When you’re building a Shopify store for a small inventory, a big mistake is looking for themes that are designed for large ecommerce stores. Every niche has its own needs, and we’ll talk about that in depth in the next section, so stay tuned.
To help you find the best Shopify theme for a small catalog store, we’ve compiled a list of 10 Shopify themes with detailed reviews. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
What does a Shopify theme for small inventory need?
When it comes to finding the right Shopify theme for your store, there are several things to consider. According to our evaluation, this is what you should pay attention to when looking for a Shopify theme for a small online store:
- Space for storytelling. The smaller the inventory, the more you should pay attention to your brand storytelling. That means you should look for a Shopify theme that has sections meant for large images or bigger blocks of text.
- High resolution images. Piggybacking off of the previous point, Shopify themes that serve smaller stores should be able to handle high resolution and full-width images. People buy with their eyes – the better you can display your products, the more chances you have at a better conversion rate.
- Responsiveness. This kind of goes without saying but your online store, no matter what size, should be optimized for different screens, i.e., mobile, laptop, desktop, tablet. Generally, most modern Shopify themes do a good job at responsive design but make sure to check the demo stores in order to see whether it works for you.
- Features. What we mean by that is that you shouldn’t overcrowd your store with unnecessary features. For example, as a small store owner, you don’t need mega menus or tons of collection pages. Keep it light and simple with easy navigation.
- Customization options. Look for themes that allow you to personalize your store and make it unique. Since your inventory is going to be smaller than big ecommerce stores, you should spend time building your brand – and design is a big part of that.
Top 10 Shopify themes for small inventory
- Responsive – best Shopify theme for small inventory stores
- Origin – best free Shopify theme for small inventories
- Shapes – unique and striking Shopify theme for small online stores
- Foodie – Shopify theme for small businesses in the food industry
- Parallax – Shopify theme for small stores with a popular parallax effect
- Retina – Shopify theme for small inventories with a professional look
- Craft – free and minimal Shopify theme for smaller stores
- Venue – visually-striking Shopify theme for small online stores
- Flow – Shopify theme focused on showcasing your products
- Beyond – Shopify theme for small ethical brands
When we looked for the best Shopify themes for small inventory stores, we looked at designs and layouts that are fit for product and brand storytelling. Every theme on the list is also fully responsive, and provides all the features needed for running a business.
Choosing the best Shopify theme for a small online store is the first step. Make sure to optimize your website for a successful SEO campaign with TinyIMG!
Try TinyIMG!Now that we know which Shopify themes we are going to cover, let’s get into a detailed review of each.
1. Responsive – flexible Shopify theme for small inventory stores
- Theme styles: New York, San Francisco, London, Paris
- Price: $240 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Responsive
Responsive is a great theme for small catalogs since it focuses heavily on products and the brand itself. Wide layout allows you to showcase the products with full-length, beautiful images. You get features like image zoom, hero videos, promo banners and more.
Why Responsive theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Highly customizable design
- Huge focus on visual storytelling
- Looks sharp across all devices
- Variety of conversion-boosting features
2. Origin – free Shopify theme for small catalog stores
- Theme styles: 1 preset
- Price: Free
- Try theme: Try Origin
Origin Shopify theme offers a timeless design, focused heavily on small catalogs and one-product stores. Layout sections are designed for storytelling, for example, talking about product features, telling the story of the product, and so on. The theme is minimal, image-heavy, and focused on editorial content.
Why Origin theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Neutral color palette creates a hand-crafted feel
- Completely free to use, allowing you to save money
- Advanced customization options to achieve unique brand look
- Rich in features for a free theme
3. Shapes – Shopify theme with a stylish retro design
- Theme styles: Neon, Pastel, Muted
- Price: $320 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Shapes
Shapes Shopify theme stands out with its fun and stylish design. You can add stickers, patterns, and dividers to different sections, which not only serves as a cool design perk but also allows you to establish your unique brand. This theme is perfect for showcasing your product in a fun new way.
Why Shapes theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Unique spin on classic Shopify themes
- Heavily focused on visual storytelling
- Variety of marketing features
4. Foodie – Shopify theme for small businesses in a food industry
- Theme styles: Grind, Slice, Grow
- Price: $250 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Foodie
Foodie Shopify theme is created specifically for stores with small inventories. It’s versatile and conversion-focused, with a variety of marketing and product discovery features. As a theme focused on coffeeshops, restaurants, and everything else food-related, it includes a section designed to look like a restaurant menu. It’s a nice perk for those who are running a small business in the food industry.
