What’s New in Shopify Winter 2026 Edition: A Store Owner’s Guide

Quick Summary: The Highlights of Shopify Winter ’26

Shopify has released its Winter 2026 “Renaissance” Edition, featuring over 150 updates designed to help you run and grow your business. This edition focuses heavily on AI, operational efficiency, and expanding sales channels.

Here are the top takeaways for store owners:

• AI Revolution: The new Shopify Sidekick is a built-in AI assistant that can automate tasks, generate reports, and edit themes. Additionally, Shopify Agentic allows your products to be sold directly through popular AI chatbots and search engines.

• Smarter Store Optimization: You can now remove the guesswork from design changes using Rollouts for built-in A/B testing and SimGym, which uses AI shoppers to simulate how visitors will react to site updates before they go live.

• Marketing & Growth: The new Shopify Product Network lets you sell products from other Shopify brands (and vice versa) to earn commissions. Marketing is also streamlined with built-in SMS campaigns and auto-translated forms for international shoppers.

• Operational Upgrades: Managing a physical store is easier with unified POS customization and Uber Direct integration for same-day local delivery. For shipping, you can now generate FedEx return labels directly in the admin and access more global carrier options.

• B2B & Finance: Wholesale features have expanded globally with Shopify Collective now in 35 more countries. On the financial side, Shopify Capital Flex offers a flexible, revolving line of funding, and Shopify Balance now features automated budgeting tools.

Want the full breakdown? Read our deep dive below for every detail on how these changes affect your store.

What’s New in Shopify Winter 2026 Edition: A Store Owner’s Guide

Shopify’s Winter 2026 “Renaissance” Edition has arrived, bringing 150+ updates and new features to help you run and grow your business. From AI-powered assistants to smoother checkout and shipping, Shopify has introduced a huge range of improvements. In this conversational guide, we’ll break down all the key announcements for you – in plain English – and explain how they can benefit your store. Let’s dive in!

Meet Shopify Sidekick: Your New AI Assistant

One of the star features of Winter ’26 is Shopify Sidekick, an AI-powered assistant built into your Shopify admin. Sidekick is like having a super-smart teammate who’s always ready to help, 24/7. Here’s what Sidekick can do for you:

Proactively share insights and suggestions

• Sidekick watches your store’s data and can offer smart suggestions to improve sales or operations (for example, flagging a product that’s selling out fast or recommending a marketing action).

• It surfaces insights you might miss, helping you make data-driven decisions.

Handle complex tasks for you

• You can literally tell Sidekick what you want to do, and it will figure out how.

• For instance, describe a workflow you want to automate – “email a customer when their order is delayed” – and Sidekick will build that automation in the Shopify Flow app for you.

• No coding or deep technical know-how required!

• It can even generate custom Shopify apps or reports on command, taking on heavy lifting that used to require a developer.

Assist with design and content

• Need to tweak your store’s look or visuals? Sidekick can help there too.

• It can generate theme edits (like adjusting colors or fonts across your site) and even create or enhance product images.

• For example, you can ask Sidekick to remove a background or add an element to a product photo – it’s like a built-in photo editor.

• There’s even a mobile image editor: snap a product photo on your phone and Sidekick will polish it into a professional-grade shot.

• And if you’re writing an email or product description, Sidekick can assist with editing the text as well.

Make everyday work faster

• Shopify has added lots of “quality of life” improvements to Sidekick.

• It now supports multi-step tasks, so it can carry out a sequence of actions for you instead of one at a time.

• You can even talk to Sidekick with your voice using the Shopify mobile app – ask it questions or give commands on the go.

• Sidekick’s interface can expand to a wide-screen view (handy for tackling big tasks with more space).

• It remembers your past conversations and preferences better now, so it feels more personalized to you over time.

• It also has context awareness: click on a specific section of your admin, and Sidekick will know to give you answers related to that context (for example, if you’re on an orders page, it will stick to order-related help).

In short, Sidekick is like an AI shop co-manager. You could ask:

• “Hey, what were my best sellers last week and should I restock them?” and it will pull up your sales and give recommendations.

• “Build a customer segment of repeat buyers who haven’t purchased in 6 months” and it will create that segment for you.

It’s there to save you time and help turn your data into action.

Sell via AI Chatbots with Shopify Agentic

Another futuristic update: Shopify Agentic – a new way to reach customers through popular AI chat platforms. In plain terms, Shopify is enabling your products to be sold directly in AI chat conversations (with your permission). Millions of people use AI assistants like ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing Chat (Copilot), or AI search engines to ask for shopping advice. With Agentic, Shopify merchants can now tap into that trend.

Agentic Storefronts

• Shopify lets you set up an AI-ready storefront for these platforms.

• Essentially, Shopify will syndicate your product info to AI services.

• So if a user asks, “Where can I buy a stylish backpack?”, the AI could display your products and even facilitate checkout right in the chat.

• Your products become discoverable in AI chats like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, or Perplexity – opening a new customer acquisition channel.

• You manage how your brand appears in these AI experiences from Shopify.

• You only have to set up your data once for Shopify to share it across all supported AI platforms.

What it means for you

This is basically a new sales channel.

• Imagine someone having a conversation with a chatbot about gift ideas or product recommendations – if that bot is connected to Shopify’s network, your store could be suggested.

• The customer can complete the purchase then and there.

• It’s early days for AI commerce, but Shopify is giving you the tools to be where the shoppers of tomorrow are.

• Setting up an Agentic storefront ensures you won’t miss out if chat-based shopping takes off.

You don’t need to be technical to use this – Shopify handles the integrations. It’s about extending your reach beyond traditional websites and social media, into the realm of conversational AI. As a merchant, it’s good to know Shopify has your catalog plugged into these emerging channels.

Experiment and Optimize Your Online Store

Making changes to your online store can feel risky – what if a new theme or layout doesn’t perform well? Shopify’s Winter ’26 introduces tools to help you test and time your store updates so you can optimize without the guesswork.

Rollouts (Built-in A/B Testing & Scheduling)

Shopify has added a feature called Rollouts in the admin for running experiments:

• This lets you A/B test theme changes and even schedule design updates in advance.

• Example: test two versions of your homepage – one with a new banner and one with the old banner – by showing each to a portion of visitors and comparing sales or conversion rates.

• Rollouts will handle the split and track which version does better, right within Shopify.

• You can also schedule changes (like a holiday theme update) to go live at a specific time, then roll back automatically if needed.

• This means you can:

  • Try improvements on a small scale before committing fully.

  • Plan ahead for big promotions with confidence.

Shopify SimGym (AI Store Simulator)

Ever wish you could preview how customers might react to a change before you make it? The new Shopify SimGym app uses AI “simulated shoppers” to do exactly that.

• It’s like a flight simulator for your store.

• You input a change (say a new site design, navigation, or pricing strategy).

• AI agents — trained on billions of real Shopify purchase data points — will “browse” your site.

• They’ll identify potential issues or suggest optimizations before you go live.

For example, SimGym might:

• Reveal that your new checkout button is hard to find.

• Predict how a different product arrangement could improve sales.

• Give you actionable recommendations to improve the experience.

Using SimGym, you can refine your store in a risk-free sandbox, making data-backed tweaks to boost conversion.

Together, Rollouts and SimGym help you launch changes smarter:

• Test new ideas on a small scale or with virtual shoppers.

• Gather insights.

• Confidently roll out only the winners – leading to better results and fewer unpleasant surprises.

Easier Store Design and Product Management

Building and managing your online storefront just got easier and more flexible. Winter ’26 brings a bunch of enhancements to how you design your site and organize products.

Inline editing & mobile design on the go

• Shopify has made it possible to manage more of your store right within the theme editor.

• You can now edit:

  • Products

  • Collections

  • Prices

  • Metafields

  • More

• All without leaving the theme customization screen.

This means:

• While adjusting your page layout, you can tweak a product title or add a new collection in the same workflow, saving time.

Even cooler:

• You can now generate and preview a new theme on your phone.

• Using the Shopify mobile app, just describe the style you want and AI will create a theme that you can fine-tune and publish from your device.

Designing your store no longer requires sitting at a desktop.

WordPress integration

If you have a blog or website on WordPress:

• Shopify now offers a Shopify WordPress plugin that can turn your WordPress site into a store.

• You’ll be able to:

  • Easily embed your Shopify products.

