There are a lot of amazing Shopify stores in Australia. As the world’s most popular platform, Shopify can transform a simple business idea into a great brand. When your store grows, you might not be ready to scale to the next level and you find yourself needing more features, more functionality, and more freedom to grow. Luckily, you can do all of that and more, when you move to Shopify Plus.
This platform allows for improved product management and enables you to create a storefront that is better customized to your brand. You can even go beyond storefronts to sell products through kiosks, billboards, smart mirrors, and wearables.
Better yet, you can drive sales with Shop Pay and dynamic checkout, which allow customers to skip the checkout process and speed up purchases. The advanced technologies in Shopify Plus mean that you don’t have to worry about back-end tasks - just focus on creating a beautiful store that sells more.
In this article, we’re going to look at some of the standout performers on the platform. All of these stores have a unique story and better yet, they follow it up with a memorable online shopping experience that makes people want to come back for more.
Which Stores Are On Shopify Plus in Australia?
With captivating brand storytelling, visual design, and user experience in mind, here are the top 12 Shopify Plus stores in Australia.
1. Cultiver
Nicolle Sullivan had a vision of providing people with a curated collection of the best items for their homes, which would elevate routine rituals and make every day more enjoyable. That vision became her company, Cultiver. Its focus on elegant, premium-quality linens and textile products quickly took off in Australia.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Like the very best ecommerce stores, Cultiver's website does a great job of selling an experience, rather than selling products alone. From the copy and images to the customer reviews, every element on the site has been carefully considered to present the feel of luxury. The Inspiration section gives customers the chance to envision what these timeless products would look like in their own homes.
The big takeaway: Go beyond simple products and think about how you can add value to people’s lives. You aren’t just selling products - your site needs to convey the possibility of having a positive experience.
2. Who Gives A Crap
Who Gives A Crap is a sustainable toilet paper brand that has transformed how customers think about shopping for everyday products. After spending several years in Africa, Simon Griffiths wanted to create a product that would make it easy for people to do good with their money. His company sells toilet paper made from bamboo or 100% recycled paper, and donates 50% of the profits to building toilets in underdeveloped countries.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Who Gives A Crap uses vibrant imagery, memorable copy, and humorous branding throughout the website. This brand shows how a commonplace product like toilet paper can become interesting. Further to that, the company actively promotes sustainability both on the website and through its active blog.
The big takeaway: By incorporating fun elements into your branding, you can brighten people's lives and make your product stand out.
3. Culture Kings
Culture Kings is a premium streetwear retailer known for providing an exclusive in-store shopping experience. Their iconic stadium-shaped stores are hugely popular among music, sport, and fashion enthusiasts alike.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
This ecommerce store replicates the exclusive atmosphere of Culture Kings' brick-and-mortar stores through their website's design and functionality. Unlike many Shopify stores in Australia, this brand has bespoke, dynamic product listings of its apparel, which vary depending on the viewer's interests or location. Overall, the layout of the collection webpages looks as remarkable as their exciting in-store displays.
The big takeaway: Accurately present your brand values in your online store, and add a personal touch by tailoring the customer’s journey around their specific interests.
4. Frank Body
How much do you love coffee? Frank Body is a quirky, Melbourne-based skincare brand that is making natural skincare fun with coffee scrub products. The company is proof of how clever social media strategies can turn a small yet driven startup into a popular cosmetics giant.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Frank Body has one of the best Shopify stores in Australia, making excellent use of user-generated content to achieve massive ecommerce success. The brand actively shares its clients' selfies, unedited Instagram photos, customer reviews, and hashtags to celebrate its audience. It also has a gamified loyalty system so that customers can collect points for discounts. This strategy nurtures a sense of community and spreads the word about their ecommerce store.
The big takeaway: You can leverage user-generated content to build your online brand. Step up your marketing game by finding ways to turn your customers into micro-influencers. When you throw loyalty incentives into the mix, it can cause your growth to skyrocket.
5. Koala
Koala is an emerging mattress brand that wants to make furniture simple. Through high-tech design and a focus on quick delivery, this brand provides a topnotch customer experience. The founder of Koala, Mitch Taylor, wanted to create a social good business in more than one way. By donating profits to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), customers can also help to save endangered animals, including koalas.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Koala knows marketing like the very best. The brand has used cheeky billboard ads to poke fun at rival companies, including IKEA and De Rucci. The young startup vibe carries throughout its website, radiating a youthful feel that offers its market a quick, convenient solution to ordering furniture. With discounts and a four-hour delivery promise, this ecommerce store is built for the modern consumer.
The big takeaway: Focus on providing impeccable service that is faster and to the point, making life easier for your customers. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to throw in some cute koala photos and give people the chance to help them too!
6. Bronze Snake
One year after leaving school, two friends became business partners, forming a fashion brand that released affordable trendy items every few weeks. More than 15 years have passed since Bronze Snake was launched, and its rapid-fire range of minimalistic, high-quality clothing is still going strong.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Being able to drop new products every week brings a major competitive edge in the fashion industry. But Bronze Snake doesn’t just have a fast and fresh range - the website is built for a streamlined shopping experience.
Alongside free express shipping, you can take advantage of an incredible 3-hour delivery, as well as 30-day returns. Like its clothing style, the website has a minimalist design that makes it easy to navigate. Big, beautiful visuals capture attention, and the Instagram Shop feature makes it easy to buy the look that you see.
The big takeaway: Your ecommerce store should be an extension of your brand. If you create minimalist designs and promise fast delivery, your website should back that up. Free delivery is great. Free, super-fast delivery is unbeatable.
