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1. Sidekick Voice Over: Conversational AI comes to the back office
The evolution of Sidekick —Shopify's native AI assistant— takes a key leap: it is now conversational via voice , both from the mobile app and from the back office.
This unlocks immediate productivity use cases:
- Quick inquiries about performance, products, or orders.
- Operational requests without touching a keyboard: “Sidekick, generate a 20% discount only for VIP customers and schedule it for tomorrow.”
- Support for retail teams and store managers operating from mobile devices.
It is a significant step towards AI-powered commerce , where the main interface will be voice, not dashboards.
2. Prelaunch Check: Native checklist to avoid errors before a go-live
Shopify incorporates a native pre-launch checklist that audits critical elements before launching a new store or feature.
It includes controls such as:
- Domain configuration
- Payment methods
- Inventory statements
- Pricing rules
- Mobile experience
For organizations with complex processes, this feature reduces risks, accelerates validations, and improves operational reliability. It's a simple yet highly sought-after functionality for technical teams.
3. Multi-store reports for Shopify Plus
One of Shopify's major historical limitations for international groups: the difficulty of analyzing multiple stores in the same view.
With the new unified reports from Shopify Analytics for Shopify Plus, it's now possible to:
- Compare performance between markets.
- Detect operational deviations.
- Visualize revenue, conversions, and cohorts on a global level.
For multi-country holdings and brands, this change represents a step towards a centralized management model without relying exclusively on external BI.
4. Subscriptions available in Shopify POS
In a clear commitment to true omnichannel, Shopify incorporates the ability to accept subscriptions directly from the POS.
Direct impact on business:
- Complete integration between physical and digital retail.
- Acquisition of recurring customers from the store.
- Total customer lifecycle cohesion.
For verticals such as beauty, food, pets or health, it is an update with the potential to transform their LTV and recurrence.
5. Variants expanded to 2,048: a historical problem solved
Increasing the variant limit to 2,048 removes one of the biggest blockers for highly complex categories: technical fashion, sports, customization, furniture, etc.
This reduces the need for custom solutions or external apps, improves operational management, and eliminates catalog friction.
6. New advanced catalog capabilities: “Unlisted” + exclusion rules in collections
Shopify has launched two improvements that, combined, allow for much more flexible catalog management without resorting to custom developments.
The new "Unlisted" status allows you to keep products active but hidden from public browsing, ideal for private bundles, exclusive offers, or landing pages for affiliates and VIP customers. It's a key feature for activating segmented experiences without altering the store's architecture.
In addition, the new "Exclude" rule in automated collections allows for advanced merchandising adjustments, such as excluding out-of-stock sizes, low-margin products, or temporary tags without breaking the collection.
Together, these improvements facilitate more precise campaigns, smarter collections, and a more agile and cleaner catalog management.
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