  • Add a cart.

  • Offer checkout on a WordPress site.

For merchants who started with a content site or community on WordPress:

• This is a great way to add commerce without forcing customers to a separate store.

• Everything can happen in one place, powered by Shopify’s secure checkout.

Better themes and visuals

Shopify’s new Horizon theme (and its family of themes) got over 250 improvements.

• Expect:

  • Snappier performance.

  • New animations and interactive sections.

  • Generally more polish if you use Horizon or themes built on that framework.

Theme store improvements:

• Theme Store search has improved – you can filter by industry more precisely.

• You can see live demos of themes with less manual setup needed.

For new stores:

• There’s an option to generate a starter theme before you sign up.

• You answer a few questions about what you’ll sell.

• AI will create a personalized demo store for you to preview.

It’s a nifty way to envision your site.

More product options (variants) and control

Good news for those with complex catalogs:

• Shopify now supports up to 2,048 variants per product (up from the previous limits).

• If you sell something like T-shirts with many size, color, style combinations, you won’t hit a ceiling.

“Unlisted” product status:

• Lets you hide a product from your storefront, search, and collections without unpublishing it entirely.

• It’s only accessible via direct link.

• Perfect for:

  • Exclusive items.

  • Private sales.

  • Seasonal products you want off the main site but not gone.

Improved collection management:

• You can now duplicate a collection in one click.

• For automated (smart) collections, you can exclude specific products using conditions.

• This solves the pain point of “this one product shouldn’t appear in my sale collection,” for example.

New ways to run promotions

Automatic discounts targeted at specific customer groups:

• You can now create automatic discounts targeted at specific customer groups.

• Example: set up a 10% off auto-discount that only applies for your VIP customer segment or email subscribers.

• Once they log in, the discount applies without a code.

• This enables more personalized promotions to reward loyal customers.

Simpler “compare at” sale prices:

• Setting “compare at” sale prices (crossed-out original prices) is now simpler.

• You can do it directly in the admin UI for products or variants.

• No need for CSV uploads or complex bulk editors.

Improved bundles:

• If you offer product bundles, the Shopify Bundles app now supports combined bundle options.

• You can create bundles where customers pick options like size or color for each item in the bundle.

• Example: “choose your T-shirt size and hat size in this set.”

Unit pricing globally:

• Unit pricing (showing price per unit of measure, like per 100ml or per kilogram) is now available to all merchants globally.

• If you sell food, cosmetics, or anything where unit price is important (or legally required), you can now display it easily, regardless of your location.

Other handy tools

Lovable:

• A new tool called Lovable lets you spin up a dummy Shopify store environment with:

  • Sample products.

  • Inventory.

  • Checkout.

  • More.

• Useful if you want to:

  • Play around.

  • Test ideas.

  • Avoid touching your real store.

AI-powered domain name generator:

• Enter keywords.

• Get suggested unique, available domains for your business (currently in English).

• Saves time when brainstorming your next brand or product line name.

Overall, these changes give you more flexibility in designing your shop and organizing your products. Whether you’re:

• Tweaking your storefront theme.

• Expanding your product catalog.

• Running targeted promotions.

Shopify is smoothing out the process so you can do it all with less hassle.

Better Point-of-Sale (POS) and In-Store Features

For merchants who also sell in person (in a retail store, pop-up shop, market stall, etc.), Shopify’s Winter ’26 updates bring improvements to the Point-of-Sale (POS) system and in-store operations.

Unified POS customization

It’s now easier to customize the screens your customers and staff see on Shopify POS.

• Shopify has combined the editing interfaces so you can design:

  • The customer display.

  • Smart grid (home menu).

  • Receipt layout.

  • Lock screen.

• All from a single editor.

This means you can:

• Ensure your branding and info (logo, thank-you message, upsell prompts) are consistent.

• Set up your in-store experience quickly and cleanly.

Faster local delivery from POS

Want to offer on-demand delivery for in-store purchases or local online orders?

• Shopify now integrates Uber Direct into POS for same-day delivery with live tracking.

• A customer can:

  • Buy a product in your store (or online for local delivery).

  • You dispatch it via Uber’s courier network right from the POS interface.

Availability:

• US

• Canada

• France (for Shopify Plus merchants)

This can be a game-changer if you promise speedy local delivery:

• You don’t have to manage couriers manually.

• POS handles it.

Localized retail pricing and inventory

Shopify introduced “Markets for retail”, which lets you treat each retail store location as its own market for pricing and product publishing.

In practice:

• If you have brick-and-mortar stores in different regions, you can:

  • Set unique prices for products in each store.

  • Only make certain products available at specific locations.

Examples:

• Price an item higher in a downtown city store than in a rural store due to different costs.

• Sell certain collections in one location only.

This brings more flexibility to multi-location retailers so each store can cater to its market.

This feature is exclusive to POS Pro users.

More ways to pay in-store

Shopify POS expanded support for popular payment methods.

Tap to Pay on iPhone:

• Ability to accept contactless cards or phone payments using just an iPhone.

• Now available to merchants in:

  • Germany

  • Ireland

  • Spain

  • New Zealand

• No extra hardware needed – just an iPhone.

QR code payments:

• You can let customers scan a QR code at checkout that opens a web checkout on their phone.

• Customers can pay with methods like:

  • iDEAL

  • Swish

  • Twint

  • MobilePay

  • USDC (crypto)

  • Other local methods

• Great for regions where customers prefer using a local banking app or digital wallet.

• They can complete the payment on their own device securely.

Cartes Bancaires (CB) in France:

• Shopify POS now supports Cartes Bancaires (CB), the popular French debit card network.

• French merchants can accept CB cards seamlessly.

Expanded in-person payment support:

• Shopify has extended general in-person payment support (including Tap to Pay on Android and other methods) to:

  • Luxembourg

  • Switzerland

  • Czech Republic

• If you’re expanding into those countries, your Shopify POS can handle payments out of the box.

Smoother inventory and returns in store

A couple of improvements make in-store operations easier.

Stock transfers in POS:

• If you transfer stock between locations, staff can now receive or reject incoming stock transfers directly in the POS app.

• No need to go into the Shopify admin.

• Your store team can:

  • See that, say, 50 units were sent from the warehouse.

  • Accept them into inventory or flag discrepancies right on the tablet.

This is a POS Pro feature.

Customizable return receipts:

• When processing a return or exchange in store, you can now print a tailored receipt that includes:

  • Your return policy.

  • Your branding (logo).

  • Contact info.

• This is done via a Liquid template editor.

• Gives a more professional touch to the paperwork customers get during returns.

Better tracking of returns in progress:

• Shopify POS will now show which returns are in progress (not fully finalized yet) so nothing falls through the cracks.

• You can:

  • See ongoing return/exchange situations.

  • Cancel any unfulfilled items in a return if needed.

More refund options:

• When issuing a refund in store, you’ll see a dedicated refund screen.

• You can choose whether to:

  • Send the money back to the original payment method.

  • Issue store credit.

  • Refund onto a gift card.

• This makes it simpler to:

  • Offer an exchange or store credit on the spot.

  • Ensure the customer’s preference is clearly recorded.

In sum, Shopify is making the in-person selling experience as seamless and versatile as online. Whether it’s:

• Offering new ways for customers to pay.

• Streamlining how you handle store inventory.

• Customizing the POS interface.

These updates help you deliver a faster and more localized retail experience.

Smarter Marketing and Customer Engagement

To help you attract, convert, and retain customers, the Winter 2026 Edition introduced a suite of new marketing tools and updates. The focus is on leveraging Shopify’s network and making marketing more automated and personalized.

Shopify Product Network

This is a brand-new network that can turn other Shopify stores into your allies.

• It allows you to fill merchandise gaps by showing products from other Shopify brands on your store.

• You earn a commission on every sale of those products.

Example:

• You run a boutique that doesn’t carry headphones.

• You use the Product Network to display another Shopify merchant’s headphones on your site.

• The customer can buy it seamlessly from your store.

• You get a cut without having to hold that inventory.

Likewise:

• Other stores can list your products and drive sales back to you.

Details:

• This network is US-only at launch.

• Accessed via a Shopify app.

• It’s an exciting way to expand your catalog and not lose a sale just because you don’t stock a particular item.

• All while partnering within Shopify’s ecosystem.

