Shopify’s eCommerce platform has always been designed to help businesses sell in an increasingly competitive online marketplace. But recent updates are making it easier and faster for online sellers, and we’re excited about it.
Today, we’ll talk you through the platform’s latest updates, including:
- Shopify Magic
- Search & Discovery
- Sidekick
- Updated Checkout and Payment Options
- Theme Updates
- BONUS: Expanded Sales Opportunities
Talk to our Certified Shopify Plus Partners at Brandography about what’s stopping you from hitting your 2025 sales goals.
Shopify’s Recent Updates & How They Make Life Easier
1. AI-Powered Shopify Magic
Shopify Magic is a suite of AI-powered tools designed to streamline various aspects of ecommerce. These tools can help you:
- Automated product descriptions help you create engaging and SEO-friendly product descriptions.
- Email marketing content with compelling subject lines and email copy drives customer engagement.
- Chatbot responses improve customer service with automated responses to common queries.
Why We’re Excited: It’s a great starting point for content. You can upload a product, and instead of making up a description, you can edit and personalize Shopify’s suggestions.
The chatbot response is becoming the “Google” for Shopify, supplying answers that customers need and sending customers to the relevant page. By cutting out the middleman (Google), you’re keeping people on your pages longer, adding value to your site. These updates will save you time, improve content quality, and enhance customer engagement, a win-win-win.
2. Shopify’s AI-Powered Search & Discovery
Shopify’s AI-enhanced search and recommendation system personalizes the shopping experience by offering:
- Product recommendations based on customer behavior.
- Search results that prioritize relevance and intent.
- Improved upselling and cross-selling strategies, boosting average order value (AOV).
Why We’re Excited: This is a marketer’s dream. If you have a large catalog ( anything from 100-100,000 SKUs), it can be hard to merchandise it on your site. All those SKUs might mean you end up with a big menu or tons of categories that are hard for your shoppers to navigate.
The new search and discovery solutions mean more customers find what they’re looking for (more sales!), and fewer leave because they can’t find what they want (fewer abandoned carts!).
Source: Shopify
3. Sidekick: AI-Powered Business Assistant
Sidekick acts as a virtual assistant for store owners by:
- Analyzing store performance and providing insights.
- Troubleshooting common ecommerce challenges.
- Offering tailored business advice based on store data.
Why We’re Excited: Sidekick can help you make data-driven decisions, optimize product listings, and even assist with running promotions. It used to be available only to Shopify+ stores, but now it’s available to anyone with a Shopify account. As it collects more user data, it will only get better to use in the coming months and years.
4. SMART Checkout and Payment Options
Shopify’s revamped checkout experience is faster and more seamless. The platform now includes:
- AI-driven checkout optimization to reduce cart abandonment.
- More flexible payment options, including Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, and BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) options.
- Enhanced fraud protection to reduce chargebacks and unauthorized transactions.
Why We’re Excited: When we think about the online shopping experience, the goal should be a simple shopping experience: Shop, Browse, Checkout. This reduces abandoned carts, often a source of frustration for businesses. With better checkout, we reduce abandoned sales instead of having to focus on recapturing them.
Here’s an example: Shopify recently reduced its checkout process from two pages to one page, streamlining the process while reducing abandoned carts.
Source: Shopify
5. Customization and Shopify Themes Update
Say hello to more customizable themes and design features. These latest theme updates mean you have:
- Greater design flexibility with better drag-and-drop functionality.
- AI-assisted branding recommendations for a cohesive aesthetic.
- Faster site speeds and improved mobile responsiveness.
Why We’re Excited: Shopify is investing in Build for Shopify. Simply put: apps or plugins created for Shopify are getting preferential treatment. Doing it this way is great for both merchants and consumers: merchants don’t have to worry about breaking the funnel, and customers get a better user experience.
BONUS: Expansion of Sales Opportunities
Due to recent updates, federally legal goods can be sold on a Shopify platform. Brands selling firearms can’t use Merchant, but those outdoor brands can use Shopify. While doing so, merchants must follow Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy, and products, including firearms, must be compliant.
Have questions about how your business can use Shopify? Reach out to our team. We don’t want to brag, but we’re experts.
To Read: Firearms and eCommerce: What’s Changing and Why It Matters.
“As someone who follows all of Shopify’s updates, I find this to be exciting stuff.” – Brandography’s eCommerce expert and Shopify enthusiast.
So, What Does This Mean for My Business?
These improvements are there so you can sell smarter, not harder. Whether you’re a small business owner just starting or an established brand looking to scale, these updates:
- Automate time-consuming tasks so you can focus on growth.
- Improve customer experience, leading to higher retention and conversions.
- Enhance your marketing efforts so you can reach your 2025 goals.
To Read: e-Commerce Changes to Sell More in 2025
Digital marketing will always be overwhelming. However, Shopify can help automate those mundane tasks, freeing up your time to grow your business. 
Don’t Sleep on These Shopify Updates
Feeling overwhelmed by the world of digital marketing? It’s not just you. Brandography specializes in helping businesses navigate the ever-changing digital landscape. Whether you want to optimize your store or improve conversion rates, our team is ready to join yours. We haven’t seen it all, but we’ve seen a lot.
Interested? Send our team a chat and let us know what digital marketing roadblocks keep you up at night.
As Shopify continues making updates, stay tuned to our digital marketing blog, where we’ll routinely distill and talk you through what’s new on the eComm platform.
