‘24 Summer Editions introduces a range of powerful new features and platform updates designed to enhance online stores, streamline operations, and boost sales. This latest edition covered over 150+ new updates!
This year, Shopify is doubling down on integrating key workflows and infrastructure across the platform. The goal? To make it faster, more resilient, and more tightly integrated than ever.
The key enhancements include:
- Markets
- Split Shipping
- Shopify Magic
- Rebuilt Analytics
- Theme Style settings
- Hydrogen Visual Editor
- Managed Markets
- Ship to & from store
- Easy Retail Checkout
1. Markets: The Central Command Center 🌎
Markets is a game-changer, unifying cross-border sales, B2B operations, and point-of-sale transactions in one place.
Key Features
- Unified Business Management: View all your markets and their configurations in one place
- Customised Buyer Experiences: Tailor your product catalog, pricing, and store themes for different regions/markets
- Enhanced In-Person Selling: Manage pricing and product availability for retail stores seamlessly
- B2B Expansion: Customise store themes for different B2B markets
2. Unified Analytics: Smarter, Faster, Real-Time 📈
Shopify has rebuilt its analytics, to provide real-time data and intuitive reports, helping you make timely business decisions.
Key Features
- Customisable Dashboard: Drag, drop, resize, add, or remove metric cards
- Detailed Reports: Edit pre-built reports to combine metrics and dimensions
- Custom Reports: Build reports from scratch with full control over data presentation
- Real-Time Data: Eliminate the 24-hour wait for up-to-date insights
3. Split Shipping: Enhancing Checkout Clarity 🚚
Split Shipping provides buyers with greater clarity and control over shipping choices, improving their shopping experience.
Key Features
- Shipping Transparency: Inform customers upfront if orders will arrive in multiple shipments.
- Flexible Shipping Options: Allow customers to choose between different shipping speeds for each shipment.
- Shop Promise Integration: Display a badge for items eligible for Shop Promise, boosting customer confidence.
- Control for Subscriptions: Customise shipping speeds for subscription orders
4. Shopify Magic: Harnessing AI 🤖
Shopify Magic leverages AI to simplify running your business, with features like Sidekick, an AI-driven assistant, and advanced image generation tools.
Key Features
- Sidekick: Provides tailored business guidance and automates tasks
- AI Image Generation: Modify media seamlessly across the platform, including the mobile app
- Enhanced Customer Engagement: AI-suggested responses for customer inquiries in Shopify Inbox
- Plain language segmentation: The ShopifyQL code is translated into text you can easily understand
- Suggested categories and attributes: This will accelerate your product classification
5. Shopify Style Settings: Unleashing Creative Freedom 🎨
Style Settings gives merchants the flexibility to customise storefront layouts to match their brand’s evolving look.
Key Features
- Customisable Layouts: Adjust settings like direction, alignment, and gaps between image blocks
- Device-Specific Adaptability: Customise the site’s appearance for mobile without separate settings
- Enhanced Functional Layouts: Create complex layouts with static blocks and conditional logic
6. Hydrogen Visual Editor: Revolutionising Headless Commerce 🧑🏽💻
Hydrogen Visual Editor, powered by Utopia, makes building headless storefronts faster and more collaborative.
Key Features
- Visual Collaboration: Enable your entire team to work together in a visual environment
- Real-Time Changes: Sync changes to GitHub with small, straightforward diffs
- Integrated Data Management: Easily bring data into your pages from various sources
- Developer-Friendly: Maintain familiar workflows with tools like VS Code and GitHub
7. Managed Markets: Simplifying Global Expansion 🪐
Managed Markets handles the complexities of international selling, including tax filing, duties, and more.
Key Features
- Streamlined Catalog Restrictions: Automatically restrict products denied at customs
- Inclusive Pricing: Include duties and import taxes directly in product prices
- Expanded Shipping Options: Offer more shipping choices at checkout
- Auto-Editing: Edit and update international orders post-purchase with automatic updates
8. Ship To & From Retail Stores: Enhancing OmniChannel Flexibility 🚛
Two major updates connect online orders with in-store processing, providing customers with greater convenience and flexibility.
Key Features
- In-Store Collection: Enable and configure transfers between stores for in-store pickups
- Ship from Shop Workflow: Simplify sending orders directly to customers from retail locations
9. Easy Retail Checkout: Enhancing the In-Store Experience
Shopify POS continues to innovate with features that simplify in-store tasks and enhance connectivity with retail customers.
Key Features
- One-Tap Digital Receipts: Offer digital receipts and opt-in marketing for recognised ShopPay users
- Automatic Customer Information Capture: Collect customer details and track staff performance at checkout
- Streamlined Return Rules: Automatically determine return eligibility and provide context for staff
10. Shopify Audiences & Shop Campaigns: Boosting Conversions
Shopify Audiences and Shop Campaigns, help you convert more customers and maximise your marketing spend.
Key Features
- Custom Audience Lists: Leverage algorithms and commerce signals to find interested buyers
- Retargeting Boost: Drive up to twice as many retargeting conversions
- Shop Campaigns: Promote on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google, paying only for conversions
- YouTube Shopping: A YouTube Shopify affiliates program will drop soon allowing creators to tag products in their videos
Other Noteworthy Updates
Now that we’ve explored the top updates from Shopify Summer Editions 2024, we’ll recap a few of the other notable features and additions to look out for:
Sell Online 💸
- Shop sign-in features: now shoppers can sign-in using their ShopPay account, if you’ve activated ShopPay
- Product Taxonomy update: 10,000 categories & 2,000 attributes have been added
- Shopify Search & Discovery app: filter products based on images
- Shopify combined listings app: make 1 listing for a product & every product variation
- Issue store credit via Shopify: early access for this feature just started
POS 🤳🏽
- Require certain information when checking out (customer/staff info)
- Shop Pay email capture: offer 1-tap receipts digitally and option to opt-in to emails
- Set-up more specific rules for returns
- Add a Buy X, get Y discount code to your POS
- Discount combinations: stack discounts (e.g. a product + total order discount). This is a long awaited update by many brands!
Sell Wholesale 📦
- New B2B theme: Trade
- Markets - but for B2B: This feature is coming soon but only for Plus merchants.
- Require deposits during checkout: Add a percentage-based deposit to your payment terms. Perfect for pricier items!
- Shopify Collective: Connect and source products from brands
Sell Globally 🌍
- Add duties & taxes to the product price: you can request early access to try this
- Control which items are restricted/prohibited in certain markets
- With one store, you’ll be able to use multiple Shopify Payment accounts: this is an upcoming, Plus-exclusive.
Checkout 💳
- The Checkout Blocks app is now free, after Shopify recently acquired it
- Checkout and accounts page customisation: Now all plans can do this!
- Set-up automatic payment-capturing; this feature is only available on Shopify Plus
Conclusion
The updates announced at Shopify's Summer 2024 Edition will offer powerful tools to help online retailers thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. By leveraging advanced features like AI, Markets, and retail checkout features, businesses can improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and drive sales growth. Whether you’re looking to expand globally, enhance your checkout process, or boost your marketing efficiency, Shopify's Summer 2024 Edition promises something for every merchant.
