Running a dropshipping business can feel overwhelming. There are so many moving parts to manage, from finding suppliers to optimizing your website to maximize conversion rates. You also need to keep an eye on your competitors. After all, you can learn a lot from them. But how to find dropshipping products that are doing well? This is where tools like Koala Inspector come in. However, as with any tool, there are downsides to using it. So, what can you do? This guide will introduce you to some solid Koala Inspector alternatives to help you gain the insights you need to improve your Shopify store and achieve e-commerce success.
One of the best Koala Inspector alternatives is Shophunter's solution, the Shopify sales tracker. This tool can help you uncover valuable insights into your competitor's Shopify stores to help you improve your dropshipping business performance.
What Is the Koala Inspector Shopify Spy Tool?
Koala Inspector is a Chrome browser extension designed to help eCommerce merchants conduct real-time competitor analysis of eCommerce shops. This tool allows merchants to view aspects such as shop layout, traffic sources, and ad campaigns, among other elements.
How Does Koala Inspector Help eCommerce and Dropshipping Store Owners?
Koala Inspector helps eCommerce merchants identify retailers from which their competitors source products, providing potential sources for their own business. No matter your eCommerce or dropshipping expertise level, Koala Inspector can help expand your business. Its all-in-one suite of tools offers you a birds-eye view into competitors’ pricing strategies, demand trends, and marketing strategies. You can discover their most popular products or apps with just a click. Unlike other spy tools, it provides a full-suite solution that’s easy to use while producing results instantly.
Features of Koala Inspector
Koala Inspector’s in-browser spying feature gives you access to competitors without needing a Shopify account. Just install our Chrome extension, visit any Shopify store, and access this wealth of intelligence in one click from their best-selling products, apps, pricing strategies, and sales data that could help inform decisions and boost your sales.
One key advantage of the tool is its ability to help you spy on competitor ad campaigns, saving time and money by bypassing trial-and-error methods. You’ll gain insight into their ad platforms, target audiences, and performance data, which are invaluable insights that could increase conversion rates while leading to more sales.
Limitations of Koala Inspector
Koala Inspector has several downsides that limit its usability for some users. First, it’s limited to Google Chrome, which can be annoying if you use multiple browsers. It also has an unwieldy UI, with numerous advertisements and upsells within the app that detract from usability. You must reopen the extension after each tab switch, and some may find this task annoying as the tool must always remain visible until you or another person manually closes it.
26 Best Koala Inspector Alternatives for Shopify Success
1. ShopHunter: The Shopify Sales Tracker That Gives You the Edge
ShopHunter's Shopify sales tracker offers a unique tool for eCommerce founders, particularly those in the Shopify ecosystem. At its core, it is a custom algorithm that estimates sales for entire stores and specific products, helping users quickly validate product potential. The platform goes beyond basic sales tracking, featuring an ad spy tool that monitors advertising activity across stores.
This combination lets users spot trending products and successful marketing strategies early on. Whether you're a dropshipper, a Shopify store owner, or someone looking to enter the eCommerce space, ShopHunter aims to streamline product research and reduce the risk of investing in low-performing items. Sign up for a free trial (no credit card required) to our Shopify sales tracker tool to find your next eCom opportunity or to level up your current eCommerce store by learning from your competitors.
2. Shopify Theme Detector By PageFly: Find Your Competitors' Shopify Theme
This handy Shopify spy extension will help you identify the theme that any Shopify store is using. Suppose you’re building your online store and want to know what your competitors used to create a mesmerizing online store. In that case, all you have to do is click the browser extension (after installing it), and it will automatically detect the theme it uses. As simple as that. This Shopify store spy, simple as it may seem, can significantly reduce your working hours when designing a Shopify store by knowing what theme you should start with.
3. SimilarWeb: Get a Detailed Overview of Any Shopify Store
SimilarWeb is another excellent Shopify spy tool that helps you understand your competitors’ stores more. This tool provides a traffic overview of any website and then breaks it into smaller sections. Similarly, SimilarWeb lets you know where your competitor’s store drives the most traction. Pay close attention to the traffic sources section. Moreover, SimilarWeb is not just a simple Shopify store spy tool. Instead, it’s a full-blown analytics website that you can use to gain insightful information about all kinds of websites – not just Shopify stores.
