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Shopify has launched its latest platform updates, branded “The Boring Edition,” aimed at improving functionality and efficiency for ecommerce merchants. Despite the understated name, the release introduces over 150 updates designed to enhance performance, automate tasks, and simplify operations across all facets of a merchant’s business.

Faster Checkout with New Customization Options

The Shopify Checkout has undergone significant enhancements to boost speed and flexibility. Load times have improved by up to 50%, while new features such as Checkout Blocks allow merchants to customize thank-you pages.

Additional updates include:

• Draft Order Enhancements: Merchants can now apply custom checkout rules and payment options powered by Shopify Functions to draft orders.
• B2B Bundle Options: Product assortments can now be tailored for bulk purchases, creating seamless buying experiences for wholesale customers.

Unified Customer Accounts for Streamlined Experiences

Shopify’s new Customer Account Extensions enable a unified experience for buyers, combining ease of access with personalized features.

Key improvements include:

• Seamless order and return management with passwordless login options.
• Feedback integration through survey apps like Zigpoll, storing insights directly in customer profiles.
• B2B Functionality: Merchants can now create tailored wholesale experiences, including self-serve quotes, invoicing, and bulk ordering.

Enhanced Tools for In-Person Selling

With offline sales continuing to grow—Shopify POS sales increased 31% year-over-year during Black Friday—the platform has expanded its point-of-sale capabilities.

Notable updates include:

• Bundle Management: Merchants can sell and manage product bundles directly through Shopify POS.
• Metafields in POS: Staff can capture personalized customer data, such as pet preferences in a pet store, to refine future marketing.

Mark Nieves, co-founder of Independent Goods, highlighted the benefits: “I could track both online and physical retail on one screen. And we could still have one source for data, for inventory, for everything.”

Automation with Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow now offers expanded automation capabilities, reducing manual workload for merchants.

Updates include:

• Returns and Exchanges: Triggers for managing returns and cancellations when items aren’t sent back.
• Marketing Automations: Templates for campaigns like abandoned cart emails are now accessible through the Flow library.
• Segment Triggers: Automate workflows based on customer activity, such as joining or leaving a segment.

Andrew Sherrard, ecommerce manager at PowerBlock, praised the upgrades: “The new template library will help people see what’s possible… connecting even more apps right within Shopify faster.”

Simplified Marketing with Shop Campaigns

Shopify’s Shop Campaigns offers a streamlined approach to customer acquisition by automating ad placement across Shop, Meta, and Google platforms. Merchants pay only when a customer converts.

Connor Dault, vice president of growth at Caraway, described the program as “so easy to get going,” emphasizing its efficiency and lack of technical setup requirements.

Unified Fulfillment and Delivery Settings

Shopify has expanded its fulfillment logic to apply across all order types, including third-party channels, subscriptions, and order edits. This update simplifies the order routing process, saving merchants time and minimizing errors.

AI-Powered Assistance with Sidekick

Shopify’s AI commerce assistant, Sidekick, continues its global rollout, providing merchants with on-demand support for scaling and managing their businesses.

Consolidated Financial Tools

With Shopify Finance, merchants now have access to a centralized hub for managing their financial tools, including Shopify Balance, Shopify Credit, Shopify Bill Pay, and Shopify Tax.

Image: Shopify

This article, “Shopify Introduces Over 150 Updates to Streamline Operations for Merchants” was first published on Small Business Trends