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6+ Best Sunglasses Shopify Store Examples & How To Build One

Written and researched by experts at AvadaLearn more about our methodology

By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

Drive 20-40% of your revenue with Avada
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The future of online shopping is already here, so everyone should put on shades to look at the brightest days of eCommerce. Joking aside, sunglasses are actually a fantastic product to start selling since they are a timeless accessory and can go well with so many outfit styles. The beach? Sunglasses. Concert? Sunglasses. Trying to impress on the first date? Sunglasses.

At any opportunity, you can look 10x times cooler by putting on a pair of sunglasses with a rich personality. But there are still only a few sunglasses Shopify stores out there that consumers are begging for more. If you have come to this article, you must have a plan to change that situation.

Let’s see the best sunglasses Shopify store examples that are unique, badass, and full of characteristics. They can suit a wide range of fashion, from luxury to urban and even for kids. Check them out and see how you can build a sunglasses Shopify store of your own as well!

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Best sunglasses Shopify store examples

Shopify is a well-known eCommerce platform with all the necessary features for users to build a beautiful and functional online store. There are over a million users already, so you are missing out on a super-easy way to start selling online. The following sunglasses Shopify store examples look gorgeous to visit and provide a fantastic shopping experience for fashionistas looking for a pair of unique sunglasses.

Toyshades

Toyshades
Toyshades

This trendy sunglasses Shopify store doesn’t shy away from adding a little bit of color to their products. Toyshades’ website is very user friendly and easy to navigate through. Customers can pick their favorite products from various product collections, including winter shades, autumn shades, everyday eyewear, and more.

The company was founded in 2013 and relaunched in 2018 with an innovative and dynamic approach to sunglasses design. They were also featured in interviews with Shopify as a successful online store of the platform. Toyshades sold through Instagram and social media, using influencers to earn more loyal customers. They sell both online and offline, as well as being a wholesale business.

One thing that surprised me was that Toyshades doesn’t have many products. They have only about a handful of designs, yet still could make a success on the market. That is impressive, and it shows how a store with brilliant products can gain customers just by being unique.

Retro City Sunglasses

Retro City Sunglasses
Retro City Sunglasses

Retro City Sunglasses is a long-time sunglasses Shopify store, starting in early 2011. They offer a wide range of sunglasses, which contain about 19 different styles for a fancy outlook that can make a statement. The glasses are bold, and so should their users be.

The company had a few rough years in the beginning with unstable sales numbers, but since they adopted the influencer marketing strategy, the revenue skyrocketed. Most of the fashion gurus that review Retro City Sunglasses’ items are makeup and fashion influencers on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, etc.

In addition, Retro City Sunglasses is very proud of the customer service, taking responsibility for any late shipping, late replies, or broken products. This may be the reason why the store can stay profitable in the industry for so long. They also constantly refresh the design of the shade so consumers can have more options.

The website of Retro City Sunglasses is using the theme Testament by Shopify if you want to try out their look.

Sunday Somewhere

Sunday Somewhere
Sunday Somewhere

developed in late 2010 by Dave Allison, Sunday Somewhere quickly gained worldwide recognition for their premium eyewear products with originality, quality, and simplicity. All the products have a polished look that can match any types of fashion. The message that the brand wants to convey is fantastic too: These sunglasses are for travelers who want to wake up and see a brand new Sunday, anywhere they like.

Product color previews
Product color previews

What is impressive about Sunday Somewhere also lies in how they design the shopping experience. The store has one of the most detailed filters for a sunglasses online store, having options for shape, size, color, and materials. Buyers can also see the different shades of a pair of sunglasses right on the browsing page, creating a seamless product browsing feeling.

If you aim to create a premium quality sunglasses Shopify store, this is definitely the brand to learn a lot from.