4. Ali Hunter Chrome Extension: The Best Shopify Spy Tool for Dropshipping
Ali Hunter is a Shopify spy extension and one of the best spy tools for Shopify that you can use if you’re in the dropshipping industry. It can help you quickly find dropshipping product sources from any Shopify store. It is the #1 app used for store spying, with over 250,000 users and many positive reviews on the Chrome Store. To use Ali Hunter, simply install the extension and go to any Shopify store you want to track.
Ali Hunter will then reveal important information about the store, such as the themes and apps they use, live revenue and sales records, best-selling and last items sold, and product sources (including whether they dropship from AliExpress). The extension can also show you other stores that sell the same items.
5. SellerCenter: The Feature-Packed Shopify Store Spy Tool
Amongst all the Shopify spy tools in this list, SellerCenter is our second favorite. It is arguably the most feature-packed Shopify store spy tool, considering it’s FREE. But honestly, even if it’s a paid tool, it still has a massive value proposition we’d be willing to pay for. Seller Center provides insights on Shopify stores in terms of Monthly visits, Monthly sales, and Products Revenue. It also gives a peek into your competitors’ ad strategies on social apps like Facebook, IG, TikTok, and YouTube. It even shows the exact ads the Shopify stores are running.
I am curious about what apps your competitors are using; SellerCenter also has that. SellerCentral has significant data on more than 2.3 million Shopify stores and millions of other merchants on Amazon, AliExpress, Wish, and other multi-vendor ecommerce markets such as Shopee and Lazada. The list of features goes on. But before we tire you with the details, we highly suggest giving it a shot.
6. Shine: Track Competitors' Sales Data and More
Shine is yet another analytics-first Shopify store spy. This solution contains in-depth data from 300,000+ Shopify stores, with more than 500+ million new pieces of data uploaded to the company's database daily (according to its website). With this tool, you can track specific Shopify stores to access their Shop-level sales data, SKU-level sales data, Social follower count, Visitor and traffic analytics Ad library, and more. Depending on your subscription plan, the number of competitors you can track increases. But if you want to try it for now, check out their Chrome extension.
7. BuiltWith: What Technologies Are Your Competitors Using?
The next one on our list of Spy tools for Shopify is BuiltWith. As the name suggests, it shows you what websites are... built with. This tool reveals every bit of technology your competitors are using. Your competitors might use different types of apps for many purposes to run an online store effectively.
For example, some apps have been added to Shopify stores to execute retargeting marketing, customer journey reports, and email campaigns. This Shopify store spy has a free plan if you’re simply looking for general Shopify usage statistics. But if you want more specific insights, you must opt for the paid plan – which can be expensive.
8. Feedly Market Intelligence: Track Competitors with AI
Feedly Market Intelligence is a powerful platform designed to help businesses track competitors, market trends, and innovations by leveraging AI. It provides Shopify merchants a competitive edge by gathering real-time insights from various sources, such as industry reports, news articles, and social media. With AI-powered feeds, merchants can monitor their competitors’ strategic moves, including product launches and marketing tactics, to refine their business strategies.
This Shopify spy tool enables users to cut through data noise and focus on relevant insights, allowing better product positioning, pricing strategies, and customer experience improvements. It offers automated newsletters and dashboards for easy team collaboration, ensuring merchants can swiftly act on emerging trends. With Feedly, Shopify users gain valuable data by spying on Shopify stores and remaining competitive in the dynamic e-commerce market.
9. Google Keyword Planner: Uncover SEO Keywords Competitors Are Targeting
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool that helps marketers discover relevant keywords, track search volumes, and assess competition for advertising campaigns. It provides essential data to improve SEO and paid ads by identifying popular search terms that align with user intent. For Shopify merchants, this tool serves as an effective spy tool by uncovering keywords competitors target, shedding light on trending products, and revealing gaps in the market. With these insights, merchants can enhance their product listings, develop data-driven marketing strategies, and optimize their stores for better visibility and conversion rates in search engines.
SpySales is a Shopify spy tool designed to help merchants track competitors' sales performance in real-time. By monitoring top-performing stores, trending products, and key business activities, SpySales provides actionable insights into your competitors' strategies. This tool simplifies market research, allowing Shopify merchants to quickly analyze product trends, pricing models, and promotional efforts across other stores.
