Shopify Editions Summer ‘24 brings over 150 new features and updates. This blog details the enhancements Shopify has deemed most exciting — designed to make commerce more efficient and effective for your brand: 

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1. Unified Home for Markets

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Shopify has centralised all cross-border, B2B, and in-person selling configurations into a single command centre within the Shopify admin. This new Markets feature provides a comprehensive view of all expansion efforts, allowing you to make informed decisions. 

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Key features include:

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• Customised buyer experiences for each market from a single store.
• Specific catalogues for retail stores to manage pricing and publishing.
• Enhanced tools for Shopify Plus merchants to expand B2B operations, including customisable store themes for different regions.
• A holistic view of business performance, with detailed insights into each market and customisation options.

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Our thoughts: Shopify Magic empowers merchants with advanced AI tools to streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. Leveraging AI to provide personalised support and content creation saves time and improves efficiency.

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2. Split Shipping

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The world’s best checkout improves again, now providing buyers with clear information about their shipping options. Previously, customers only saw one shipping rate and delivery date, even if items were sent in multiple shipments or from multiple locations. With Split Shipping, customers can now:

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• See if their orders will arrive in multiple shipments.
• Select from multiple shipping speeds and costs, allowing for greater control over delivery preferences.
• Customise shipping speeds for each shipment, choosing between the lowest price or the fastest delivery options.
• Manage subscription orders with more detailed shipping preferences.

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Our thoughts: Split Shipping enhances the customer experience by providing transparency and control over shipping options. Allowing customers to make informed decisions and managing their expectations effectively is crucial for building trust and fostering long-term relationships.

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3. Shopify Magic

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Shopify's AI-powered tools continue to evolve, transforming how your brand operates. The improved Sidekick AI assistant offers contextual guidance based on store data, helping with tasks like setting up discounts and understanding best practices. Enhanced AI capabilities include:

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• AI Image Generation: Available in the Online Store Editor, Email Editor, and other parts of the admin, making it easier to create professional images on the go.
• Real-Time Customer Support: Shopify Magic can quickly suggest responses to customer questions in Shopify Inbox, using data specific to your store, which can increase conversion rates by up to 69%.
• Customer Segmentation: Using AI to understand your products, orders, and customers, Sidekick can generate relevant customer segments for targeted marketing.

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Our thoughts: Shopify Magic empowers merchants with advanced AI tools to streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. Leveraging AI to provide personalised support and content creation saves time and improves efficiency.

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4. Rebuilt Analytics

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Shopify’s analytics have been revamped to provide up-to-the-minute data tailored to each business’s needs. You can now:

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• Customise dashboards by dragging, dropping, and resizing metric cards.
• Access detailed pre-built reports designed to answer common commerce questions.
• Build custom reports from scratch, allowing full control over data presentation and exploration.

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Our thoughts: The new analytics tools offers real-time, customisable insights that enable data-driven decisions. This enhancement is key for optimising business strategies and improving overall performance, ensuring that you can adapt quickly to changing market conditions.

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5. New Style Settings for Themes

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Style Settings now offer merchants extensive customisation options for their storefront layouts. Theme developers can create flexible and reusable blocks, allowing you to:

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• Adjust block settings like direction, alignment, and spacing.
• Customise the appearance for different devices without needing separate settings.
• Utilise static blocks for complex layouts and apply conditional logic to collections.

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Our thoughts: The enhanced Style Settings offers you greater creative control over your storefronts. This flexibility supports brand evolution and ensures a consistent, high-quality customer experience across all devices.

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6. Hydrogen Visual Editor

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The Hydrogen Visual Editor, powered by Utopia, enhances the development of headless storefronts. It allows teams to collaborate in a unified visual environment, with real-time updates and data integration from various sources. Developers can maintain control over the code while enabling non-technical team members to create and modify pages independently.

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Our thoughts: The Hydrogen Visual Editor streamlines the creation and management of headless storefronts, promoting efficient teamwork and faster deployment. This innovation bridges the gap between developers and non-technical team members, facilitating a more agile development process.

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7. Managed Markets

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Shopify’s managed market solution simplifies international selling by handling operational complexities like tax filings, duties, and shipping labels. New features include:

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• Streamlined catalogue restrictions, automatically blocking products that are restricted in certain regions.
• Inclusion of duties and import taxes in product prices to avoid checkout surprises.
• Standard shipping options via UPS to boost conversion rates.
• Order editing capabilities, allowing merchants to adjust international orders post-purchase without worrying about duties, taxes, and currency changes.

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Our thoughts: Managed Markets automates complex international operations, reducing barriers to global expansion. This simplification helps you reach new customers more efficiently and improves the overall customer experience by eliminating unexpected costs at checkout.

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8. Ship To & From Store

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To enhance omnichannel fulfilment, Shopify now offers:

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• In-store pickup with configurable store transfers, allowing products to be moved to the desired pickup location.
• Ship From Store functionality, enabling retail staff to fulfil online orders from any location, reducing shipping costs and improving delivery times.

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Our thoughts: Ship To & From Store integrates online and in-store fulfilment, providing your customers with greater flexibility and convenience. This enhancement supports a seamless omnichannel experience, vital for meeting growing consumer expectations.

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9. Easy Retail Checkout

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Shopify POS enhancements include:

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• One-tap digital receipts
• Automated customer info collection
• Sale attributions, tracking high-performing staff and managing commissions
• Automated return policies with manager override options.

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Our thoughts: These POS improvements enhance the efficiency of retail operations and ensure a smoother customer experience, supporting better staff performance and customer satisfaction.

‍For a breakdown of over 150 new developments, visit Shopify Editions Summer ‘24. Want to know how the above enhancements can drive growth for your brand? Feel free to get in touch.