Shopify Partners and Merchants Updates

As a consistently evolving ecosystem, Shopify frequently announces product and company updates relevant to its merchants, partners, and App developers. It is important to stay up to date on the updates Shopify elects to release, as they are a leader in the independent entrepreneur e-commerce space and have the influence to set the course for where e-commerce platform giants will focus their efforts. From improved integration of POS systems with back office, analytics to releasing functionalities to different countries and in multiple languages, Shopify’s product features impact not only e-commerce sellers but brick-and-mortar retailers, app developers and consultants.

FE works closely with hundreds of Shopify entrepreneurs to help them exit plan and successfully sell their businesses, so we wanted to keep a log of the most essential releases from the e-commerce platform giant.

Check this post regularly for the most significant updates from Shopify.

Shopify Updates – October 2022

Shopify announced its financial results for the quarter that ended September 30, 2022, reporting gross merchandise volume rose by 11% to $46.2B. That’s an increase of $4.4 billion compared to the third quarter of 2021.

Merchant Solutions revenue also increased by 26% to $989.9 million compared to the year prior. This increase was driven primarily by the growth of merchants continuing to utilize native software solutions to run greater parts of their businesses.

These results beat previous estimates, proving that despite a more challenging macroeconomic climate and a stronger dollar, the company will continue strategically navigating the future of commerce.

You can view the full summary of Shopify’s Q3 financial results here.

Additionally, Shopify is officially decommissioning its Exchange Marketplace. The platform will no longer be available for merchants to sell or buy stores starting November 1, 2022. Any merchants with a current listing are expected to receive more information via email.

SHOPIFY UNITE 2022 | Shopify Updates

The sixth annual Shopify Unite conference made a comeback in person this year, hosting 250 Shopify partners in the ecosystem at Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto, Canada. If you were lucky enough to snag a ticket to this exclusive event, it was well worth the travel and two full days spent in sessions, workshops, and at nightly networking events.

The content was positioned to mainly benefit the developer community within the ecosystem, however the talks and workshops have always been one piece of the entire experience that partners can benefit from.

Keynote Speakers at the event included Dion Almaer, VP Engineering, DX, Shopify, Aloka Penmetcha, Senior Product Lead, Shopify and Farhan Thawar, VP, Engineering, Shopify.

“By far the highlight of the Shopify Unite Toronto stop for me was being able to connect developers that I’ve only interacted with online. It was great to hear about developers’ experiences pushing the boundaries of Shopify, as well as learn what we can do to improve the current workflows and APIs. The feedback we receive at these events is invaluable to our product teams, so I’m extremely grateful to all the developers who shared their ideas and use cases.” – Liam Griffin, Theme Developer Advocate, Shopify.

Main Stage Talks

We’ve summarized the main ideas of the talks using these categories:

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is a front-end web development framework used for building Shopify custom storefronts. While this doesn’t have a lot of applicable use cases for app developers as its primary use case is for building headless commerce platforms. Custom storefronts or Mobile Storefront apps can utilize the code to improve speed and server side rendering for improved optimization.

Headless Commerce/Storefronts

Headless commerce is a new avenue that Shopify has begun to focus more on. Typically, headless platforms have the back and front ends operate independently (unlike how Shopify functions currently) but, with the increased push towards their custom storefront option, Shopify is poised to show that it also can operate in that space with Hydrogen and Oxygen leading the way.

Checkout Extensions

Checkout Extensions are a huge change in how Plus stores will be able to more easily customize their customers’ checkout experience. Historically, the checkout needed to be edited on a shop-by-shop basis, directly in the theme code. With Extensions, developers can now build one to many apps that can edit checkout pages without the need for custom code.

App Design Guidelines

The App Design Guideline program is intended to improve scalability of Shopify apps on multiple devices with a strong focus on mobile-first merchants. Additionally, its layout guidelines will provide a seamless merchant experience when moving from a Shopify created part of the admin, and a 3rd party created app. This is done with the use of new layout examples and suggestions of using Shopify’s own resource library, Polaris.

Grouped Metafields

This was announced at this Unite and the developer community rejoiced. It’s a huge advantage to developers and stores because it means that there will be a way to associate metafields with each other. For example, right now if you create an “Icon” metafield and a “Text” metafield – there is currently no way of visually tying those together in the admin, so it gets messy very quickly when you have a lot of metafields.

