Preact keeps the storefront widget ultra-lightweight. Shopify webhooks push real-time order events. Shopify Billing API handles recurring charges natively within the app store.
Strengths
- ✓Extremely fast to build
- ✓Shopify App Store provides distribution
- ✓Clear ROI story for store owners
- ✓Low support burden
Risks
- ⚠Very crowded Shopify app category
- ⚠Race to the bottom on pricing
- ⚠Google may penalize intrusive popups
Score Breakdown
Good market signals with room for growth
Market (20%) + Revenue (20%) + Trend (15%) + Competition (15%) + Build (15%) + Pricing (15%)
Fomo proved $2M+ ARR is possible
Multiple tools generating revenue
Stable — social proof is evergreen
Very crowded category
Extremely fast to build
Strong but low ARPU
🚀 Start Building
Copy a prompt into your favorite AI coding tool and start building this idea right now.
Build a SaaS product called "Shopify Sales Notification Widget". ## Product Overview Show 'Someone just bought...' popups on your Shopify store to boost conversions. $9-19/mo. ## Problem E-commerce stores struggle with trust signals. First-time visitors don't know if anyone else shops here. Social proof popups showing recent purchases create urgency and trust, but most tools are overpriced or bloated with features. ## Solution Lightweight popup widget showing recent purchases: 'Sarah from Austin just bought Blue Widget — 3 minutes ago.' Clean design, easy Shopify install, fast loading. ## Target Audience Shopify and WooCommerce store owners, dropshippers, DTC brands ## Tech Stack - Next.js 15 (App Router) with TypeScript - Tailwind CSS v4 for styling - Supabase for auth, database, and storage - Vercel for deployment - shadcn/ui for UI components - Framer Motion for animations ## MVP Features to Build 1. Landing page with clear value proposition 2. User authentication (sign up, sign in, forgot password) 3. Core product functionality based on the solution above 4. Dashboard for users to manage their data 5. Pricing page with at least 2 tiers (free + paid) 6. Basic settings/profile page ## Known Competitors ProveSource, Fomo, Nudgify ## Key Risks to Address Very crowded Shopify app category Race to the bottom on pricing Google may penalize intrusive popups ## Deployment 1. Set up Supabase project and configure environment variables 2. Deploy to Vercel with `npx vercel --prod` 3. Set up custom domain 4. Configure Supabase RLS policies for security ## Instructions Start by creating the project structure, then build the landing page first. Use server components where possible. Make it mobile-responsive from the start. Focus on getting the core value loop working before adding polish.