7. W. Titley & Co.
When bootmaker William Titley created W. Titley & Co in 1926, ecommerce wasn’t even a pipe dream. Almost 100 years on, the family-owned business continues to offer its premium-quality range of country and western clothing, footwear, and accessories.
As the business evolved, current owner Tony Titley recognized the need to switch to Shopify Plus in order to deliver a better experience for his customers.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
The new website has well-designed menus and makes good use of visual cues and highlights to direct the attention of visitors. The custom mega menu and predictive search features make it a breeze to find any item that you want within the store.
What’s more, the overall layout of the store’s product and category pages is easy on the eye, with key information on shipping and payment options made clear.
Another great addition is the alerts for any items or sizes that are out of stock. Customers can opt to receive a notification when their desired size or item is available again.
The big takeaway: Make it easy for people to find what they want in your ecommerce store. If it’s out of stock now, use alerts to bring customers back again later.
8. Budgy Smuggler
When some mates decided to write “budgy smuggler” on a pair of speedo-style swimwear, a brand was born. Unaware of the spelling faux-pas, Adam Linforth launched Budgy Smuggler as a cheeky new Australian swimwear brand. By the time he realized the mistake, it was too late.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
The company’s cheeky yet attractive branding has always got people talking, and their website follows suit with colorful photos and funky designs.
Budgy Smuggler regularly holds photo and video competitions on its website, encouraging customers to engage with the brand. Their ecommerce store also allows users to customize their own swimwear and even create face mask designs during COVID-19.
The big takeaway: Engage your audience with fun competitions and interactive elements, such as a feature that allows them to customize the products. Remember, personalization creates added value for customers.
9. JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi is a major home entertainment retailer with a total revenue exceeding $7 billion per year. However, with the competition intensifying in the digital age, the company could no longer rely on offline sales. No worries, the team thought, they’d go online. Now, it is one of the biggest Shopify stores in Australia.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
JB Hi-Fi is one of those Shopify stores in Australia that highlights their unique selling point right from the get-go. Simply put, they know how to show off their competitive prices.
The moment that customers visit the ecommerce store, they’re welcomed with deals, discounts, and exciting offers. The brand clearly understands that their users are looking for affordable prices.
The big takeaway: Emphasise your brand’s unique selling point. Once you've figured out what makes you special, ensure that you clearly (and loudly) let your customers know about it.
10. Goondiwindi Cotton
Goondiwindi Cotton is a premium, high-quality ladies cottonclothing store. After 40 years of cotton farming, this family-owned brand decided to go to the next level, all the while remembering its foundations of style, honesty, and well-known Aussie principles.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Goondiwindi Cotton switched to Shopify Plus to continue scaling its brand. They completely revamped their online presence, which ultimately doubled their year-on-year sales.
One of the primary reasons behind their rapid growth has been the automation of their day-to-day business chores. They have streamlined their back-end processes and automated laborious and repetitive tasks wherever possible. For instance, they've automated customizable product review requests. This shift helps them to maximize the quality and quantity of their user-generated content.
The big takeaway: Automate any repetitive website tasks tofree up human resources, allowing you to focus more on strategy and generating revenue.
11. Sunday Somewhere
When you look for new sunglasses, you might be drawn to established names like Ray-Ban or Prada. However, creative brands like Sunday Somewhere have something unique to offer. The founder, Dave Allison, finds inspiration in his travels, keeping a visual diary to jot down ideas from cars, street art posters, galleries, and even restaurant menus.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
With a minimalist design and standard features like free shipping and 30-day returns, Sunday Somewhere does a lot of things right. Best of all, the company stays true to its brand voice, evoking a sense of wanderlust and inspirational day-dreaming with its travel blog and gorgeous photography. A page titled "As Worn by" adds a social touch, featuring a host of celebrity customers donning their shades.
The big takeaway: Create an experience around your product and use your site to show potential customers what it would be like to own it. By providing social proof from celebrities, you add to the allure.
12. Kookai
Kookai is one of Australia’s leading women’s fashion retailers, which runs its Australian, UK, US and New Zealand e-commerce stores from its base in Melbourne. The brand was born in Paris in 1983 and brought the classic Parisian chic to Australians through a network of boutiques. Once they launched their excellent e-commerce store, it quickly became the highest revenue channel in Kookai’s ever-expanding portfolio.
What’s great about this Shopify Plus store?
Kookai’s clean style with plenty of imagery communicates the elegant feel of the brand really well. The selection of sans-serif fonts for all main features contributes to the classy look. The store has no superfluous components and Kookai made sure that all elements present on the site reflect the brand’s sophisticated nature.The purchase flow is clean and simple, staying consistent with the overall feel of the site.
The big takeaway:E-commerce design can be used to further enhance and communicate the classy image of your brand and product. Less is more when you ensure that all elements are chosen with purpose and complement one another.
Conclusion
So, there you have it: 12 Shopify stores in Australia that are making waves in the ecommerce world. Each of these brands builds upon the intrigue of their origin story to deliver a user experience that customers love.
You can learn something from each one on our list. As a final takeaway, we can see that all of these ecommerce stores share something in common:
They truly understand what their consumers want.
When you know your audience and create a compelling brand experience, from your story to your website style, you can tap into the potential of Shopify Plus and become one of the best Shopify stores in Australia.
Are you ready to explore Shopify Plus? Get in touch with us to see how we can help you create a successful ecommerce business on Shopify Plus.