The platform offers features like AI-powered product research, historical sales data, and a user-friendly interface, enabling merchants to make data-driven decisions and adjust their strategies effectively. With these insights, businesses can fine-tune product offerings, optimize pricing, and improve overall store performance to stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape.
11. Ahrefs: Get the Inside Track on Competitors' SEO Strategies
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool primarily designed for digital marketers to improve search rankings and monitor online visibility. However, it also serves as a Shopify spy tool by offering in-depth insights into competitors' web pages, including traffic sources, backlink profiles, and top-performing content. Shopify merchants can leverage Ahrefs to understand their competitors’ strategies, discover popular products, and analyze marketing campaigns, helping them refine their business processes.
With Ahrefs, merchants gain actionable insights to optimize product offerings, improve SEO performance, and stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce landscape. Moreover, Ahrefs has a handy Google Chrome extension, Ahrefs SEO Toolbar, that allows you to analyze page structures. This tool can be convenient when creating your web pages by knowing the structure of your competitors’ pages, what keywords they use on headings, and more.
12. SEMrush: Another Powerful SEO Tool to Spy on Shopify Competitors
Like Ahrefs, SEMrush is primarily an SEO tool for digital marketers, offering a wide range of features for keyword research, site audits, and rank tracking. However, it also serves as a tool to spy on Shopify on Shopify stores by allowing users to gain in-depth insights into competitors' strategies.
With the ability to analyze entire websites or specific pages, Shopify merchants can leverage SEMrush to uncover valuable data on competitor products, traffic sources, pricing strategies, and marketing campaigns. This information helps merchants refine their methods, improve product offerings, and optimize business processes, giving them a competitive edge in the fast-paced e-commerce market.
13. Spyfu: Competitor Analysis Focused on SEO and PPC
SpyFu is a powerful competitor analysis tool focused on SEO and PPC research. It helps businesses uncover valuable insights by tracking competitors' keywords, ad strategies, backlinks, and organic rankings over time. With its comprehensive features, merchants can use SpyFu as a Shopify store spy to monitor rival stores’ traffic, product trends, and marketing tactics.
This data enables merchants to refine their strategies, whether optimizing ads, identifying new keyword opportunities, or fine-tuning SEO practices for better visibility. SpyFu's intuitive reports and historical data make it an essential tool for merchants seeking to stay ahead of the competition and adapt quickly to market changes
14. Sprout Social: Analyze Competitors' Social Media Strategies
Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help businesses streamline their social media efforts. It offers powerful tools for social listening, analytics, publishing, and customer engagement, enabling brands to monitor conversations, analyze competitor activities, and optimize social strategies efficiently. For merchants, Sprout Social is one of Shopify's more effective spy tools, helping them gain insights into competitors' strategies, marketing campaigns, and customer engagement.
By using Sprout Social, merchants can spy on Shopify stores indirectly by monitoring competitors’ social media presence, tracking trends, and identifying what content or products resonate with the audience. With actionable data and advanced reporting features, Shopify merchants can refine their business processes, enhance product offerings, and stay ahead of market trends, making it a valuable asset in their competitive toolkit.
15. Meta Ads Library: Research Competitors' Facebook Ads
The Meta Ads Library is a public database that provides comprehensive visibility into the advertisements running across Meta's platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. It allows users to search for active ads by advertiser name, location, or keywords, offering transparency into what campaigns are currently live, what creative elements are being used, and how long specific ads have been running. This library empowers marketers to monitor trends, identify competitor strategies, and draw inspiration from successful campaigns.
For Shopify merchants, the Meta Ads Library serves as a highly effective shopify store spy tool. By browsing competitor ads, merchants can discover which products competitors promote, the messaging strategies employed, and the formats (video, carousel, etc.) that resonate most with their shared audience. This insight helps Shopify merchants refine their ad campaigns, develop creatives that align with market trends, and gain a clearer perspective on what type of content engages potential customers.
16. BigSpy: A Comprehensive Ad Spy Tool
Topping off our list of Shopify spy tools is BigSpy. BigSpy is a powerful ad intelligence platform designed to help businesses analyze competitors’ ads across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more. Its primary focus is tracking ad performance and uncovering creative strategies by providing access to a massive database of over 500,000 new ads daily. BigSpy enables users to filter data by platform, region, product category, and engagement metrics, offering deep insights into trends and successful marketing tactics.
