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Hi, I'm Arianne, founder of Aeolidia. We create effective Shopify sites and email marketing for thoughtful, independent brands. Our newsletter shares advanced, need-to-know ecommerce strategies. Not on the list yet? Join here. |
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You may have seen news about attacks on Shopify stores this month. We want to make sure you have the facts and know what to check.
What happened
Attackers have broken into a few third-party Shopify apps by using AI to find weaknesses. They use the apps to swap a store’s checkout button for one that sends shoppers to a fake checkout page built to steal card details. The fake page looks convincing, and some versions pass the shopper along to the real checkout afterward, so the order looks normal.
Apps that confirmed they were hacked include: Hulk Product Options, Selleasy, and Swym Wishlist Plus. Shopify has also pulled over 480 apps from the App Store as a precaution. Most of these were not hacked but may have a vulnerability. Kudos to Shopify for being proactive. Some of the apps that were removed from the app store are no longer working while others continue to work.
There are three things you should do right now:
Test your checkout. Open your store in a private/incognito browser window. Add a product to your cart and click the checkout button. The address bar should show your own store’s web address or a Shopify address. If you land anywhere else contact us and Shopify Support right away.
Audit your installed apps. If you see any of your apps on this page, check with the app’s support team to find out why their app was delisted and if it still works.
Don’t rush to uninstall. Removing an app can break parts of your store, like product options, wishlists, or search. The developers of most of these apps are on top of it and have addressed any vulnerabilities. Find out what action, if any, their support team recommends.
Keep an eye on things. New fake checkouts have been reported as recently as yesterday, so it is important to repeat the checkout test at least daily and take note if any customer mentions an odd checkout or unexpected card charges.
Please email me back if you have any questions.
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Hi Reader,
A few months ago, we walked the Shoppe Object and NY NOW trade shows in New York, and we've put together a blog post about what we saw and heard there.
You may remember that right after the shows in August, I shared some photos and thoughts here in this newsletter. Well, we also reached out to some of the folks we met while in NYC to learn more about their experiences and opinions.
For instance, Jessica Knopp from Son of a Sailor shared this about her experience at Shoppe Object in 2026:
“Honestly, one of my favorite parts of doing a show again was just getting to see how everyone else does it — what’s on trend, what buyers are gravitating toward, how other jewelry brands are choosing to present their work. And it was interesting: a lot of other jewelry brands had their pieces laid out flat on a table instead of up on stands. I’ve always felt that it was better to have jewelry up at eye level so people can actually see the shape and form of it. But I’m letting myself break out of that a little and experiment, maybe with a future booth, but definitely in the shop, to explore new ways to get people engaging with our pieces. It was a genuinely useful thing to notice.” We also checked in with Katie Hunt, who has been helping brands successfully scale their wholesale revenue since 2011. Katie recently brought Dorothy Belshaw, part of NY NOW’s new ownership team, onto the Proof to Product podcast to talk about what’s changing under the new management, including why Shoppe Object and NY NOW are on different weekends for Winter 2027 (and the plan to get back to the same dates).
Katie also shared with us some trade show trends she's seeing among the business owners she works with:
“We’re seeing an uptick in our community members exhibiting at regional and niche wholesale shows sometimes in lieu of or in addition to the larger international gift shows. These shows tend to be shorter, less expensive and when aligned right, sales are strong. Our community of product creators sell a wide range of products including home decor, apparel, jewelry, toys, desktop, stationery & gift products — and they are having success exhibiting at shows for booksellers, plant enthusiasts, food & beverage boutiques, museums and more.” You can read the full article on our blog: What We Saw at Shoppe Object and NY NOW 2026: Trends and Takeaways for Product Brands
Does the shift to regional and niche shows line up with where your own business is headed? I'd love to know:
- What trade shows or industry events are on your radar for 2027?
- What’s the best event you’ve done in the last year, and what made it worth it?
- Where are you finding new wholesale accounts these days, and is any of it happening outside of trade shows?
Please email me back with answers to any or all of these questions. We're always looking to understand what's currently working best for you and your brand/store in terms of trade shows and wholesale.
And if you need help honing your wholesale strategy, we can help!
Whether it’s adding a wholesale app to your existing Shopify site, designing a wholesale brand book and order forms, or helping you define your wholesale customer persona, we love helping folks excel at wholesale. Download our rate sheet here - it includes a link to schedule a call. We would love to talk shop with you!
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Here's something one of our Project Managers just noticed, as answered by Helen Hulskamp, Director of Ecommerce on our team:
Q: RIP Search & Discovery Synonyms - apparently Shopify removed them from Search & Discovery back in September. |
A: Oh no! No one should have a search app that doesn't understand synonyms (word groups you set up so a search for one term also shows results for another, like “mug” and “cup"). Shopify's native Search & Discovery app which is the go-to for site search is having some growing pains right now as they implement semantic search and have removed manual synonyms.
Currently, some merchants are finding the new semantic search isn't performing as well as the manual synonym lists. Ideally, semantic search should automatically understand "cup" and "mug" are synonymous, but it is returning way too many results on some sites and burying the most relevant product matches.
Once Shopify irons out the kinks it should replace the need for you to manually create synonyms. But we think right before Q4 was a terrible time to roll out a change to a feature that is so important for ecommerce.
For some shops, we might end up substituting a paid search app like Searchanise if we see the conversion rate for "sessions with search" underperforming (it should be several times higher than your overall conversion rate). This is something we'll continue monitoring.
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.
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Latest Aeolidia Launch
A Simple Shopify site for Yarn Harbor.
Kathy’s yarn shop in Duluth had outgrown a very dated theme. Kai started with an SEO review, Christine chose new fonts and colors, and the team built a new Simple Shopify site around them, with homepage copy by Natalia. Our favorite detail is how the site handles yarn colors: sold-out shades get their own section on the product page instead of cluttering the colors you can actually buy (see it on Moonshine).
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From the blog
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What We Saw at Shoppe Object and NY NOW 2026: Trends and Takeaways for Product Brands
Exploring the NYC trade shows: what we saw and what's changed, plus tips for exhibitors.
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Finding Growth and Support in Mastermind Groups
Why you might want to seek the support of business owner mastermind groups, and how to get started.
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12 Black Friday Tips For Online Shops in 2026
How to get your ecommerce website ready for Black Friday / Cyber Monday holiday gifting.
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Wishing [COMPANY GOES HERE] all the best,
Arianne Foulks | CEO & Founder
Aeolidia, Shopify Plus Partners
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Refer a Friend
If you have a colleague who could use help with ecommerce, email marketing, and/or branding, I invite you to connect them with me. Refer a friend »
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