Shop Campaigns expansion

Shopify’s Shop Campaigns (Shopify’s advertising program that originally promoted products in the Shop app) are now expanding to the online store realm.

In practice:

• If you opt into Shop Campaigns, your products can automatically get promoted on other Shopify stores’ pages.

• Your products might appear in:

  • Relevant collections.

  • Search results.

  • Post-purchase thank-you pages on other stores.

It’s like an affiliate or cross-promotion network powered by Shopify.

External reach:

• Shop Campaign ads will now extend to external channels like:

  • X (Twitter).

  • Snapchat.

  • Bing.

• Shopify will handle placing your ads on these platforms.

• You only pay when a customer converts (makes a purchase).

This can be:

• A cost-effective way to get broader exposure for your products beyond your usual marketing.

• Especially attractive since payment is based on results.

Currently Shop Campaigns are available for US merchants, and some features in Canada.

Built-in SMS marketing

Shopify is simplifying marketing by bringing more channels in-house.

• With Winter ’26, the Shopify Messaging app (Shopify’s marketing app that already handles emails) now supports SMS text message campaigns.

You can:

• Collect SMS subscribers (via checkout opt-in or forms).

• Create, schedule, and send promo text messages directly from Shopify, alongside your emails.

• Use:

  • Scheduling.

  • Segmentation.

  • Click and conversion tracking.

This means:

• You might not need a third-party SMS marketing platform.

• Shopify provides an integrated solution so you can manage emails and texts in one place, with a unified view of your customer outreach.

Because SMS can have high open rates:

• This feature is a great way to re-engage customers (with sales alerts, back-in-stock messages, etc.) through a channel they almost always check – their phones.

Auto-translated forms for international leads

If you use Shopify Forms (for newsletter signups, pop-up offers, etc.), there’s now automatic translation built in.

• Your forms (created in English) can be automatically translated into 19 other languages for international visitors.

• If a shopper in France sees your email signup pop-up, it will display in French without you having to create separate forms.

This:

• Lowers barriers to capturing leads globally.

• Lets customers understand and fill out your forms in their native language.

• Makes your marketing more effective across borders.

Improved customer segmentation tools

Personalization is key, and Shopify has beefed up its segmentation capabilities.

Template library for segments:

• Shopify has added a template library for customer segments.

• You can search and filter through templates easily.

• If you’re not sure how to segment (e.g., lapsed customers, high spenders, etc.), you can:

  • Find a ready-made template as a starting point.

  • Tweak it for your business.

Segments based on categories viewed or purchased:

• You can now create segments based on product categories viewed or purchased.

• For example, you can:

  • Target an email to everyone who browsed your “winter jackets” category but didn’t buy.

  • Reach everyone who bought “skincare” products, etc.

This gives:

• A more nuanced way to group customers by interest/behavior.

Segment suggestions in Messaging:

• Within the Shopify Messaging app, when you’re building an email or SMS, Shopify will now:

  • Give intuitive segment suggestions.

  • Make selecting customer groups easier.

• Example: It might suggest:

  • “This campaign might work well for repeat customers who haven’t bought in 3 months – click here to target them.”

This simplifies:

• The process of choosing the right audience.

Dynamic content and scheduling for campaigns

Two very practical enhancements for running campaigns.

Dynamic product sections in emails:

• When composing marketing emails, you can insert dynamic product sections that:

  • Automatically populate with your best-selling products.

  • Or items from a specific collection.

• This saves you time curating products for each email.

• Ensures each recipient might see top-performing items (potentially personalized to some degree).

• You simply set a rule such as:

  • “Show top 5 sellers.”

  • “Show new arrivals from Collection X.”

• Shopify fills that section of the email when it’s sent out.

Calendar view for campaigns:

• There’s a new calendar view in the Shopify Messaging app for your emails and SMS schedule.

• This gives you a planner-like overview of all your campaigns.

• You can:

  • Drag-and-drop to schedule or reschedule.

  • See where you have gaps or overlaps in communication.

  • Coordinate your marketing timeline more easily.

This is especially helpful if you:

• Send frequent campaigns.

• Want to map out an entire season’s marketing in one place.

More control over customer data and tracking

Shopify knows how important customer trust and data accuracy are.

Per-form marketing consent:

• You can now decide per form how you collect marketing consent.

• For instance, you might:

  • Use a checkbox for email consent on one form.

  • Use an explicit opt-in step on another.

• This granularity helps with:

  • Compliance (different laws in different countries).

  • Ensuring you’re only messaging people in the way they agreed to.

Web pixel tracking on customer account pages:

• Shopify has opened up web pixel tracking on customer account pages.

• If you use marketing pixels or analytics (like a Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics), you can now include those on:

  • Account dashboard.

  • Order history pages.

• This helps you:

  • Get visibility into post-purchase behavior or actions in the account area, which historically were hard to track.

  • Gain a fuller picture of the customer journey beyond just product and checkout pages.

  • Retarget or analyze behavior more comprehensively.

All these features work together to help you market more effectively with less manual work. You can:

• Expand your reach via Shopify’s network and external channels.

• Craft targeted campaigns using Shopify’s data and AI suggestions.

• Engage customers through multiple touchpoints (email, SMS, in-app), all from your Shopify admin.

Key takeaway: Shopify is turning your store into part of a larger commerce network and giving you the tools to personalize how you connect with every potential customer.

Smoother Checkout and Payment Options

Checkout is where the money is made, and Shopify has introduced several tweaks to reduce friction and offer more flexibility at this critical stage. Here’s what’s new for checkout and payments in Winter ’26.

Personalized Shop Pay button

If your customers use Shop Pay (Shopify’s accelerated checkout), they’ll notice something neat:

• The Shop Pay button now shows the last 4 digits of their saved credit card.

• Example: “Checkout with Shop Pay • Visa ending 1234.”

This subtle change:

• Reassures customers which card will be charged.

• Makes it super clear and quick to proceed (they don’t have to recall which card is linked).

• Boosts trust and speed:

  • Customers recognize their card immediately.

  • They’re more likely to complete the payment without hesitation.

Tailored checkout by market or customer group

Shopify now lets you customize your checkout and account pages based on:

• The customer’s market (country).

• Whether they’re B2B or B2C.

Practically, this means you can:

• Create different checkout experiences for different audiences.

• Show certain messaging, fields, or branding for:

  • EU customers vs. US customers.

  • Wholesale clients vs. regular customers.

Examples of customizations:

• B2B checkout might include:

  • Purchase order numbers.

  • Tax-exemption fields.

• Regional checkout might include:

  • Local legal notices.

  • Different shipping or tax messaging.

All of this is done through the Checkout editor:

• No custom code required.

This is powerful if you:

• Sell internationally.

• Serve different customer types.

You can:

• Localize and personalize the checkout experience.

• Reduce confusion.

• Reduce cart abandonment.

Shop Pay Installments (Buy Now, Pay Later) in more places

Shopify’s built-in Buy Now, Pay Later option (Shop Pay Installments) has been a hit in some countries. Now:

• It’s launching in the UK.

• UK shoppers can:

  • Split purchases into installments (with terms up to 24 months) at checkout.

  • This can increase conversion for higher-ticket items.

Klarna expansion:

• Klarna, a popular BNPL provider, is now integrated with Shopify Payments in:

  • Belgium

  • Denmark

  • Finland

  • France

  • Switzerland

  • Czechia

  • Ireland

  • Portugal

If you use Shopify Payments:

• You can offer Klarna in those regions.

• Customers can pay over time.

• It’s a competitive checkout feature especially in Europe.

Apple Pay integrated into Shop Pay

Many customers love using Apple Pay for its one-tap ease.

• Now, Apple Pay is available within the Shop Pay flow.

• If someone opts to use Shop Pay, they can choose Apple Pay as the payment method (if on an Apple device) without leaving the Shop Pay accelerated checkout.

This essentially:

• Combines two fast checkout methods.

• Gives the customer whichever they prefer.

• Increases the chance of a quick, successful payment.

Expiration reminders for subscription payments

If you sell subscriptions and use Shopify’s native subscription tools (via Shop Pay):

• Failed payments from expired cards can be a headache.

Shopify’s solution:

• Automatically remind customers when their saved card on Shop Pay is about to expire (for active subscriptions).

• The customer gets a nudge to update their card details before the next billing.

• This should reduce churn from cards going bad.

This happens:

• Behind the scenes.

