u/CustomerEye_App

Hey everyone,

Just hit 2 weeks since launch and wanted to share some real numbers because I couldn't find many honest posts like this when I was starting out.

• 10+ installs
• First 5 star review
• $10 cost per install from App Store ads (used the free 100$ on shopify)
• $0 revenue so far

What's working: being genuinely helpful to store owners without pitching anything. Conversations that start with real feedback naturally turn into installs.

What isn't: cold outreach with the app mentioned too early. People tune out immediately.

The app simulates different customer types browsing your store so merchants can see exactly where visitors hesitate before real traffic comes in. Still early beta but something is starting to move.

Anyone else gone through this stage? What actually moved the needle for you?

When I was running my Shopify store I always thought I knew what customers felt when they landed on it. I built it, I knew every product, every detail, it made perfect sense to me.

But a first time visitor has no idea who you are. A bargain hunter is immediately scanning for discounts and comparing you to competitors. Someone who reads every review before buying is looking for reasons not to trust you. Someone shopping on mobile is having a completely different experience than someone on desktop.

They all land on the exact same store, but they see something completely different.

That realization hit me hard. Heatmaps, analytics, session recordings, they all tell you what people did, but never what they actually thought. And that gap is probably the biggest silent killer of conversions that nobody talks about.

How do you try to understand what your customers are actually thinking when they land on your store?

Two weeks ago I posted here asking whether App Store ads were worth it early on. Got a ton of great responses so figured I'd share what happened since.

The concept: what if you could watch a customer browse your store before you launch? That's basically what I built.

What's working: giving genuine feedback to store owners who are looking for it. Not pitching anything, just being actually helpful. A few of those conversations naturally turned into installs and one turned into a 5 star review.

The ads: ran a small test with $5/day on the Shopify App Store. First install came from "shopify audit" keyword at $2.50 cost per install which honestly surprised me. Still figuring out which keywords are worth it.

Biggest lesson so far: building the app was the easy part. Getting those first real humans to trust something brand new is a completely different challenge.

Still no paying customers but it genuinely feels like something is starting to move. Anyone else grinding through this stage right now?

When I was running my Shopify store I always thought I knew what customers felt when they landed on it. I built it, I knew every product, every detail, it made perfect sense to me.

But then I started actually thinking about it. A first time visitor has no idea who you are. A bargain hunter is immediately scanning for discounts and comparing you to competitors. Someone who reads every review before buying is looking for reasons not to trust you. Someone shopping on mobile is having a completely different experience than someone on desktop.

They all land on the exact same store, but they see something completely different.

That realization hit me hard. All the heatmaps, analytics, etc., they tell you what people did, but never what they actually thought. And that gap between how you see your store and how your customers experience it is probably the biggest silent killer of conversions that nobody talks about.

It bugged me so much that I ended up spending months of my free time trying to actually solve it. Honestly one of the best decisions I've made, learned more from that process than from anything else.

How do you try to understand what your customers are actually thinking when they land on your store?

I used to run a Shopify store and one thing always bugged me. I had no idea what my store actually felt like from a customer's perspective. Heatmaps, analytics, session recordings, its all useful but none of them tell you what a first-time visitor actually thinks when they land on your store.

So in my free time I started building something. An app that simulates different customer types browsing your store in real time.

Honestly learned more from building it than from anything else I've done. Took months, got rejected, tried again, finally got approved on the Shopify App Store after about a month of waiting.

Yesterday I posted about it on Reddit for the first time and hit 3K views which honestly blew my mind. Still no paying customers but feels like something is starting to move.

Anyone else here built something out of their own frustration with a problem? Would love to hear your stories.

Spent the last few months building my first Shopify app from scratch. No team, no funding, just me and a idea I genuinely believed in.

Getting approved on the Shopify App Store took about a month of waiting and honestly I thought it would never happen. But it did.

The hard truth? Building the app, funny enough, was the easy part. Getting real people to actually try it is a completely different challenge. I've been DMing store owners, emailing people, grinding Reddit and slowly making progress but it's a real grind.

Is it worth it? I hope so😄, but only if you truly believe in what you're building and the idea of it. Otherwise the grind will break you.

Anyone else gone through this? Would love to hear your stories. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Shopify app but sometgink like this.

Finally got approved on the Shopify App Store after about a month of waiting. Really proud of the concept. I genuinely think it hasn't been done before in this space.

But wow, the first week humbled me. Building was the easy part. Getting those first real users is a completely different beast. DMing people, emailing store owners, grinding Reddit - slowly getting somewhere but it's a real grind.

For anyone who's launched something before, how did you get your first 10 users? What actually worked?

Happy to share more about the app if anyone's curious😊

Finally got my app approved on the Shopify App Store last week after about a month of waiting. Honestly really proud of the concept - I think it's something that hasn't really been done before in this space.

The hardest part now is getting those first few real users. I've been trying Reddit, DMing people directly, emailing store owners - slowly getting somewhere but it's a real grind.

For those of you who've launched apps on the Shopify App Store - were ads worth it early on? Or is organic the way to go until you have some reviews first?

Would love to hear from anyone who's been through this!