We’ve noticed that many reviews currently visible on our App Store page were submitted by stores that are now closed.
According to the updated rules, these reviews should be archived, but in practice they still remain active. We’ve already reported several of these cases to the App Store Team, but unfortunately there hasn’t been any change so far.
The main point is not the removal of individual reviews, but rather the logic of how reviews are currently handled and displayed.
At the moment, reviews from closed or inactive stores remain visible and continue to affect the app’s rating, even though those stores are no longer active.
What we would like to see is the review system logic reconsidered so that reviews from closed stores are automatically archived, as they used to be before.
Has anyone else experienced the same issue? If so, do you have any suggestions or insights on how this could be addressed?
This is particularly concerning for apps that help new merchants launch their stores.
Many beginner stores close within the first months for reasons that often have nothing to do with the apps they use. Even when an app actually helps these merchants achieve good results, those positive outcomes often never translate into visible reviews if the store eventually closes.
At the same time, negative reviews almost always remain visible, and they stay there permanently. Over time this continuously drags down the rating of apps that may have previously had excellent feedback from active merchants.
This also creates a problematic situation for new users joining Shopify. They often discover apps that are specifically designed to help them start their business. However, due to this review behavior, those very apps may appear poorly rated — not because they are ineffective, but because many early-stage merchants close their stores and their positive feedback disappears while negative reviews remain.
In my opinion, this can create a negative first experience for people who are just starting their businesses on Shopify, which is not ideal for the ecosystem as a whole.
It would be very helpful if the relevant Shopify teams could review this issue and consider possible solutions, so that the review system reflects merchant experiences in a more balanced and fair way.