• You don’t have to manually chase subscribers for new cards.

It’s a nice quality-of-life improvement for subscription-based businesses.

Seamless switch to Shopify Payments

If you’re using a third-party payment gateway and have been hesitant to switch to Shopify Payments (maybe due to fear of downtime or setup hassle):

• Shopify has made it a breeze.

• They introduced a zero-downtime switch to Shopify Payments.

• You can migrate your payment processing to Shopify’s system without taking your checkout offline at all.

Onboarding improvements:

• Sign-up forms for Shopify Payments are shorter.

• Guidance is clearer.

• They even use AI to help auto-fill details where possible.

The goal:

• Remove friction in getting you onto Shopify Payments.

• Unlock benefits like:

  • Better integration.

  • Potentially lower fees.

  • Multi-currency support.

  • Compatibility with features like Shop Pay and local methods.

More local payment methods for Europe

Shopify is continuing to expand the variety of payment methods you can offer shoppers around the world.

Example: Merchants in France using Shopify Payments can now accept popular payment methods from neighboring countries:

• Bancontact (Belgium’s debit system).

• iDEAL (huge in the Netherlands).

• Twint (widely used in Switzerland).

• Blik and Przelewy24 (Poland).

• MobilePay (Denmark).

• EPS (Austria).

This is great if you have cross-border European sales:

• Customers can pay with the method they’re comfortable with.

• This often boosts checkout completion.

Overall, these checkout updates are about:

• Reducing friction.

• Catering to customer preferences.

A more personalized, localized checkout (different per country or segment) means:

• Less confusion for the buyer.

Offering popular payment options – whether it’s a new BNPL choice or a local banking app – means:

• More customers find a method they trust.

The polish on Shop Pay (card indicators, Apple Pay inside, subscription safeguards):

• Keeps Shopify at the forefront of fast and easy checkout experiences.

All of this adds up to:

• Higher conversion rates.

• Happier customers at the final step of their purchase.

Improved Operations and Analytics

Running the day-to-day aspects of your business – from managing inventory to fulfilling orders to analyzing data – also gets easier with this round of updates. Shopify has delivered a ton of operational improvements.

Here are the key ones and what they mean for your workflow.

More flexible inventory transfers

Inventory management can be messy in the real world, so Shopify added flexibility.

Now you can:

• Create and receive stock transfers without specifying a source location upfront.

• If stock shows up and you’re not sure which warehouse it came from (common with supplier drop-offs), you can still record it.

You can also:

• Edit in-transit transfers.

• If a shipment was split or delayed, you can update it on the fly.

These changes:

• Let Shopify better accommodate complex inventory scenarios.

• Help your records stay accurate.

Flash sales across warehouses:

• If you run flash sales or high-demand drops across multiple warehouses, Shopify now supports using multi-location inventory for flash sales without overselling.

• It will intelligently allocate stock from all locations to meet orders.

• Prevents sell-through of one location from causing out-of-stock issues prematurely.

Quick Sale on mobile

Need to sell something in person right now without setting up a full POS cart?

• The Shopify mobile app now has a Quick Sale feature.

• This lets you:

  • Quickly select one or more products on your phone.

  • Create a one-off checkout.

  • Accept payment immediately (using Tap to Pay on phone or by sending the customer a payment link).

Perfect for on-the-go scenarios:

• You meet someone who wants to buy your product then and there.

• You’re at a small event without your full POS setup.

In just a few taps:

• You can collect the sale.

• You can provide a receipt.

Store monitoring from your wrist

If you have an Apple Watch, Shopify’s updated Watch app gives you:

• At-a-glance store metrics and widgets.

You can check:

• Total sales.

• Orders.

• Live traffic or other key stats.

It’s customizable:

• You choose which metrics matter to you.

This isn’t just a gimmick:

• For busy entrepreneurs, being able to quickly see how the day is going (even if your phone’s in your pocket) is super convenient.

• It’s like having a mini-dashboard on your wrist.

Passwordless login for staff/admins

Tired of typing your password?

• Shopify now supports passkeys for logging in.

• You can use your device’s:

  • Fingerprint.

  • Face ID.

  • PIN.

• To access Shopify securely without a password.

This modern authentication (based on WebAuthn) is:

• More secure.

• More convenient.

Set it up once and:

• Your fingerprint or face scan can log you into your Shopify admin in a flash.

• No more password resets or sharing passwords with staff.

It’s optional, but highly recommended for ease of use and security.

AI-assisted chargeback responses

Chargebacks happen, unfortunately. To help merchants respond effectively, Shopify can now:

• Auto-generate a chargeback (dispute) summary for you.

When you go to fight a chargeback, Shopify will:

• Compile key info like:

  • Tracking numbers.

  • Delivery confirmations.

  • Customer’s order history.

  • Your store policies.

• Into a draft response.

You can:

• Edit or add to it.

• But much of the tedious work is done.

This:

• Speeds up preparing dispute documents.

• Ensures you include relevant evidence.

• Can improve your odds of winning the case.

Richer analytics and reports

Shopify’s analytics dashboard got several upgrades to help you derive insights.

Heatmaps:

• You can now view certain data (like sales) as a heatmap across two variables.

• Example: a heatmap of sales by:

  • Hour of day.

  • Day of week.

• Quickly reveals patterns, such as:

  • Tuesday evenings are strong.

  • Weekend mornings are slow.

• You can act on these for staffing or promotions.

Customizable top-N:

• Reports that list “Top products” or “Top referrers” used to be capped at 5 items in some charts.

• Now you can:

  • Change the number of items displayed.

  • Show a top 10, 20, etc.

• This gives a fuller picture in one view without exporting data.

Bot traffic filtering:

• To make your conversion rates and traffic analytics more accurate, Shopify now lets you:

  • Exclude bot traffic from your reports.

• Automated bots (like scrapers or malicious traffic) can:

  • Inflate your visitor counts.

  • Make your conversion rate look lower than it truly is.

With filtering:

• You’ll get cleaner data.

• You’ll be assessing real customer behavior, not noise.

No date limits on inventory history:

• Previously, Shopify only kept 180 days of inventory change history.

• That cap is gone.

• You can now access the full history of inventory adjustments.

This is useful if you want to:

• Audit stock changes over a longer period.

• Investigate an issue from more than 6 months ago.

Minute-level granularity:

• Need to analyze the impact of a short flash sale or a site outage?

• Shopify analytics can now filter data down to the minute.

• Example: If you did a 2-hour promo drop, you can:

  • Isolate just that time frame.

  • See its performance.

This precise timing is valuable for:

• Pinpointing exactly when spikes or drops happen.

• Correlating them with events.

Organization-wide view (for Plus):

• If you have multiple stores under one organization (Shopify Plus), you get a new:

  • Single view of analytics across all stores.

• You can:

  • Compare metrics between stores.

  • See aggregate performance.

This helps central teams:

• Quickly gauge overall business health.

• Avoid logging into each store individually.

Order management improvements

Fulfilling and editing orders is now more efficient.

More powerful filters on the Orders list:

• The Orders list in admin got more powerful filters.

• You can now filter orders by:

  • Custom metafields.

  • Total order value.

  • Weight.

  • And more.

Examples:

• See all orders over $1000.

• See all orders with a certain custom tag/field.

This is great for:

• Tailoring your fulfillment workflow.

• Example workflows:

  • Filter heavy orders to prioritize.

  • Filter by a custom attribute like “Gift wrapped” to process those together.

Editing orders with duties/taxes:

• If you edit an order that’s not fulfilled yet:

  • Customer changed their mind on a variant.

  • You need to swap an item.

Shopify will now:

• Automatically recalculate duties, taxes, and totals.

Previously:

• This sometimes required manual adjustments, especially for international orders with duties.

Now:

• It’s handled for you.

• Ensures:

  • The customer is charged the correct new total.

  • Order financials stay accurate.

Safer bulk inventory updates:

• If you do large bulk edits to inventory, Shopify has added safeguards to prevent accidental overrides.

• The bulk editor will:

  • Color-code changes you’re about to save.

  • Show warnings if something looks off.

  • Ask for confirmation before applying massive changes.

This extra step can:

• Save you from mistakenly zeroing out inventory.

• Prevent other errors that could disrupt sales.

Discounts on fulfilled items (for refunds):

• Sometimes a customer wants a partial refund on something they’ve already received (e.g., a price adjustment or appeasement).