For Shopify merchants, BigSpy offers significant benefits. By using its advanced search features, merchants can identify the most effective ad strategies, analyze competitors' product launches, and adjust their own pricing and promotional campaigns. As one of Shopify's most comprehensive spy tools, it simplifies tracking competitors and refining ad efforts to enhance product visibility and sales growth.
17. Sell The Trend: More Than Just a Product Research Tool
Sell The Trend is known for identifying winning products. However, the company also offers a tool called Store Intelligence, which you can use to analyze your competitors. Using a Shopify store's URL, Store Intelligence can reveal detailed information about the store's traffic, products, pricing, orders, revenue, etc. Key features Store Intelligence is loaded with excellent features. Here is what you can expect to discover about your competition:
Monthly Traffic
The total number of visitors per month to a site. Average product price. Calculates the average price of a product in a store.
Monthly Orders
Amount of orders a store receives on average per month. Monthly revenue. This is Sell The Trend's online store revenue checker.
Social Links
Links to the website's social pages.
Tech Spend
This shows you an estimate of how much money a store spends on apps and other fixed-cost subscriptions every month. This includes Shopify subscription fees, Shopify Apps, email marketing software, etc.
Tracking Used
This feature shows you the primary tools they use to track their user's activities on their website for ad targeting. Best sellers. Shows you the best-selling products in a store.
18. Thieve: Find Products That Other Shopify Stores Are Selling
Thieve can help identify products that other Shopify stores are selling. Also, after finding a product, you can use its supplier tool to find reliable suppliers on AliExpress. It has a paid tool, Thieve Supply, which helps you find products for dropshipping on AliExpress.
Thieve Supply provides a library of products that other Shopify stores sell. Their website also has free tools to help you find AliExpress suppliers and generate product descriptions! Key features Here are the features to expect from Thieve:
Product Research
It has a curated list of well-performing products you can browse for free to derive inspiration. Suppliers. Using its browser extension, Thieve helps you find product suppliers on AliExpress.
19. More Shopify Spy Extensions To Consider
There are more Shopify spy extensions and tools to find on the internet. But we’ll save you the research. Here’s an additional list of spy tools that you should consider using.
20. AdSpy: Explore Competitors' Ads Across Multiple Platforms
AdSpy allows users to explore a vast database of ads from multiple platforms, making it a valuable tool for discovering competitor ad strategies and high-performing ad creatives. This helps Shopify merchants gain insights into successful ad campaigns and trending products within their niche.
21. PricingBot: Monitor Competitors' Pricing
PricingBot offers Shopify store owners a way to track and adjust product prices by monitoring competitor pricing in real time. It aids in pricing strategies, ensuring merchants stay competitive and boost conversions.
22. ProfitWell Metrics by Paddle: For Subscription-Based Shopify Stores
ProfitWell provides in-depth revenue and subscription analytics, helping Shopify merchants track key performance metrics and optimize for growth. It enables store owners to identify trends in customer acquisition, retention, and churn, improving revenue strategies.
23. Ubersuggest by Neil Patel: Another SEO Tool for Shopify Merchants
Ubersuggest is a powerful SEO and keyword research tool that lets Shopify merchants analyze competitors’ website traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. With these insights, merchants can create optimized content and target keywords to increase organic reach.
24. PowerAdSpy: Analyze Competitor Ads on Facebook and Google
PowerAdSpy offers extensive insights into competitor ad campaigns across social media platforms, allowing Shopify merchants to analyze ad creatives, targeting, and engagement. It’s beneficial for understanding which ads perform best, supporting strategic ad planning.
25. Fera.ai: Analyze How Competitors Use Product Reviews
Fera.ai provides social proof and product review tools, enabling Shopify store owners to observe how competitors use reviews, ratings, and user-generated content to build trust. Merchants can leverage similar techniques to enhance credibility and boost conversions.
26. PPSpy: For Pricing Research on Shopify Stores
PPSpy specializes in helping Shopify store owners analyze competitor pricing data and product listings, providing a transparent look into competitors' best-selling products and pricing strategies. This tool aids merchants in optimizing their product offerings and pricing to align with market trends.
Market trends change quickly, and dropshippers must keep up to remain competitive. Competitive analysis uncovers insights about your competitors that can help you spot these trends to identify winning products and optimize your store. You can understand how your competitors adapt to market changes by examining their sales figures, product offerings, and marketing strategies. This information provides a roadmap for your business, showing you what to sell, how to sell it, and what to watch out for to avoid potential pitfalls.
