Rob Owlett - Business & Marketing Consultant

14/04/2026

87% of Shopify merchants rely on apps to run their store.

The average merchant has 6 installed. Some have 30.

And right now, those merchants are choosing from nearly 20,000 apps - 12,477 different vendors have published 19,923 apps in the Shopify App Store.

That’s up from around 12,000 just 18 months ago!

As of late 2025, roughly 445 new apps were being added every 30 days & that pace has only accelerated since.

Why? AI wiped out the build barrier. What used to take a dev team & six months now takes a weekend and a prompt.

But here’s what the flood of new apps is hiding: The merchants doing the installing have completely changed how they find apps.

Shopify reported that traffic from AI tools to its online stores is up 7x since January 2025 & purchases attributed to AI-powered search have increased by 11x.

By the end of 2025, orders originating from AI-driven search interfaces had grown 15x.

Generative AI traffic to US retail sites grew 4,700% year-over-year as of mid-2025.

64% of shoppers now say they’re likely to use AI when making purchases.

Read that again. Merchants aren’t browsing categories. They’re describing a problem to a chatbot & asking what to install.

That changes everything about how an app gets discovered.

35% of Shopify apps have zero reviews.

80% of developers have only one app listed.

The top 10 apps account for roughly 24% of all installs while thousands struggle to break $1,000/month.

The gap between winners & everyone else isn’t features. It’s findability.

Your competitor isn’t the app with better code. It’s the app that better matches how a merchant describes their pain in natural language to an AI.

Your listing. Your positioning. Your keywords. Your screenshots.

These aren’t a one-time marketing exercise. They’re your primary distribution channel. They need testing, updating & defending every single month.

In a market where anyone can build, the only moat left is being the answer when someone asks for help.

If a merchant describes their problem to AI and your app isn’t part of that conversation - you don’t exist!!

It doesn’t matter how good your product is!

(Ps, yes I’m launching another new Shopify app this month) 😅

03/12/2023

I’ll never get bored of waking up to my face plastered all over some of the biggest marketing websites in the world.

I don’t usually share them, but this one has some great nuggets of information in for any of my business owner friends, especially those working in eCommerce.

Give it a read here: https://www.miramarketing.co.uk/christmas-campaigns-2023/

Thanks for the mention and cheeky PoundFun plug 😎🧡

Chris Ogle did the rounds with some leaders in the Ecom space to find out how they have planned for their own Christmas campaigns for 2023.

18/06/2023

I have 5 very exciting new job opportunities at our new startup..

- 2 x Digital Marketing

- 2 x Warehouse & Operations

- 1 x Buying Assistant

These roles are fantastic apprentice opportunities, with immediate starts.

If you know anyone who would be suitable for these roles, drop me a message for more details.

02/03/2023

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust.

It's within the Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines and is used to evaluate the overall quality of a web page.

Here's how you can demonstrate E-E-A-T on your website or within your content.

LINKS
Building relevant links from authoritative sites is a great indication of credibility. When done correctly, links essentially act as a shoutout from other great sites that Google trusts, passing down authority from their site to yours.

QUALITY CONTENT
This goes without saying. If your content is rubbish, which letters within the acronym are you covering? Cover topics in depth, this will build your authority of a topic or keyword (topical authority). Pick 1 topic and create as many valuable pieces of content around this as you can, covering questions, queries, and every possible intent of that topic.

REVIEWS
Google uses reviews as a source of reputation information about websites, which relates to trust and authority. Get creative with this but make sure your reviews are authentic. You can use reviews for more than just products/services. I saw an interesting case study that showcased using medical reviews as a mark of trust for healthcare content.

EXPERTS
Hire an expert known within a niche or industry to write content for you. This level of expertise is great for topics such as medical, finance, or legal advice. Can't afford to pay for experts? Cite authoritative sources or quotes from experts within your content. Both these methods will provide your content with more credibility.

Do you use E-E-A-T on your website?

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👉 Follow for more SEO tips!👈

02/03/2023

As an entrepreneur, I wanted to share my top 5 tips for fellow young(ish) entrepreneurs:

1️⃣ Find a mentor: Having someone with more experience to guide you can be invaluable.👨‍🏫

2️⃣ Stay focused: Staying focused on your goals is essential. Make a plan and stick to it, and avoid getting sidetracked by unrelated projects.🧘‍♂️

3️⃣ Embrace failure: Failure is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey, but it's how you respond to it that matters.😔

4️⃣ Build a strong network: Surround yourself with like-minded people who can offer support and connections.👔

5️⃣ Stay motivated: Running a business is hard work. Find ways to stay motivated, whether it's setting small goals or celebrating milestones along the way.🗺

04/09/2020

Loving this piece of coverage for PoundToy in The Sun this week 🔥

IF you’ve piled on a few pounds over the summer, perhaps you’re eating just a bit too much of your favourite snacks. Experts reckon only one in ten of us stick to the recommended servin…

21/06/2019

Fantastic day at the conference yesterday! 3000 of the countries greatest minds in 1 arena for a day of talks and discussing the future of digital. Thanks to Edit for the invite and hosting another brilliant event! 🙌🏼

02/02/2017

This just happened!

www.digitalrob.co.uk

Freelance Digital Marketing Consultant, I help companies develop online to acquire more customers & increase sales. Portfolio ranges from SME's to large international retailers.

24/02/2015

A work in progress - But here's a little more about what I do and how I could help your business.

http://robowlett.my-free.website/

Experienced Digital Marketing Consultant Based in Leeds. Specialist in Search Marketing, PPC and Social Media Advertising.

12/02/2015

I specialise in Ecommerce online marketing.. If you are looking to promote your business or sell online then give me a call for a free consultation. You don't need to have a website to get started.

Get your head around the following aspects of digital marketing and help your business grow:
SEO
PPC
Social Media
Email Marketing
Affiliate Schemes
PR