• Shopify now allows you to apply a discount in a refund for items that were fulfilled.

• This maintains correct tax calculations and reporting.

In practice:

• If you need to give $10 back on a $50 item (instead of a full return), you can:

  • Do it cleanly.

  • Shopify will record it properly as a discount/refund on that item.

Automation and workflow updates (Shopify Flow)

If you use Shopify Flow (the automation tool, available to Advanced and Plus), good news – it got a major upgrade.

Preview workflow results (dry run):

• You can preview workflow results before turning them on.

• This “dry run” feature lets you:

  • Test an automation in Flow.

  • See what it would do (which orders it would affect, what emails it would send, etc.).

• Without actually executing it on real data.

This helps:

• Catch mistakes in your logic before they impact customers.

Redesigned Flow editor:

• The Flow editor has been redesigned in a vertical layout with more space.

• If you build complex workflows, this is a lifesaver because:

  • You can see more steps at once.

  • You can navigate large automations more easily.

• It feels more like a big canvas now, rather than a cramped box.

Cancel running workflows:

• You can now cancel running workflows.

• If a Flow automation is triggered and going through a bunch of actions (say, processing a ton of backlogged orders), and you realize something’s wrong or you just need to halt it, you can stop it mid-run.

• You can:

  • Cancel individual runs.

  • Cancel multiple runs in bulk.

This level of control ensures:

• You’re never stuck watching an automation do something you don’t want it to do.

Customer service and policy perks

A couple more things.

Store credit emails:

• When you issue store credit to a customer (using Shopify’s Store Credit feature), Shopify will now:

  • Send an email notification to the customer automatically.

• The email is customizable.

• It lets them know they have credit available.

This is great because:

• Customers are more likely to come back and use the credit if they’re reminded of it.

• Reduces the chance that credit is forgotten.

Managed Markets improvements (US-only):

If you’re a US merchant selling internationally through Shopify’s Managed Markets program, Shopify now provides:

• Instant compliance checks for each market.

• Faster payouts for international orders.

• Full control over Harmonized System (HS) codes for your products.

In simpler terms:

• Shopify will help ensure you meet local regulations when selling abroad.

• It will get your money to you faster.

• It lets you tweak the import/export code for a product if needed to classify it for customs.

This:

• Reduces the headaches of global commerce.

• Helps you expand knowing Shopify has your back on compliance and logistics.

As you can see, Shopify went all out on operational enhancements. The theme is work smarter, not harder:

• Automations to reduce manual work.

• Safeguards to prevent errors.

• Richer data to inform decisions.

Whether you’re fulfilling 10 orders a day or 10,000, these improvements will:

• Help streamline your backend tasks.

• Give you more clarity on how your business is running.

New Ways to Engage Shoppers on the Shop App

If you haven’t explored it yet, Shop is Shopify’s consumer-facing shopping app (for iOS and Android) that lets customers:

• Track packages.

• Discover products from Shopify stores.

Winter ’26 brings several updates to the Shop app as a sales channel, which can help you reach and convert mobile shoppers who use the app.

Dynamic personalized storefronts

The Shop app now gives each user a personalized feed of products on your Shop storefront.

• The products a customer sees from your store in the app will be tailored to their:

  • Browsing behavior.

  • Purchase behavior.

Examples:

• If they often shop for sneakers, the Shop app might highlight your sneaker products first.

• If they’ve shown interest in a certain category, it’ll bubble those items up.

This automatic personalization can:

• Lead to higher engagement.

• Improve conversion because customers see more of what they’re likely to buy.

As a merchant:

• You don’t have to do anything.

• Shopify’s algorithms handle the recommendations.

• It’s good to know that relevance is being optimized constantly in the app.

Deals feed for promotions

The Shop app introduced a new “Deals” tab/feed where users can:

• Browse current sales, discounts, and offers from various stores.

If you run a discount (through Shopify’s discounts or a Shop Campaign):

• Your offer could appear in this Deals feed.

• This exposes it to high-intent bargain hunters who are scrolling for a good deal.

• It’s essentially free extra advertising for your sale.

This incentivizes:

• Running promotions that Shop can feature – especially major seasonal sales.

• Because it might attract new customers who discover you via the app’s Deals section.

Make sure to:

• Tag or set up your discounts clearly.

• So Shop knows you have an active deal.

Shoppable videos

To make shopping more interactive, you can now add short video content to the Shop app for your store.

Think of these like shoppable:

• TikToks.

• Instagram Reels.

But within the Shop ecosystem.

You could upload:

• A 15-second product demo.

• An unboxing.

• A lifestyle clip showing your product in action.

Shopify’s AI will then:

• Optimize the distribution of these videos.

• Decide when and to whom to show them in the app for maximum impact.

The videos are shoppable:

• Users can tap and go straight to the product page to buy.

This is a powerful way to:

• Engage customers who prefer visual storytelling.

As a merchant:

• Creating a few catchy videos (even repurposed from your social media) could boost visibility in the app.

Customizable product pages in Shop

You now have more control over how your products appear in the Shop app.

• Shopify is allowing merchants to customize their Shop app product pages with:

  • Sections.

  • Images/videos.

  • Brand elements.

You can:

• Preview exactly how it looks before it goes live.

This means your Shop presence doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all:

• You can make it feel like a mini-version of your storefront.

• With rich content and a branded feel.

Examples:

• Add a size chart section.

• Add a lifestyle image gallery.

• Add a review carousel to your product page in Shop.

This gives customers:

• All the info they need without leaving the app.

It’s an opportunity to ensure:

• The Shop app experience is consistent with your web store in quality and detail.

Better discovery through Shop Minis

Shop Minis are like mini-apps or AR experiences inside the Shop app (for example, virtual try-on for sunglasses or outfit builders).

Now:

• If your products are relevant to any Shop Mini experiences, they will automatically appear for users using those features.

Example:

• There’s a virtual try-on Mini for sneakers.

• You sell sneakers.

• Your products might show up as options in that Mini without you doing anything.

This is great because:

• It means more eyeballs on your items in interactive contexts.

• It syndicates your catalog to new discovery surfaces where engaged shoppers are playing around with products.

Expanded order tracking coverage

A core feature of the Shop app is:

• Letting customers track their packages (even from multiple stores) in one place.

Shopify has expanded this to 21 more countries, including:

• Major markets in Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc.).

• Other regions beyond Europe.

What this means for you:

• More of your international customers will be inclined to use the Shop app to track their orders.

• If they’re in the app tracking an order from you, they might:

  • Browse your Shop storefront.

  • See your recommendations.

Essentially:

• The more customers using Shop app, the better for merchants on Shopify.

• It can lead to repeat discovery.

Now that tracking works in most of Europe:

• You might promote the Shop app as a convenient tool for customers to follow their delivery.

• Especially useful during holiday rushes or for high-value items.

Overall, Shopify is turning the Shop app into a richer, more personalized shopping destination. As a merchant, you should:

• Consider the Shop app as an extension of your sales channels.

• Remember: It’s not just a package tracker.

• It’s a place where:

  • New customers can find you.

  • Existing customers can keep engaging with your brand post-purchase.

The Winter ’26 updates make it more worthwhile to:

• Invest a little time in your Shop app presence.

• Upload a video.

• Customize your page.

• Ensure your deals are active.

Shopify is doing a lot behind the scenes to:

• Match the right products with the right shoppers there.

Wholesale (B2B) Enhancements

If you do B2B or wholesale selling through Shopify (or are thinking about expanding into wholesale), the Winter 2026 Edition brought notable improvements specifically for B2B commerce.

Shopify continues to build out features that make it easier to run a wholesale channel alongside direct-to-consumer.

Shopify Collective goes global

Shopify Collective is a program that allows Shopify merchants to partner up:

• A supplier can list products that other Shopify merchants (retailers) can import and sell in their stores.

• Shopify simplifies the ordering between them.

Originally limited geographically, Collective is now:

• Available in 35 additional countries.

This means you can:

• Source products from Shopify suppliers around the world to expand your catalog.

• Offer your products to a global network of Shopify retailers.

The admin interface:

• Lets you browse products and add them, almost like an app store for merchandise.

It’s a fast-track to:

• Finding new wholesale partners.

• Avoiding traditional trade shows or brokers.

• Doing wholesale on a global scale.

ACH bank payments for B2B (US)

B2B orders can be large, and sometimes customers prefer paying by bank transfer.

