In the world of e-commerce, to succeed, we must be willing to adapt and stay ahead of new technologies. In this case, Shopify has launched its latest update: Shopify Editions Winter '24, which brings over 100 innovations that will be gradually rolled out in 2024. This release brings new tools and improved functionalities that will change the stores’ experience on the Shopify platform and give you the opportunity to take your operations to the next level.
In this post, we'll tell you about the twenty most important features so that you can make the most of the newest Shopify and Shopify Plus improvements:
New Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rate
In e-commerce, there are three metrics you should always be optimizing: sessions, average order value (AOV), and most importantly, the conversion rate. Shopify has released several features focused on optimizing the conversion rate by improving the user experience and simplifying store management. Some of the most relevant innovations are:
1. Increased Variant Limit to 2,000
Shopify has raised the variant limit per product from 100 to 2,000, benefiting stores with complex catalogs with many options for colors, sizes, and more. Although it is not fully launched yet, it is expected to be one of the most used features.
2. Product Linking (Shopify Plus)
Now, in those stores on Shopify Plus, users will be able to view and purchase different variations of a product from a single product page, streamlining their purchasing process. This way, even though they are different SKUs in terms of stock, users can view them as variants of the same product.
3. Color Swatches on Collection Page
Add color swatches directly on the collection page to facilitate product search and purchase by customers.
4. Editing Metaobjects in the Online Store Editor
Allows you to add a new metaobject or modify the existing definition from the store Theme Editor. This expands customization possibilities and improves content presentation to better adapt to each store's needs.
5. The New Theme Blocks
The Theme Blocks allow you to pre-define certain characteristics of a block within your template and then reuse it throughout the store. This reduces the time spent editing the store design and repetitive code.
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B2B Features in Shopify Plus
Shopify has focused in improvements to meet the growing demands of the B2B sector for Shopify Plus. Some of them are:
6. Custom Permissions for Sales Reps
With the new staff permissions, you can now manage permissions so that sales representatives only have access to place orders and access customer information from their own accounts. Additionally, you can define access levels through specific roles such as Manager or Sales Representative.
7. Trade: New Theme Optimized for B2B
Speed up your store setup with the new Theme designed specifically for wholesale businesses. This template is ready to use and makes it easy for customers to place bulk orders, as well as customize it according to the specific needs of your business.
8. Custom Discounts for B2B
Create exclusive offers for B2B customers through plugins or custom flows with Shopify Functions, exclusive to Shopify Plus. These discounts can be applied along with specific wholesale customer prices assigned in Catalogs.
9. Digital Products for B2B
Expand your product offering options for B2B, including non-physical products such as digital downloads, warranties, and services.
Even More Efficient Operations
Just as Shopify launched features to improve user experience and different sales models, it also focused on making the management of your e-commerce operations even easier. Throughout this year, these are some of the improvements that are yet to be seen on the platform:
10. Metafields Groups by Product Type or Category
The new functionality streamlines product classification by adding a variety of related characteristics to each category automatically, reducing manual workload for owners and making product organization, creation, and classification much easier.
11. Inventory Syncing with Marketplace Connect
Improve your stock accuracy by assigning an inventory branch to each product in a regional market and synchronizing stock levels in real-time at each location.
12. Native Product Exchange
For a good user experience, your customers expect the process of exchanging one product for another to be quick and easy. Now, you can manage product exchanges directly from the Shopify Admin and automatically know the cost of this operation, so you can either charge the customer that fee or provide a refund.
Artificial Intelligence: Shopify Magic and Semantic Search
The new Shopify improvements bring news that will transform the way customers interact with online stores with the integration of artificial intelligence, just like the way you create, edit, and operate in your store!
13. Shopify Magic
Shopify Magic is the suite of AI-enabled tools, including a photo editor and Sidekick:
- AI Image Editor: The photo editor, soon to be released, uses Artificial Intelligence for product images by generating, changing, or removing the background of product images with just a few clicks, simplifying the process of building and editing online stores.
- Sidekick: Currently in early access, it positions itself as an AI-enabled assistant that enhances productivity and makes smarter decisions. You can even ask it to help you create content for a new page, like About Us or FAQs, just imagine all you can soon achieve in less time!
14. A More Intuitive Shopping Experience (Shopify Plus)
The implementation of Semantic Search, powered by Artificial Intelligence, represents a new stage in e-commerce.
This feature, currently available only for Shopify Plus users, goes beyond keywords, understanding the buyer's intention. Customers can use more natural phrases, getting precise and relevant search results.
For example, if a user types "beachwear" in the search bar, the algorithm can recognize that they are not only looking for swimsuits but also other related items such as cover-ups, sunglasses, among others.
15. Visual Filters in the Search & Discovery App
Add a visual dimension to the search with the implementation of swatch filters. These filters are integrated into search results and collection pages, allowing customers to easily find products based on specific colors, designs, or materials.
16. Custom Setup of Filtering Logic
Customize the filtering logic in the Search & Discovery app to offer customers more precise results.
With this update, customers can find products that match various values, such as jackets that are both "waterproof" and "insulating".
Additionally, you have control over how filters are presented in situations where filtering does not yield product results.
Payment Updates: Flexibility in Shopify Checkout
The latest update focuses on streamlining and customizing the shopping experience in Shopify stores, giving stores greater control over the checkout process and their customer retention strategies.
17. One-Page Checkout
The checkout experience in Shopify has been simplified from three pages to one, resulting in an average reduction of 4 seconds in the average buyer completion time. This optimization streamlines the process, further improving customer satisfaction.
18. Checkout Extensibility (Shopify Plus)
The introduction of 14 new APIs and over 90 applications allows store owners to customize the checkout of Shopify Plus stores.
These tools unlock features such as upsells, loyalty programs, post-purchase surveys, conversion tracking, and personalized content. This flexibility gives stores the ability to tailor the payment experience to the specific needs of their brand.
19. Subscriptions
The new free Subscriptions app makes it easy to set up and manage subscriptions directly from the Shopify Admin.
This functionality simplifies the implementation and management of subscription programs, giving your e-commerce a one-stop tool to efficiently manage this business model.
20. Store Credit
Shopify has launched a feature to create, track, and manage store credit online. The user will have a certain amount to spend within the store and can use it at the checkout. This allows you to take the customer service you offer your users one step further by giving them the ease of using a predetermined amount related to exchanges and returns.
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Conclusion
The new improvements and updates in Shopify Editions Winter '24 take a step towards the future of e-commerce.
With over 100 innovations, Shopify stands out for focusing on improving conversion, shopping experience, payment updates, B2B optimization, implementation of artificial intelligence, among many others.
From improvements in product presentation to the incorporation of AI-based tools such as Semantic Search and Shopify Magic, the platform strives to provide e-commerce with the necessary tools to stand out in the online market.
At Getmore, we stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations in Shopify to help you grow your e-commerce. Contact us to learn more about what Shopify can offer you!