Twice a year we eagerly wait for Shopify to announce and showcase its latest platform features and e-commerce advancements in what it calls Shopify Editions. As a Shopify agency, we’re always keen to dive straight into these new tools and features to learn how we can help our clients stay ahead in the competitive e-commerce space.
Let’s take a look at the latest feature releases from Shopify Editions Summer ’24 that are available to Australian-based stores and our view on what you should be taking advantage of to empower your online business into 2025.
Theme and Highlights of Shopify Editions Summer ’24
Each Edition is themed to reflect the current state of commerce, providing a comprehensive overview of new technologies aimed at making online selling easier and more effective. The Summer ’24 Edition focuses on unifying the platform to enhance scalability and efficiency for all brands and merchants using the platform. In true Shopify style, they’re completely refining their platform to ensure every feature and tool works together seamlessly with the goal is to create a cohesive, scalable environment where every aspect of an e-commerce business is unified.
Shop Pay Commerce Component
This is another beauty with an easier implementation for Shopify developers to integrate Shop Pay on stores running on Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
Shopify is simplifying the integration of Shop Pay for merchants using Salesforce Commerce Cloud. This feature will lead the discussions on many boardroom tables over the next few months…
Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS)
The new BOPIS functionality for Shop Pay further unifies online with offline shopping experiences, providing additional convenience for both merchants and their customers.
More Shopify Magic
We’ve been banging on about this one for a while now. If you follow us on social or attend any of our events this one be all that new to your ears.
Media Editor
AI-enabled image generation is now available to all stores across the Shopify platform, allowing instant media edits in the Shopify mobile app, Online Store Editor, Email Editor, and more. You can learn more about the Shopify media generation here.
Suggested Categories & Attributes
Shopify is taking its magic to a whole new level, it can now suggest categories, attributes, and even values for products, making them more discoverable in storefronts and across marketplaces.
Sidekick
I tried to stick to just features that are available to Australian-based stores, however this one I just had to include. Sidekick is going to be your own Shopify AI assistant that can help tackle time-consuming tasks, jumpstart creativity, and make better business decisions with expert advice tailored specifically to your e-commerce store. All I can say is watch this space!
The Shopify Marketing Advantage
Shopify likes to continually introduce a good mix of features designed to not only empower e-commerce operations but to also provide merchants with a marketing advantage.
Shop Campaigns
One of the standout features in this editions (exclusive to Shopify Plus merchants in USA & Canada) is the ability to promote Shop Campaigns on external advertising channels such as Meta and Google with the ability to set a maximum customer acquisition cost (CAC) ensuring your campaigns are profitable.
Build Standout B2B Experiences
Shopify has really stepped up its game ticking all the boxes in the B2B shopping space.
Manual Payment Methods for B2B
All merchants can now offer manual payment methods at the checkout. Think, bank direct deposits, cheques and international transfers. This flexibility is crucial for B2B orders where the credit card transaction fees for larger volume orders really start to hurt the product margin.
Support for Headless B2B Storefronts
Access Shopify’s B2B checkout even if your website is built on a different platform. Shopify’s APIs and developer tools allow us to create headless storefronts meaning you can use your existing or preferred content management systems with the power of Shopify’s personalised products and prices, making it easier to cater to any merchant’s specific needs.
B2B Trade Theme
Available to Shopify Plus merchants, you can quickly set up a B2B store with the new trade theme, built by Shopify. This theme is designed specifically for wholesale operations and the nuances that come with it, facilitating repeat and bulk purchases and other advanced B2B features.
Diverse APIs for Endless Customisation
Shopify’s revamped and new APIs provide endless customisation options, allowing Shopify developers to tailor their merchant’s stores and commerce stack precisely to their individual needs.
Exchange APIs
The updated exchange APIs simplify the product return process, adding exchange items to a return with support for return shipping and restocking fees.
Discount Functions for Shopify POS
We now have the freedom to develop more flexible and advanced discounting options for Shopify’s POS.
Branding API Enhancements
This is one of our favourites to highlight with checkout extensibility now supporting advanced styling with additional colour schemes. New header and footer positions and support for the queue page, ensuring a cohesive customer experience.
Storefront Cart API – Prefill Checkout Support
Streamline the purchasing process even further and lower checkout abandonment. The storefront cart API supports prefilled checkouts using pre-collected customer inputs such as delivery address and preferred delivery method. A nice little conversion booster!
Customer Account API Metafields
Access and store customer information using the customer account API, to enable logged-in customers to update their details by streamlining customer self-service.
Wrapping Up
Shopify Editions Summer ’24 has brought a wealth of new features designed to unify the platform and enhance every aspect of e-commerce. From advanced B2B solutions to powerful marketing tools and endless customisation options, these updates are crafted to propel your online business forward.
As a Shopify agency, we’re excited to help you implement these features and watch your business thrive. Stay tuned for more updates and get ready to take your e-commerce game to the next level!