Now:

• Shopify supports ACH payments at checkout for B2B orders (for Plus merchants in the US).

Your wholesale customers can:

• See an option to pay by linking a bank account.

• Use a method that often has lower fees and is convenient for big invoices.

You can also:

• Charge a saved bank account later directly from the admin for:

  • Reorders.

  • Net terms payments.

This built-in option:

• Saves you from dealing outside Shopify or using manual bank wires.

• Integrates neatly with Shopify Payments for tracking.

B2B directory – suppliers meet retailers

In Shopify Collective, there’s now a Retailer Directory where:

• Suppliers can discover and connect with potential retailers.

So not only can retailers search for products, but:

• Suppliers can proactively reach out or list themselves to get picked up by stores.

If you’re a brand looking for more wholesale distribution:

• This makes Shopify a two-way street.

• You can find shops who might want to carry your line.

It’s essentially:

• A networking tool within Shopify to grow B2B partnerships.

Payment requests per fulfillment

If you often split B2B orders into multiple shipments (partial fulfillments):

• It used to be tricky to manage payments for each part.

Now Shopify allows you to:

• Send a separate payment request for each fulfillment on a B2B order.

Example:

• A wholesale buyer places one big order.

• You ship it in three batches over time.

• You can bill them in three installments – charging each time a shipment goes out.

Instead of:

• Charging all upfront.

• Or using clunky workarounds.

This can help:

• With cash flow for both you and the buyer.

• Align payment more closely with delivery.

This feature is exclusive to Shopify Plus.

Store credit for B2B customers

Just like you might issue store credit to retail customers for refunds or goodwill, now you can:

• Issue store credit to B2B company accounts as well.

This credit can be:

• Tied to a specific company.

• Tied to a specific location of that company.

This is great for:

• Managing bulk order adjustments.

• Providing loyalty credits for business customers.

The next time that company places an order:

• They can apply the credit.

It brings parity with D2C:

• Makes B2B feel more like a first-class citizen in your system.

Local pickup for B2B

Wholesale customers (especially local ones) sometimes want to pick up orders to:

• Save on shipping.

• Get it faster.

Now you can:

• Allow B2B customers to choose local pickup at checkout, just like retail customers.

This is handy if you have:

• A warehouse.

• A showroom.

• Nearby wholesale clients.

They can:

• Place an order through your online portal.

• Pick it up, with Shopify handling:

  • Scheduling.

  • Notifications.

Similar to the retail pickup process.

Dynamic payment terms and deposits (via Functions)

Every B2B deal can have its own terms:

• Net 30.

• 50% upfront deposit.

• Other custom arrangements.

Out-of-the-box Shopify can’t always accommodate this, so Shopify leverages Shopify Functions (custom backend logic) to enable advanced scenarios via apps.

They announced:

• You can now use third-party or custom apps to set dynamic payment terms and deposit requirements for B2B orders.

Examples:

• Require a 20% deposit at checkout and the rest Net 45.

• Give certain companies Net 60 terms automatically.

This needs:

• A developer.

• Or an app.

But the platform now supports it, and it’s exclusive to Plus.

Key point:

• If you have complex terms, Shopify can handle it now.

• You might work with a Shopify partner to set it up.

• You don’t have to manage those offline anymore.

Custom order review rules (via Functions)

Similarly, using Shopify Functions, Plus merchants can set up rules to:

• Auto-flag certain B2B orders for review.

For example:

• If an order is over $10k.

• If it contains a certain high-risk product.

You can:

• Mark it for manual approval before it goes through.

This ensures:

• You can double-check big or sensitive orders (for credit or inventory reasons) on your terms.

• Nothing slips through that shouldn’t without a second look.

More B2B-compatible apps

The app ecosystem is catching up to B2B needs.

Shopify highlighted 11 new apps compatible with B2B features. These cover:

• Letting buyers request quotes.

• Creating shopping lists.

• Multiple staff accounts with roles on the buyer side.

• Other wholesale-friendly functions.

This means:

• As a merchant, you have more plug-and-play options to extend wholesale functionality without custom building everything.

If you’ve felt something was missing (like a proper quote builder or advanced wholesale catalog):

• Check the Shopify App Store for new additions.

Instant product imports for retailers

For the retailer side of Collective, Shopify made it faster to add supplier products.

• If a supplier offers a “public” price list, a retailer can:

  • Import those products into their store immediately.

  • No need to wait for approval.

This allows:

• Small shops to quickly add a new brand’s products.

• Example: import 50 products in minutes and start selling.

Speed is improved for onboarding products.

Better data integration (ERP syncs)

Many larger merchants use ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems like:

• NetSuite.

• Brightpearl.

• Others.

Shopify announced:

• Pre-built integrations (through partners like Patchworks, etc.).

• To sync companies, orders, and payment terms with popular ERPs.

If you run an ERP, this means:

• Shopify can fit more seamlessly into your existing wholesale order workflows.

• Reduces double entry and errors.

Example:

• Orders placed on your Shopify wholesale channel can:

  • Flow into the ERP as draft orders automatically.

Streamlined product publishing for retailers

When a retailer imports products from a supplier via Collective, now those products will be:

• Published to all sales channels by default.

Previously:

• A merchant might import them and then have to manually make them available on their online store, POS, etc.

Now it’s automatic:

• They show up live, ready to sell right away.

• You can always hide them if needed.

This:

• Saves time.

• Ensures new products don’t accidentally remain unseen because someone forgot to make them visible.

B2B-ready themes (Horizon themes)

If you use Shopify’s new Horizon theme series, note that all Horizon themes now natively support key B2B features like:

• Volume pricing tables.

• Quantity rules.

• Quick order lists.

This means:

• A wholesale customer shopping on your online catalog will see things like:

  • “Buy 10+, get bulk discount price.”

• They can:

  • Fill a list of SKUs/quantities easily.

This is all:

• Styled.

• Working out-of-the-box.

• Which wasn’t always the case with older themes.

So your wholesale online store interface can be just as smooth as a retail one, with less theme hacking.

Takeaway for B2B merchants:

• Shopify is serious about making the platform B2B friendly.

• Many pain points (payments, custom terms, multi-location, finding partners) are being addressed.

If you’ve been handling wholesale orders outside Shopify or on clunkier systems:

• It’s worth looking again at Shopify’s B2B offering now.

If you’re on Plus:

• You have even more tools to tailor the wholesale experience to your business model.

Better Financial and Cash-Flow Tools

Running an e-commerce business isn’t just about selling – it’s also about managing:

• Cash flow.

• Payments.

• Financial operations.

Shopify’s Winter ’26 updates include several enhancements to:

• Shopify Capital.

• Shopify Balance.

• Shopify Credit.

• Other financial services.

These can help you manage money more effectively.

Continuous funding with Shopify Capital Flex

In the past:

• Shopify Capital gave you fixed cash advances or loans.

Now:

• Shopify has introduced a more flexible option – a Shopify Capital Flex Account.

How it works:

• You apply once.

• If approved, you get an ongoing line of funding you can tap into as needed.

• As you repay, those funds become available again (like a revolving credit).

You only:

• Incur fees on the portion you’ve taken out.

• Not the whole approved amount.

Essentially, it’s like:

• Having a pre-approved pool of capital for your business.

• You can dip into it during:

  • A slow season.

  • A big inventory purchase.

  • An emergency.

• Without reapplying each time.

This can greatly:

• Smooth out cash flow ups and downs.

Currently US-only.

Automated budgeting with Shopify Balance

Shopify Balance (the integrated business banking account) got smarter.

You can now:

• Set up automatic transfer rules for each payout that hits your account.

Example:

• Automatically divert 10% of every payout to a “Taxes” sub-account.

• Automatically divert 20% to an “Inventory restock” account.

This way:

• Your budgeting happens on autopilot.

• Every time you get paid, you’re also:

  • Saving for known expenses.

  • Saving for profit goals.

No more:

• Manually moving money around.

• Accidentally spending the tax money.

Balance basically becomes a:

• Handy cash management tool.

Staff expense cards with controls

Shopify Balance now lets you:

• Issue physical or virtual Balance cards to your staff (team members).

• Set spending limits or restrictions on each.

Use cases:

• Employees or contractors need to:

  • Buy supplies.

  • Pay for ads.

  • Cover small operational expenses.