Shopify Functions

Shopify Functions currently will only be usable in tandem with the Checkout Extensibility changes coming down the pipe. What it allows developers to do is, customize backend logic that will fire every time a certain criteria is met, and will result in the same output each and every time. A good example is an app that is designed specifically to create a discount code that would fire every time a customer has a specific combination of products in their cart when they head over to checkout. It’s repeatable and predictable, and no longer needs to be done within the merchant admin fighting with weird conditions, and is simply created by installing an app.

Office Hours

For app or theme developers, reserving office hours with the Shopify team was an opportunity to gain feedback on the pros and cons of your solution with actionable tips to take home for future development sprints.

Making Connections

The connections gained at Shopify Unite are the real benefit of making the trip for those looking to exit or acquire businesses within the space. Whether you are an app developer, an agency specializing in theme development, a marketing agency, a Shopify employee, or in M&A looking to buy or sell businesses in the ecosystem, making one-on-one connections naturally facilitates business opportunities.

As the conference was smaller in number of attendees than in the past, this allowed for deeper connections and conversations throughout the two-day event. As a founder or developer, the relationships you can form at this event can be evergreen and provide you with resources throughout the life of your business. Whereas as an agency, an acquirer or if you’re in M&A, you’re able to gain insight into what truly keeps developers or founders up at night and even given the chance to provide a possible solution.

“Shopify Unite is one of those must-attend events for our agency. While it lacks some of the direct response sales KPIs of events that have merchants, the conversations with other Shopify entrepreneurs pay exponential dividends. From new partnerships and referral relationships, tag-teaming projects, and coaching others, the opportunities are seemingly endless. The content shared at Unite is useful as well. Learning about new features and upcoming product functionality always keeps our team at the head of the curve. Finally, the location was awesome. I hope everyone took advantage of a walk around the park behind the venue.” – Chase Clymer, Electric Eye and host of Honest Ecommerce Podcast.

“Unite week was an exceptionally great week for me and In Social, as I not only made new connections, but I’ve already scheduled or had a few follow up meetings to discuss partnerships and business relationships since.” – Jessica Grossman, In Social.

Sponsors

This was the first Shopify Unite that showcased partner sponsors with booths situated between refreshments and the main stage. Senior-level employees were available to answer questions while handing out company swag.

Shopify Unite Swag

Shopify spared no expense in their efforts to bring brand awareness to this exclusive event. All the swag provided was branded with “Unite” on it and was certain something of envy to our peer’s post conference given the limited number of attendees. Shopify even provided a Homesick candle to remember your favorite smells of Toronto as well as the branded comfortable t-shirt.

To Wrap It All Up

Shopify used Unite as an event for the developers, giving them extra insight into their Shopify Editions releases that were announced earlier this year. Unite was portrayed as this inside look into valuable information directly from those most knowledgeable within the ecosystem, as well as making people envious of relationships you could build within this tight niche community. As Shopify continues to grow and be a black box when it comes to their latest announcements, it is imperative to foster the relationships built within the community.

Interested in learning more about what your Shopify agency or App might be worth? Click here for a free, no obligation valuation or contact us at info@feinternational.com. We are available to answer any questions you may have about the selling process.

Shopify Updates – August 2021

As of August 1, Shopify developers can benefit from the 0% revenue share plan, where they can keep up to 100% of the revenue they earn on the Shopify App Store on the first $1M earned. Additionally, total app revenues that exceed $1M will now be subject to 15% revenue share, compared to the previous 20%.

This is good news if you are a Shopify app developer looking to sell your business, as this 20% reduction in Shopify fees will effectively cause a 25% increase in your valuation. For example, on $100 earned, previously developers would receive $80. Now, they will receive this additional $20 directly, which translates to a 25% increase (i.e. $20 is 25% of $80).

In lieu of the Shopify fees, Shopify will now be charging a 2.9% processing fee to developers.

As a reminder, app developers will need to opt in for a reduced revenue share plan for apps that are sold through the Shopify App Store. To benefit from this plan, all partner accounts must complete the registration. This can be done in the apps section of the Partner Dashboard.

Remember: This is limited to one developer account. If you are the owner of multiple apps, they all fall under this $1M threshold. The amount a Shopify app partner has earned will reset to $0 every year on January 1.

Shopify Updates – June 2021

At Shopify Unite 2021, the e-commerce giant announced their largest set of platform investments yet. They include substantial changes to their developer-entrepreneur revenue share agreements, storefronts, and checkouts.

Developer-Entrepreneurs

Beginning August 1, 2021, Shopify developers will keep 100% of the revenue they earn on the Shopify App Store, up to $1M, compared to an 80%/20% split previously. Once revenue reaches over $1M, Shopify App developers will only pay 15%. The $1M benchmark resets annually. Because of this recent change, FE International will use a forward-looking valuation model to incorporate the recent commission structure changes, resulting in a positive uptick in the valuation of Shopify Apps.

