⚓️ An overview of the big changes with Shopify

Hi Reader,

I'm writing you on my way home from Toronto. I just attended Shopify Editions, their conference for developers and Shopify Partners. Here I am with their VP of Finance (kidding!):

Did you know? We've been designing and developing ecommerce sites since 2004, and have been official partners with them since 2012. We are Shopify Select Partners under their new ranking system, which means we're in the top 4% of their 50,000 partners. We're working closely with the Shopify Plus team this year to collaborate on accounts and obtain their latest certifications.

All that to say, Shopify is a big deal to us and our recommended software for small and large businesses.

They just released another huge "Editions," the big list of updates they've made in the last 6 months. I thought I'd save you some time and make you a quick list of what to be aware of, with links to explore anything you're curious about.

You might care about:

New themes
​Horizon is Shopify's new theme, and it comes with 10 free versions in the theme store. Here are the Horizon themes, and the announcement showcases the AI-built themes and AI-generated blocks you can make, and improvements to the editor.

The Sidekick AI assistant has been improved​
Have you been using Sidekick? It seems to be well on its way to being truly useful. Here's what's new. I'd recommend watching the video here if you haven't experimented with Sidekick yet and want an idea of what it can do.

Shopify POS has been redesigned
​They say navigation should be faster, and order fulfillment is integrated. It sounds like it's just plain going to work better and be easier to use. Here's a list of some of the many changes to POS.

Flat rates for split shipping & other checkout upgrades
​You can now charge a single flat rate when fulfilling from multiple locations to reduce unexpected shipping costs. See the checkout updates. And here are the shipping updates.

More features in the Shop app
​As a customer, I use the Shop app frequently, and I think this could be a big opportunity for you soon, if it isn't already. I'd make sure you have your Shop app set up the way you'd like (here is our blog post about how), and keep an eye on it. Shop will be giving more recommendations, and customers will be able to recommend things to their friends and followers as well. Learn more.​

Shopify Collective is open to all
​They've removed the sales minimum here, so anyone can use Shopify Collective to sell partners' products without needing to keep inventory. Learn more about Shopify Collective. I think this could be a fantastic way for small businesses to support each other. You have more variety in your shop and your partner gets sales from you. It's a total win-win-win for you, your partners, and your customers.

+ lots of other nerdy things we developers care about!​
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Here's big list of updates:

See all the updates and play the little driving game on Shopify's Summer 2025 Editions site.

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Q&A

Here's a reader question about AI, from Charlotte, as answered by Arianne Foulks, Founder of our team: ​​ ​Q: We were going to sell party invitations and decorations as printables, but we have had a meeting with some brand people and they think AI will take this over very soon. So I am hesitant to spend money and time on it if no one is going to buy. What do you think?

A: I wouldn't get too worried about AI. At the moment, it's pretty bad at many things, including design, and there are lots of customers who WANT a human touch and don't find work created by AI to be appealing. That is why storytelling and sharing what you and your business are all about is so important right now.

If everyone who felt worried about AI quit running their businesses right now, that would truly be a loss. Every time a new technology comes along, some businesses adapt and succeed while others either quit or keep trying to do things the old way, and ultimately go out of business.

For instance, when I started my web design company, you couldn't build a website without knowing how to write code, dig into a MySQL database, and install an SSL certificate manually. Now, merchants can set up a Shopify site over the weekend without help (I watched a contest at the Shopify developer conference last week where contestants were given 20 minutes to create a new Shopify site for the same imaginary brand). On paper, this seems like it would put me out of work, but our services have always been needed and valuable through many changes to technology.

As long as you're willing to adapt and understand how to create value and communicate it effectively, your business has a good chance of navigating changing circumstances.

Question: Answered

Our team includes experts in branding, design, development, email & SMS/text marketing, search engine optimization, copywriting, conversion optimization, ecommerce strategy, business growth, and more. Have a question for us? Email back, and I'll consult one of our experts and share one weekly response over email.

Wishing [COMPANY GOES HERE] all the best,

Arianne Foulks | Captain & Founder​
​Aeolidia, Shopify Experts​

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