Instead of:

• Sharing one founder’s card.

• Messy reimbursement processes.

You can:

• Give them a company card with a defined budget.

• See their spending in your Balance account.

• Control how much they can spend and where.

This is a US-only feature.

Shopify Capital in more countries

Shopify Capital’s reach is expanding in the other direction too.

• It launched in:

  • The Netherlands.

  • Spain.

  • Ireland.

Merchants in those countries can now:

• Access funding offers from Shopify to fuel their growth.

It’s still not everywhere, but:

• It’s good to see Europe getting more coverage.

If you operate there:

• You might soon see Capital offers pop up if you qualify.

International profit insights

For global businesses, Shopify will now help you:

• Track profit margins by market.

This means:

• You can see, after taking into account:

  • Duties.

  • Taxes.

  • Shipping differences.

• How profitable you are in each country or region you sell to.

Sometimes:

• You might be selling a lot to a certain country.

• You don’t realize the margins are thin due to:

  • High shipping costs.

  • Duties you’re absorbing.

This tool:

• Brings those details to light.

• Helps you adjust pricing or strategy per market.

• Ensures healthy profits.

USDC payment rewards

In a nod to the crypto world, Shopify is offering an incentive for transactions done in USDC (USD Coin), which is a stablecoin cryptocurrency.

If you accept USDC as payment on your store (Shopify supports some crypto payments):

• You will earn an automatic credit (rebate) on every USDC order.

This credit:

• Shows up in your order timeline.

• Eventually appears in your payouts:

  • Either in fiat (regular currency).

  • Or USDC, depending on how you settle.

It’s like:

• Getting a small cashback for crypto orders.

Currently:

• For merchants in:

  • US.

  • Mexico.

  • Hong Kong.

Crypto payments are still a tiny slice of e-commerce, but Shopify is:

• Encouraging adoption.

• Essentially lowering effective fees or sweetening the deal for USDC orders.

Same-day ACH payouts

If you use Shopify Balance and often transfer funds out to other bank accounts:

• It’s now faster.

Transfers initiated from your Balance account by 1pm Eastern time can:

• Arrive in the target account the same business day.

This is:

• A big improvement over standard ACH (often 1–2 business days).

If you need to move money quickly:

• Pay a vendor.

• Cover a time-sensitive expense.

You can do so without waiting till tomorrow.

Again, US-only since ACH is a US system.

Unified card dispute management

Handling disputes or chargebacks on your:

• Shopify Balance card.

• Shopify Credit card.

Is now easier.

Shopify has added a feature to:

• File and track card transaction disputes directly in your Shopify admin.

If a fraudulent charge appears on your Shopify-issued card, you can:

• Initiate the dispute through Shopify.

• Monitor its progress.

• Avoid calling a separate bank.

This interface is:

• Clear.

• Self-serve.

It saves time and:

• Keeps financial tools in one place (your Shopify dashboard).

• Simplifies your workflows.

Better credit card rewards (Shopify Credit)

For those using Shopify Credit (Shopify’s business credit card), the cashback rewards cap has been increased.

Now:

• You earn 3% cashback on up to $250,000 of spend per year in your top spending category (like marketing, shipping, etc.).

• Before, the cap was lower.

After hitting $250k in that category:

• It drops to 1% for that category.

• Other categories are 1% flat.

This effectively means:

• More rewards back for high-spending merchants.

• Potentially thousands of dollars more in cashback annually if you max it out.

Dynamic credit limits (Shopify Credit)

Shopify Credit also got smarter by introducing dynamic credit limits.

Rather than a fixed credit line, the card can:

• Automatically adjust your limit based on:

  • Your Shopify sales performance.

  • Your repayment history.

If your business is growing rapidly:

• Your card limit can grow in tandem.

This gives you:

• More purchasing power when you need it.

It’s a nice touch that:

• Aligns credit availability with real business metrics.

• Helps avoid moments where you hit a limit unexpectedly.

Mobile check deposits

For those rare times you get paid by old-fashioned check:

• You can now deposit checks into Shopify Balance using the mobile app’s camera.

• Similar to a modern banking app.

There are:

• No fees for that.

• No trips to the bank.

It’s a small but useful addition to make Shopify Balance a:

• Full-fledged replacement for a traditional bank account.

Real-time fraud alerts

Shopify is adding more security too.

If you have a:

• Shopify Balance card.

• Shopify Credit card.

You’ll now get:

• SMS text alerts for any suspicious transactions.

If someone:

• Gets your card info.

• Tries to use it.

You’d know immediately and:

• Could take action.

This kind of real-time fraud detection is:

• Essential for peace of mind.

• Helps keep business funds safe.

In summary, Shopify is deepening its role as not just your store platform, but your financial partner. These updates help you:

• Access capital more flexibly.

• Manage your money effortlessly.

• Protect your earnings.

If you haven’t explored Shopify Balance or Credit:

• Now might be a good time.

• The benefits (automated budgeting, cashback, integrated tools) are increasingly compelling versus traditional banking.

Faster, Simpler Shipping and Fulfillment

Fulfilling orders quickly and cost-effectively is crucial for e-commerce success. The Winter ’26 release brings improvements to Shopify Shipping and fulfillment features to streamline your post-purchase operations.

Built-in FedEx return labels

Handling returns can be a hassle, but Shopify is making it easier in the admin.

You can now:

• Create, send, and track FedEx return shipping labels directly in Shopify.

If you ship with FedEx (Shopify Shipping supports it in the US), you can:

• Generate a return label for a customer.

• Email it to them, all from your Orders page.

The labels have:

• Pay-on-scan rates:

  • You only get charged if/when the label is used.

  • You benefit from discounted Shopify rates.

This saves you time and gives customers:

• A convenient, professional return process.

• They don’t need to buy postage themselves; you’ve got it covered.

Default package per product variant

To get more accurate shipping rate calculations, you can now:

• Assign a default package size to each product variant.

Example:

• Poster uses a tube package.

• Mug uses a box.

When a customer buys a single item:

• Shopify will automatically use the default package’s dimensions/weight to quote shipping at checkout.

• This is more precise than generic defaults.

It also speeds up label buying:

• If the order is one item, the correct package is pre-selected when purchasing postage.

This is especially useful if:

• Your products vary a lot in size and weight.

Custom sender name on labels

You now have the option to choose:

• What sender name appears on your shipping labels (the “From” name).

This matters for:

• Privacy.

• Branding.

• Legal requirements.

Examples:

• You run a storefront under a different name than your personal or business name.

• You sell sensitive products and want a generic name for discretion.

Shopify lets you set this so your labels (and the return address visible to customers):

• Show the name you prefer.

More third-party fulfillment partners

Shopify’s Fulfillment Network (SFN) now integrates with an expanded list of 3PL (third-party logistics) partners, including big names like:

• Amazon.

• Bigblue.

• DHL.

• GoBolt.

• Mayple.

What this means:

• If you use any of these fulfillment services, you can connect them to Shopify.

• You can track performance in one place.

• Likely manage inventory and orders across providers via Shopify’s unified interface.

This is part of Shopify’s plan to:

• Be the central hub even if you outsource fulfillment.

• Let you leverage multiple fulfillment centers easily if needed.

Expanded cross-border label options (US & Canada)

If you’re shipping internationally from the US or Canada, Shopify Shipping now supports more label types.

Canada:

• Buy:

  • DHL Express DDP (Delivered Duty Paid).

  • DHL Express DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid).

  • Canada Post DDP labels.

US:

• Buy:

  • DHL eCommerce DDU labels for international shipments.

These additions:

• Widen the shipping methods you can offer for cross-border orders directly through Shopify.

• Potentially save money.

• Improve customer experience (e.g., avoiding surprise fees on delivery when you use DDP).

More global carriers integrated

Shopify Shipping has added support to buy labels for:

• Royal Mail in the UK.

• Australia Post in Australia.

• DHL Express in Canada.

So if you’re in those regions, you can:

• Print those labels without leaving Shopify.

• Often benefit from Shopify’s negotiated discount rates.

This is great for:

• UK, Australian, and Canadian merchants who want the convenience and savings US merchants already had with USPS, UPS, etc.

Having local carriers integrated means:

• You can manage shipping completely from your Shopify admin in those countries too.

“In-progress” fulfillment status

In Shopify’s order fulfillment workflow, they’ve introduced an “In progress” status for fulfillments.

