Shopify has launched its latest platform updates, branded ‘The Boring Edition’, aimed at improving functionality and efficiency for e-commerce merchants. Despite its name, the release delivers more than 150 updates designed to increase productivity, automate tasks, and simplify operations across all aspects of a merchant’s business.
Faster Checkout with New Personalization Options
Shopify Checkout has undergone significant improvements to improve speed and flexibility. Load times are improved by up to 50%, as are new features Check blocks allow merchants to customize their thank you pages.
Additional updates include:
- Order Improvements project: Merchants can now apply custom checkout rules and payment options powered by Shopify Features to order drafts.
- B2B Package Options: Product ranges can now be customized for bulk purchases, creating a seamless shopping experience for wholesale customers.
Single Customer Accounts for Improved Experiences
Shopify is new Customer Account Extensions Provide a seamless experience for shoppers by combining ease of access with personalized features.
Key improvements include:
- Seamless order and return management with passwordless login options.
- Contact integration Through survey programs like Zigpoll, it stores insights directly into customer profiles.
- B2B Functionality: Merchants can now create custom wholesale experiences, including self-service offers, invoicing and bulk ordering.
Advanced Tools for Personal Selling
As offline sales continue to grow—Shopify POS sales grew 31% year-over-year during Black Friday—the platform has expanded its point-of-sale capabilities.
Notable updates include:
- Package Management: Merchants can sell and manage product bundles directly through Shopify POS.
- Metafields in POS: Employees can access personalized customer information such as pet preferences at the pet store to refine future marketing.
Mark Nieves, co-founder of Independent Merchandise, highlighted the benefits: “I could track both online and physical retail on one screen. And we could still have one source for information, inventory, everything.”
Automation with Shopify Flow
Shopify Flow now offers expanded automation capabilities, reducing the manual workload for merchants.
Updates include:
- Returns and Exchanges: Triggers to manage returns and cancellations when items are not shipped back.
- Marketing automation: Templates for campaigns such as abandoned cart emails are now accessible through the Flow library.
- Segment Triggers: Automate workflows based on customer activity, such as joining or leaving a segment.
Andrew Sherrard, e-commerce manager at PowerBlock, praised the improvements: “The new template library will help people see what’s possible… integrate more apps within Shopify faster.”
Marketing Simplified with Store Campaigns
Shopify’s Store Promotions Shop offers a simplified approach to customer acquisition by automating ad placement across Meta and Google platforms. Merchants only pay when a customer converts.
Connor Dault, Caraway’s vice president of growth, described the program as “very easy to get started,” emphasizing the program’s efficiency and lack of technical setup requirements.
Uniform Implementation and Delivery Settings
Shopify has extended its fulfillment logic to apply to all order types, including third-party channels, subscriptions, and order edits. This update simplifies the order routing process, saves traders time and minimizes errors.
AI Powered Assistance with Sidekick
Shopify’s AI merchant assistant, Sidekickcontinues its global reach, providing merchants with the support they need to grow and manage their businesses.
Consolidated Financial Instruments
with Shopify Financemerchants now have access to a centralized hub to manage their financial tools including Shopify Balance, Shopify Credit, Shopify Bill Pay and Shopify Tax.
Image: Shopify