ASR Sunday Brief #14

What Shopify operators were talking about this week

August 23, 2026

From the founder:

Two weeks ago we made our app reviews public. This week we took the next step and turned three years of them into something more useful - head-to-head comparisons.

Six categories to start: email, SMS, shipping, upsell, loyalty, support. Every comparison built from real reviews written by operators actually using the tools - no affiliate deals, no vendor sponsorships, just what operators think after 12+ months in the tool.

Full list in the section below. Pattern of the week is what emerged when we lined those categories up against what operators are actively replacing in the intent data.

Like this newsletter? Forward this email to another brand operator or app developer!

Welcome to the brand network

These are a few brand operators that joined us this week:

Sarah B. — E-commerce Manager · Health & Beauty · Plus plan

Dawn F. — Owner, United States · Food & Drink · Grow plan

Erin R. — E-commerce Manager · Fashion & Apparel · Plus plan

Start a project to meet these participants and others like them.

  • How established Shopify brands structure and evaluate customer support operations 
    Research Call · Incentive: $100 · 30 mins - for teams running support across internal teams, outsourced providers, helpdesk software, and AI tools

  • Turn AI Search Traffic into Sales: A GEO Strategy Walkthrough 
    Sales Call · Incentive: $250 · 60 mins - for brands trying to turn AI search visibility into actual conversion

  • Invitation-Only Gorgias Support Study for Fast-Growing Shopify Brands
    Research Call · Incentive: $150 · 60 mins - for teams spending too much time training AI, building SOPs, and keeping support running efficiently

Head-to-head app comparisons — now live

Two weeks ago we opened up the app reviews we've been collecting since 2023 to everyone. This week we did something more useful with them: we synthesized them into head-to-head comparisons. Each one built from real operator reviews of the tools involved — not vendor pitches, not affiliate rewrites, just what operators think after 12+ months in the tool.

Six categories live now:

If you're evaluating any of these categories heading into Q4, start here.

Pattern of the week

Something worth noting from lining the comparison articles up against the intent data:

The six categories we synthesized are exactly the six categories operators have been most actively replacing tools in. Not close. One-for-one.

Email (Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp replacements everywhere). SMS (Klaviyo/Attentive/Postscript swaps in the last 6 weeks). Support (Gorgias replacements in nearly every big multi-app rebuild). Shipping, upsell, loyalty — each with a specific replacement pattern showing up in submissions across July and August.

Why it matters: the categories where operators need honest comparison the most are the ones where the buying cycle is loudest right now. If you're an app team in any of these six, this is not a coincidence — this is your window. If you're a brand operator considering any of these swaps, start with what other operators actually said after living with the tool.

The synthesis matches the swap.

From the feed this week

Three reads worth your time this week:

Referral contest update — still very open

Week three of the August Referral Contest, and the leaderboard has moved but is still a very open race - 2–5 activated referrals is enough to be in the top three right now.

Refresher: through August, we're paying more for referrals to help keep the network flow healthy during a quiet month. Prize money comes out of our pocket, not a sponsor's.

  • 1st — $1,000

  • 2nd — $500

  • 3rd — $300

That's on top of the ongoing referral pay: $50 per Shopify store, $100 per Shopify Plus store.

One week left. If you know a Shopify operator who would actually get value from being in the network, this is the moment.

Thanks to everyone who's already referred someone - it genuinely helps.

Join our private communities

Join the ASR Brand Operator Slack

Private discussions for Shopify brands. Apply to join →

Join the ASR Shopify App Slack

For Shopify app founders. Apply to join →

See you next week.

Jon and team
— app store research

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