This new state sits between:

• “Unfulfilled”.

• “Fulfilled”.

You can use it when:

• You’ve started working on an order but it’s not fully shipped yet.

The fulfillment detail card in the admin was redesigned to allow you to:

• Add internal notes to fulfillments.

• Run bulk actions on orders in progress.

• Manage partial fulfillments more clearly.

In practical terms:

• If you have orders that take time to prepare (made-to-order items, multi-day packing, etc.), you can mark them as “In progress”.

• Your team knows it’s being handled.

Customer service benefits:

• If a customer inquires about an order, you can:

  • Confidently say “we’re working on it”.

  • See that status clearly.

It’s a small but useful workflow improvement to keep track of orders that are:

• Neither untouched.

• Nor fully done.

All in all, these updates aim to make your shipping:

• Faster.

• More reliable.

• More controllable.

Integrated returns, precise shipping settings, and more carrier options can:

• Save you money.

• Keep customers happy with smooth deliveries and returns.

If you haven’t reviewed your shipping setup in a while:

• Now might be a good time to check these new features out.

• You might find you can streamline things and even reduce costs with Shopify’s built-in tools.

Under the Hood: Platform and Developer Innovations

While the changes above directly touch what you as a merchant will use, Shopify also rolled out a lot of developer-focused features in Winter ’26.

These don’t require action from you, but they’re worth knowing about because they will:

• Shape the apps and customizations available to you.

In essence, Shopify is making it easier for developers to build powerful commerce solutions – and that ultimately benefits merchants with better tools.

Here’s a quick overview in non-technical terms.

Commerce in every app (Agentic Commerce)

We talked about Shopify Agentic for merchants earlier (selling via AI chats). On the developer side, Shopify released tools to let developers easily:

• Plug Shopify shopping capabilities into all sorts of apps and AI agents.

This means we might see:

• A wave of new integrations where customers can buy your products in places like:

  • Chatbots.

  • Smart assistants.

  • Custom shopping apps.

Developers can:

• Tap into Shopify’s checkout with just a bit of code.

The idea is:

• Commerce everywhere.

As this evolves, you as a merchant could:

• Benefit from new sales channels that developers create using these tools.

Sidekick extensibility and app discovery

Shopify is encouraging app developers to integrate with Sidekick (the AI assistant).

As a result:

• You’ll start seeing that Sidekick can:

  • Recommend apps to you.

  • Even install them for you if needed.

Example:

• You ask Sidekick “How can I add customer reviews to my store?”

• It might suggest some top-rated review apps (especially those with the “Built for Shopify” badge).

• It can let you install one right from the chat.

Developers can now:

• Build Sidekick App Extensions that allow Sidekick to interact with their apps.

What this means:

• In the future, you might ask Sidekick:

  • “Give me a report of my loyalty program points issued this month.”

• Sidekick could fetch that from your loyalty app if it has an extension.

It’s about:

• Making apps more accessible through conversation.

Higher-quality apps and themes

Shopify is continuing its push for quality in the ecosystem.

“Built for Shopify” apps:

• Apps that meet stringent guidelines.

• Are now featured more prominently in the App Store and recommendations.

• You’re more likely to find apps that are:

  • Trustworthy.

  • Well-integrated.

Developers get:

• A 60-day grace period to fix issues if their app falls out of compliance.

• Fewer apps suddenly disappearing or breaking.

Themes:

• Shopify is improving discovery with:

  • Smarter filters.

  • Letting theme developers include interactive demos.

• When you shop for a theme you can:

  • Test drive it more easily.

The result:

• Finding the right app or theme is easier and safer.

• Less trial-and-error with flaky apps.

Faster, smarter app development

Shopify introduced a new suite of developer tools (under the name “Dev MCP”) that use AI to:

• Help code.

• Catch errors in real-time.

You may not care how apps are built, but this is good news:

• It means apps can be developed and improved faster.

• With fewer bugs.

New Admin Intents API:

• Allows apps to trigger admin workflows with one line of code.

• Example: An app could:

  • Create a product.

  • Update an order in your admin.

They also:

• Upgraded the Bulk Operations API to handle bigger jobs faster (like updating 100k products at once).

For you, this means:

• Apps, especially those dealing with large catalogs or data, should:

  • Become more efficient.

  • Be less likely to bog down.

Liquid and customizations (Shopify Functions replacing Scripts)

Shopify’s coding language Liquid (for themes) and Shopify Functions (for custom logic) saw improvements.

Notably:

• Shopify Functions will fully replace Shopify Scripts in June 2026.

If you’re on Shopify Plus and have used Scripts (for custom discount logic or shipping rules):

• You’ll be migrated to the newer Functions framework.

• Functions are:

  • Faster.

  • More secure.

Shopify is:

• Giving plenty of notice and tools to test.

• Providing a binary testing tool to compare Script and Function outputs.

Bottom line:

• These new Functions can do almost everything Scripts did, but better.

• Your customizations will run quicker at checkout.

If you’re not on Plus:

• This might not affect you directly.

• But it could enable new apps offering nifty checkout customizations via Functions.

Headless commerce and AI discovery

For those using Shopify in a headless way (separate front-end):

• Shopify is making sure they’re not left out.

Hydrogen (Shopify’s headless framework) and the Storefront API:

• Are now integrated into the new AI coding tools for developers.

Also:

• Even headless stores will be discoverable in AI chat platforms.

• Shopify will:

  • Automatically include them in the same catalog that Agentic uses.

So if you:

• Ever go headless.

• Use custom storefronts.

You still:

• Benefit from the AI commerce wave.

Miscellaneous developer goodies

There are many other enhancements, for example:

• Tangle: a new visual tool for building machine learning models.

• Improved performance analytics:

  • Help app devs speed up apps in different regions.

• New APIs for:

  • Point-of-sale extensions.

  • Cart customization.

  • Shop Minis/AR.

Without diving too deep:

• Shopify is ensuring that if you have a unique need, a developer can probably build a solution on Shopify’s platform.

• It’ll work reliably and securely.

Examples:

• The new Shop Minis SDK:

  • Could lead to more AR or interactive shopping experiences you can plug products into (e.g., more AR try-on).

• New POS APIs:

  • Make complex retail workflows possible.

Takeaway:

• You don’t directly interact with these platform updates.

• They enable the vibrant ecosystem of apps, themes, and integrations you rely on.

Shopify is:

• Doubling down on AI and modern tech to maintain its edge.

As a merchant:

• You’ll keep seeing innovative features and apps that help you sell more.

• You don’t need to jump to another platform to get cutting-edge tools.

It’s comforting to know:

• The foundation of your store is continuously improving.

• Shopify is staying ahead of the curve.

Conclusion: What Winter ’26 Means for Your Store

The Shopify Winter 2026 Edition (aptly nicknamed the Renaissance Edition) is massive. It spans everything from:

• AI-driven tools and novel sales channels.

• Practical enhancements in marketing, checkout, and operations.

• Hardcore infrastructure and developer upgrades.

As a Shopify store owner:

• You don’t have to use every single new feature.

• But it’s great to have so many options at your fingertips.

You might:

• Experiment with the AI Sidekick to free up time.

• Expand your catalog via the Product Network.

• Tweak your checkout for different markets.

• Enjoy behind-the-scenes improvements like faster analytics or easier returns.

Take a moment to identify which updates align with your business goals:

• If you struggle with time or expertise:

  • Let Sidekick handle some tasks.

• If you want to boost sales:

  • Explore Shopify Product Network.

  • Try the new marketing segmentation tools.

• If you serve local customers or run a physical store:

  • Check out the POS updates.

  • Consider Uber Direct integration for local delivery.

• If you sell internationally or wholesale:

  • Look at Markets and B2B upgrades.

• If you want more mobile shoppers:

  • Consider the Shop app changes and shoppable videos.

Shopify is giving merchants of all sizes:

• Capabilities that used to be reserved for big companies with huge IT budgets.

• A more accessible, user-friendly way to use those capabilities.

That’s the big picture:

• Shopify is leveling up the playing field for you.

So:

• Explore these new features at your own pace.

• Don’t be afraid to try the ones that could solve a pain point or open a new opportunity for your store.

The Winter ’26 Edition is all about renaissance – reinventing how you can do commerce – and it’s exciting to imagine how these tools, in your hands, will shape the next chapter of your business.