Find Valuable Competitive Insights
Staying ahead of the competition is essential for building a successful dropshipping business. Competitive analysis allows you to “spy” on your rivals to identify their strengths and weaknesses to help you improve your operations. Understanding how your competitors attract customers, what products are their best sellers, and how they market their business can help you make informed decisions about your store. You can use what you learn to avoid their mistakes or find ways to differentiate your business from theirs.
Keep Your Business Innovative
Innovation helps businesses stay ahead of the competition. Monitoring competitor performance, especially for Shopify dropshipping stores, reveals the latest trends and what’s resonating with target audiences. With this knowledge, you can introduce fresh products and marketing techniques to captivate your audience and keep your business moving forward.
Optimize Your Marketing Strategy
Marketing is crucial to the success of your online store, and analyzing your competitors’ advertising efforts helps you improve your own. Studying your rivals can uncover valuable insights into their successes and failures. This gives you a unique opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t so you can optimize your marketing strategy for better results.
What Exactly Is a Shopify Spy Tool?
A Shopify Spy Tool serves as your digital detective, enabling you to uncover information about your competitors. These tools leave no stone unturned, from sales figures and revenue streams to product listings, best-sellers, website themes, utilized apps, and the intricacies of ad campaigns. The insights gained are a goldmine, empowering you to make informed decisions and strategically position your store for success.
Why Would You Spy on Other Shopify Stores?
Spying may raise ethical questions, yet competitor research is a well-established business practice that guides entrepreneurs toward growth and success. Let's delve into the compelling reasons why peering into the strategies of other Shopify stores can be a strategic advantage for your business.
What Makes a Good Shopify Spy Tool?
Amidst the plethora of options in the realm of Shopify Spy Tools, navigating the selection process can be a daunting task. To guide you towards an informed decision, carefully weigh the following factors:
Features
When evaluating Shopify Spy Tools, demand more than basic competitor analysis. Seek tools that delve deep into your competitors' marketing strategies, encompassing their advertising campaigns, social media footprint, and search engine optimization (SEO) endeavors. Additionally, look for tools that enable you to search for products based on specific criteria like niche, price range, popularity, and customer reviews. A comprehensive range of features, including competitor analysis, product research, and trend tracking, ensures a tool's versatility and effectiveness.
User Interface
The ease of use is paramount when it comes to Shopify Spy Tools. An intuitive and navigable interface streamlines access to vital information, saving time and effort. Prioritize tools with well-designed interfaces that emphasize data visualization. Clear and organized presentations, including charts and graphs, facilitate quick identification of patterns, trends, and opportunities within the data.
Accuracy and Reliability
In the world of competitive intelligence, accuracy is non-negotiable. Choose a Shopify Spy Tool that delivers up-to-date and reliable information about your competitors' activities, product performance, and market trends. Scrutinize the tool's data sources and algorithms, ensuring they are robust and continually updated. Outdated or inaccurate data can lead to misguided decisions, making accuracy a cornerstone of successful competitor research.
Customer Support
The role of customer support should be considered. Opt for a tool backed by a responsive and knowledgeable support team, available through various channels such as email, live chat, or phone support. A supportive team can assist in troubleshooting technical issues, answer your queries, and guide you on maximizing the tool's features. Exceptional customer support enhances your overall experience, ensuring that you can fully leverage the potential of your chosen Shopify Spy Tool.
Sign up for a free trial (no credit card required) on our Shopify sales tracker to find your next e-commerce opportunity today!
Dropshipping is all about finding winning products quickly. The faster you find and validate a product, the sooner you can start making money. ShopHunter’s Shopify sales tracker helps you do just that. The tool estimates sales for entire stores and specific products so you can quickly validate product potential. The platform goes beyond basic sales tracking, featuring an ad spy tool that monitors advertising activity across stores.
This combination lets users spot trending products and successful marketing strategies early on. Whether you’re a dropshipper, a Shopify store owner, or someone looking to enter the e-commerce space, ShopHunter aims to streamline product research and reduce the risk of investing in low-performing items. Sign up for a free trial (no credit card required) to our Shopify sales tracker tool to find your next eCom opportunity or to level up your current eCommerce store by learning from your competitors.