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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. Rollouts: testing and timing of releases from the admin
Shopify introduces Rollouts , a native feature for scheduling theme changes and running A/B tests directly from the admin panel.
Direct impact on operations and growth:
- Elimination of external dependencies for basic testing.
- Precise control of the launch moment.
- Error reduction in high-traffic deployments.
For brands with high volumes or critical campaigns, Rollouts represent a step towards a model of controlled, measurable and reversible launches , aligned with more mature product practices.
3. More flexible inventory transfers
Shopify improves inventory transfer management to reflect real-world logistics operation scenarios.
New key capabilities:
- Receiving products from unspecified locations.
- Editing shipments in transit.
- Greater accuracy in complex inventory flows.
For organizations with multiple warehouses, suppliers, or partial movements, this improvement reduces operational friction and enhances stock reliability without resorting to external solutions.
4. Payment requests via fulfillment (Shopify Plus exclusive)
Shopify Plus incorporates the ability to send separate payment requests for each shipment within an order with multiple fulfillments.
This enables:
- Billing aligned with actual deliveries.
- Improved management of deferred payments.
- Greater financial flexibility in complex operations.
Especially relevant for B2B, international orders, or models with staggered deliveries, this functionality brings Shopify closer to scenarios traditionally reserved for more rigid enterprise platforms.
5. Shopify SimGym: Simulate buyer behavior before launching
At AI Research Preview, Shopify presents SimGym , one of the most ambitious projects of this edition.
SimGym allows you to simulate shopper behavior using AI agents trained on aggregated data from billions of purchases. Before publishing a change, you can:
- Analyze browsing patterns.
- Estimate impact on add-to-cart and cart value.
- Detect friction in the user's path.
For high-traffic brands, this shifts the paradigm: validate hypotheses before going live , not after. It's a firm step towards an e-commerce model where optimization relies on predictive simulation, not just historical data.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
Where to prioritize resources in 2026?
For brands, the focus in 2026 will not be on adopting isolated tools, but on redefining entire workflows by leveraging AI, continuous testing, and proactive decision-making.