Why Foodie theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Specifically designed for small inventories
- Unique sections like restaurant menus
- Focused on visual storytelling
- Variety of conversion-boosting features
5. Parallax – Shopify theme with a stylish parallax scrolling effect
- Theme styles: Aspen, Madrid, Vienna, Los Angeles
- Price: $240 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Parallax
Parallax Shopify theme gives your website a smooth parallax scrolling effect, making the design stand out. Navigation is kept simple and minimal, while the main focus becomes your brand story. With full-width images, videos, featured promotions, and slideshows, you can play around and create the layout that represents your products.
Why Parallax theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Conversion-focused checkout
- Striking parallax scrolling effect
- Variety of layout options
- Simple and neat navigation
6. Retina – Shopify theme for small catalogs with a professional look
- Theme styles: Austin, Montreal, Melbourne, Amsterdam
- Price: $220 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Retina
Retina Shopify theme is perfect for small online stores that want a polished, professional look. The theme offers an easy, user-friendly editing experience, allowing you to personalize your website without any coding or designing experience. There are also tons of features that help elevate the brand and increase conversions.
Why Retina theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Beautiful testimonial sections to build brand trust
- Variety of promotional and marketing features
- Easy customization and setup
- Dedicated sections for long-form content
7. Craft – free and minimal Shopify theme for small inventory stores
- Theme styles: 1 preset
- Price: Free
- Try theme: Try Craft
Craft Shopify theme offers a minimal design that’s focused on visual storytelling and long-form editorial content. There are templates and layouts designed specifically for including rich and compelling narratives. The theme also has advanced customization options, allowing you to personalize the design to fit your brand.
Why Craft theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Minimal, refined design
- Variety of marketing features
- Sections dedicated to storytelling
- Advanced customization options
8. Venue – flexible Shopify theme for small online stores
- Theme styles: Morning, Evening, Weekend, Twilight
- Price: $320 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Venue
Venue Shopify theme by Safe As Milk gives you a professional look and clean design. It’s easily customizable and flexible across different devices. You can add animations, product videos, color swatches, image galleries, and more. The theme is heavily focused on visual storytelling, and offers tons of great sales-forward features that will help you jumpstart your business.
Why Venue theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Heavily focused on visual storytelling
- Easy and clean navigation
- Variety of conversion-boosting features
9. Flow – visually-heavy Shopify theme for small inventory stores
- Theme styles: Byron, Queenstown, Cannes
- Price: $350 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Flow
Flow Shopify theme focuses on visual pages which is important for small inventory stores. You can add full-width images, customer testimonials, contact forms, events calendar, and more. This theme offers a minimal, sharp design where your products take the front stage. There are also tons of marketing features like back-in-stock alerts, countdown timer, cross-selling, and a lot more.
Why Flow theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Focused on showcasing your products
- Visually-heavy layouts and sections
- Minimal and clean design
- Variety of conversion-focused features
10. Beyond – Shopify theme for small ethical brands
- Theme styles: Essentials, Organic, Eco
- Price: $320 (free trial until you publish)
- Try theme: Try Beyond
Beyond Shopify theme focuses on story-driven design for sustainable, ethical brands. All three presets come in a soft, natural color palette, and includes a variety of sections and layouts dedicated to high-quality images and editorial content. There’s plenty of space for you to talk about your products and brand story.
Why Beyond theme is great for Shopify small inventory stores:
- Unique sections dedicated to brand storytelling
- Variety of marketing and conversion-focused features
- Focused on visuals
Final words
Opening an online store with a small inventory means you have to pay more attention to brand storytelling. All the Shopify themes on our list are great for showcasing your product and creating a unique narrative for your business.
When it comes to the best of the best, we recommend checking out Responsive for a feature-rich and beautifully designed store. If you want to save some money, Origin is perfect as a free alternative. As an honorable mention, we also want to highlight Shapes – it’s one of the more unique themes on the list that includes unique design elements.
Curious to read more? Check out these articles:
- Clients look for your products in visual search? Make sure to optimize those product images in Shopify
- Use a reliable SEO app to simplify and automate Shopify SEO tasks
- New to Shopify? See our tips on how to generate your first Shopify sales
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Shopify is perfect for small inventory stores as you can find hundreds of Shopify themes with distinct features and design elements.
Some of the best Shopify themes for small inventory are Responsive, Origin, Shapes, and Foodie. They all have sections dedicated for brand storytelling, and don’t overwhelm you with complicated navigation.
The best free Shopify theme for a small inventory is Origin. Minimal, visually-forward design, and a variety of features make it a great Shopify theme for stores with smaller catalogs.