Proof Eyewear

Proof Eyewear
Proof Eyewear

Claiming to be the pioneer in sustainable eyewear, Proof Eyewear produces handmade sunglasses out of eco-friendly materials such as skateboard decks, wood, and cotton-based acetate. The company’s founders were three brothers growing up in the wood industry and saw an opportunity to provide consumer wood products that are friendly to the environment.

Besides sunglasses, Proof Eyewear also sells opticals and accessories like cups, water bottles, beanie, wood wallet, t-shirt, wooden phone cases, pocket knives, and more. Proof Eyewear’s products have many styles and shoppers can view the available color variants right on the product browsing page.

For the good cause, $10 of each frame purchased would go directly to a charity program. Proof Eyewear has impacted 8 countries, helping planting trees, donating glasses, cataract surgeries, mentoring students, and more. It is always nice to see an eCommerce business taking part in helping the world.

Panda Sunglasses

Panda Sunglasses
Panda Sunglasses

Panda Sunglasses is on the way to change the social and environmental impact of eyewear. They produce high-end shades handcrafted from bamboo - a well-known sustainable material. What is more is that each purchase gives something back to the people in need as well, helping thousands of people around the world.

By partnering with Optometry Giving Sight, Panda Sunglasses can create an unique store to grow organically alongside the non-profit organization. Starting from Kickstarter, now the company runs completely on Shopify and can gain a strong following thanks to the word of mouth about the brand’s good cause.

So far, Panda Sunglasses has helped giving loans, sight, schools, trees to many parts around the globe. Also, the warranty policy is good for buyers too with a 60 day no-questions-asked return or exchange. This helps more consumers try and believe the quality of Panda Sunglasses. The company also offers watches and other seasonal products to increase revenue.

SH Wood Shop

SH Wood Shop
SH Wood Shop

Founded in 2009, SH Wood Shop’s first product was born from the limb of a Madrone tree, a pair of cabinet hinges, and lenses from a nearby store. From then, the company aims to create sunglasses with the individuality and uniqueness that can only be discovered in natural surroundings.

The company loves to experiment with their production process and want to make products that last using materials from wood to oxidized metals. With that, they still stay true to their core values of making the world’s finest natural eyewear. They have released several collections and collaborations for both men and women consumers.

The shopping experience is enjoyable with SH Wood Shop since buyers can see beautiful pictures and videos of their products, as well as color variables right from the browsing page. Customers can also see reviews from other buyers, creating a sense of trust in the company’s sunglasses. No wonder why SH Wood Shop was featured in popular magazines like Forbes, Elle, GQ, Wire, and more.

How to build a sunglasses Shopify store

How to build a sunglasses Shopify store
How to build a sunglasses Shopify store

To sell sunglasses online, you need more than simply stocking products to sell. You will need to find a supplier or can self produce quality eyewear. You need to see what is trending on the market. And most importantly, you need to market your business effectively and help people discover to buy shades from you.

In this section, let’s see how you can build your successful sunglasses store using Shopify:

Research to create unique sunglasses

If you are not so creative as an eyewear designer, you can still buy sunglasses in bulk and decorate them with your own twist before putting them on your Shopify store. There are many buyers who are more interested in homemade or refashioned items. The important thing to remember is that your sunglasses need uniqueness to stand out on the market.

You can add glitter, rhinestones, or other details to the frames and handles. Then, why not hand-painting rims, or adding a fun pattern. Ideally, you may be able to create a niche in the sunglasses market by selling one-of-a-kind shades. Try researching first to see how your competitors offer sunglasses with their own personalities, and then try to outshine them.

Some questions to help you define the unique selling points of your sunglasses are:

  • Who is your target market (age, gender, style, etc.)?
  • Which style can you call your sunglasses?
  • How much can you charge buyers for your sunglasses? (Price is a unique selling point too)
  • How can your products make the world better?
  • Why should consumers buy your sunglasses?

