New Shopify store: how to get your first 100 orders

1 Make the store ready to sell first

Sounds obvious, but it can cost you your first weeks. According to Shopify, a store on a free trial is in private mode or its checkout is inactive until you pick a paid plan. Until then, nobody can buy.

Next, remove the password page and place a test order. Then submit your sitemap in Google Search Console. The sitemap is the list of all your store's pages for Google, at yourstore.com/sitemap.xml. Search Console is Google's free tool for site owners. Shopify creates the sitemap automatically, but Google can't read it while the store is private.

2 Get the first orders from people you know

The first orders often come from people you know. Shopify writes that some stores make their first sale within days by using their personal network and social media. In a Shopify survey of established merchants, word of mouth and a social media presence were the most common growth routes in year one.

Send friends, colleagues and former customers a personal message instead of a mass mailing, with a code each person can use once. Ask for an honest review separately, with nothing in return. In the US, the FTC expects friends and family who review your store to disclose their connection to you.

3 Collect reviews from the first order on

Without reviews, strangers hesitate. A survey by the German digital association Bitkom found that 54% of online shoppers in Germany read reviews before they buy (2021).

Shopify's own former reviews app was shut down in 2024. Today the Shop app asks customers for a review after delivery. To show reviews in your store, you need a reviews app from another developer in the Shopify App Store. Don't reward reviews: Shop's guidelines forbid any compensation, and in the US the FTC bans incentives tied to a positive review.

4 Use the free channels: the Shop app and Google

Two channels cost nothing but setup. According to Shopify, your store is added to the Shop app automatically once it meets the requirements, among them Shopify Payments being active and the store not being in private mode.

Through the free Google & YouTube sales channel, Shopify sends your products to Google Merchant Center, where Google manages product data. With free listings they can then appear in Google Search, the Shopping tab and Google Images without an ad budget. Check in Merchant Center which of these listings are available in your country, and keep titles, images and brand data accurate.

5 Consider marketplaces as a second channel

Marketplaces carry a large share of online sales. In Germany, for example, they accounted for 56.7% of online sales in 2025, according to the retail association HDE.

With Shopify's Marketplace Connect app you manage marketplace orders in the same admin. According to its App Store listing, the first 50 synced orders a month carry no app fee; after that, the fee is 1% per synced order, capped at $99 a month. The marketplaces' own fees still apply.

6 Run an intro offer without a made-up compare-at price

A new store has no previous price yet, so a struck-through "was" price is risky. Consumer law in many places requires a real prior price, for example the EU's 30-day lowest price rule. A safer intro offer doesn't lower the product price at all, such as a free gift with orders over a set amount or free shipping above a set amount.

State the conditions clearly. In a 2025 Bitkom survey, 82% of online shoppers in Germany said they check the conditions of a promotion closely.

7 Show shipping costs early

According to Baymard, extra costs that are too high are the most common reason shoppers abandon checkout. Show shipping on the product page, or offer free shipping over an order amount that a typical cart just misses. You can set that up in Shopify without an app.

8 Start email on day one

Every subscriber is someone you can reach later without ad spend. Shopify Messaging includes 10,000 free emails a month on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. The automatic abandoned checkout email is set up once and then runs by itself.

Collect consent the way your market requires. In the EU you need consent you can prove. In Germany double opt-in is the standard: the subscriber gets an email and confirms the address with a link in it.