Setting up your sunglasses Shopify store

Shopify sunglasses theme
Shopify sunglasses theme

The process of creating a sunglasses Shopify store is pretty straightforward since Shopify made it easy for anyone to set up a professional online store. But, first, you have to sign up for a Shopify account. There is a 3-day free trial for you to try all the features, and three pricing plans will guarantee you have what you need when your business scales. My recommendation is to go with the lowest plan - $29 per month.

After that, you have a dashboard to create the frontend of your website and manage all the backends in one place. To start designing your storefront, you can pick a premade theme from the Shopify Theme Store. There are 73 templates that are fully customizable to bring out the uniqueness of your business.

For example, the theme above is District - Coast, and you can buy it for your store at only $180. It has a responsive layout that is packed with cool features like collection gallery, Instagram integration, popup message, promotional banner, stock photos, social media icons, SEO optimization for Shopify, and more.

Next, you will start adding products into your sunglasses Shopify store. You can add the product name, image, description, pricing, status, type, and more. Following some SEO practices while creating your product pages can help you gain more organic customers searching for your product type on the search engines. Also, remember to take the highest quality pictures possible of your sunglasses.

Lastly, you will need to take a look at the settings for your own preference. To have your store function smoothly and provide a good shopping experience, you will need to set up contact information, shipping, checkout methods, reviews, and a domain name. For the domain, pick one that suits your brand and target customers. And, yes, you don’t need the word ‘sunglasses’ in your store’s name.

Boom, your sunglasses Shopify store is ready to launch!

After deciding on what to sell and creating your sunglasses Shopify store, you need to find buyers. Understanding how you market your eyewear is just as important as how you create it. Here are the essentials to advertise your sunglasses business:

  • Social media pages: Social media is a great way to introduce your products and connect with consumers. You can also interact with other businesses in the industry to create collaboration projects. Some social media services to try are Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and more.
  • Social media advertising: Besides gaining followers, social media advertising platforms also let you reach millions of potential customers. You can decide on how much you spend and which group of buyers to target. The built-in analytics will help you track ad activity and test different versions of your ads.
  • PPC (Pay Per Click) Advertising: Google search depends on keywords, so make sure you have a good list of keywords before you start using PPC advertising. If done right, you can easily see potential buyers visiting your product pages every day. Then, it is your chance to convert them.
  • Email marketing: There is no more cost-efficient marketing tool than email marketing, letting you build a long-term relationship with customers while offering them personalized messages. You can have emails for promotion, customer service, blog posts, and more. If you want to try setting up automated email campaigns with beautiful templates, try AVADA Email!

Build a blog for organic traffic

Speaking of blog posts, you want to show people reasons to buy from you rather than other businesses. And in today’s digital world, content is king. Start building value in your brand by creating sunglasses-related blog articles that position you as a leader in the sunglasses industry.

Your blog content can be about current design trends, advice on choosing sunglasses based on face shape, pictures of satisfied customers posing with products they bought from you, or any news in the sunglasses industry. These blog articles will be helpful to generate more web traffic by sharing through social media or including them in your email marketing newsletters.

When you have a system for your blog posts, they will turn into your organic traffic machine and cost you only a little.

Keep improving your customer service

Lastly, with all the traffic, you need good customer service to keep customers coming back to your store. A satisfied customer will keep your brand in mind, not just as for products but also the enjoyment of shopping with your business. To keep improving your customer service, take time to create a culture among employees and ask for feedback once in a while.

A good tool to ask for customer feedback is through email marketing, and you already know the tool to use. A good strategy is to send a feedback survey about a month after the purchase. You can set up this type of automated emails based on your buyer’s activities.

Last advice

Selling online has never been more comfortable with Shopify being the ultimate eCommerce platform, so why not selling sunglasses - a must-have item for any fashionista out there. By taking inspiration from the best sunglasses Shopify store examples in this article, you can create your unique line of shades and attract many customers.

Ready to put on some shades and enjoy the outdoors? I know we all miss it. Good luck on starting your sunglasses Shopify store, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

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Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.