Storefronts

Shopify is upgrading their online store experience. Merchants will be able to customize and better showcase their brands while also integrating apps, without having to code. New developer features that are launching include: sections for personalization on all pages, theme app extensions and a new editor experience. Developers are in luck, as Shopify will now open their Theme Store for submissions on July 15, 2021, and are also launching new tools and a new default theme. What else is new? Custom storefronts, Metafields and custom content.

Checkout

Didn’t think Shopify checkout was quick enough? Their checkout service will now be faster. Their goal is for a single merchant to be able to “sell 300,000 pairs of sneakers in eight minutes.” They are also introducing checkout extensions, Shopify Scripts and a new Payments Platform that will integrate third-party payment gateways into checkout. These new features will create new growth opportunities for merchants with their sales.

Shopify Updates – April 2021

In Shopify’s April 19, 2021, newsletter, they announced changes to the Price List API, store access controls, metrics in the Shopify App Store ads reporting dashboard and the Shopify Plus Certified App Program.

Shopify rolled out the Price List Admin API as part of its 2021-04 API release. It enables users to configure international pricing with ease by implementing percentage price adjustments and fixed variant prices. These are applied in the online store and during checkout.

Owners and staff members with “manage members” permission can now manage team members’ access using the Shopify Partner Dashboard. The level of access options are as follows: no access, access to all stores or access to specific stores. Those with “manage members” permission can also archive, add or transfer ownership of stores.

The latest update to the Shopify App Store ads reporting dashboard includes the addition of metrics to help you measure your return on ad spend and optimize your ad campaigns. These changes will enable users to make more informed decisions that will positively impact their return on investment.

New apps have been added to the Shopify Plus Certified App Program, which help Shopify merchants find solutions and apps to build and scale their businesses. The newcomers are:

• Katana MRP
• Veeqo – Inventory and Fulfillment
• Riskified
• ShipHero Fulfillment
• ShipBob
• ShipStation

Shopify API Release July 2020

• The billing API now supports annual charges, including automatic renewal and prorated upgrades. You can learn how to migrate your existing subscriptions here. Traditionally, apps would use single “single-use” charges once per year but this approach suffered from various problems, particularly when processing upgrades and re-approval of charges.
• Due to the difficulties of scaling to receive webhook traffic directly from Shopify, you can ow use an Eventbridge integration to plug event data directly into AWS. This integration gets rid of the complications of a queueing system.
• Shopify now supports the input of localized information at checkout to comply with local regulations. Many country-specific fields can now appear during checkout, and new ones are likely to start appearing in the following months.
• GraphQL’s access errors now provide more details on what went wrong and links to the required documentation.

SHOPIFY (RE)UNITE 2020 | Shopify Product Updates

Each year, Shopify hosts Shopify Unite, its annual conference for merchants, partners and developers, to announce significant product updates released by the e-commerce platform giant. Here, we report back on the major updates:

Money

• Shopify balance account, card and rewards
• Shopify Capital update – UK and Canada now included.
• Launch of Shop Pay Installments – in the US later this year. Customers can pay in four installments.

Online Store

• New Express theme – designed for a one-page shopping experience and optimized for mobile
• Gift cards made available to help support struggling businesses
• Tipping built into the online checkout
• Local domains and custom FX for international sellers
• New online store design experience

Omnichannel and Marketing

• All new Shopify POS – “a fully redesigned, rebuilt, and extensible point-of-sale system with omnichannel capabilities at the forefront”
  • Contactless checkout
  • See what’s in store
• Shopify Email, including new email templates
• Free listings on Google Shopping
• Facebook Shops – Syncs into Facebook or Instagram for a new shopping experience
• Shopify Ping messaging app
• “Shop” personal shopping assistant

Back Office

• Product States – “create a product and save it as a draft, add more details later, hand it over to a team member, and publish it when they’re ready.”
• Faster product creation
• Purchase Orders – helping to order, track, and receive inventory from suppliers
• Orders list page redesigned

Shipping

• New delivery and pickup methods including local and curbside pickup
• Shopify Fulfillment Network – extra $1B investment over the next four years

Performance

• Storefront renderer – improvements in load times in live stores
• Online store performance dashboard

Here is a full article on the announcement.

SHOPIFY Q1 Revenue Report – May 6th 2020

Shopify reported its first-quarter revenue and temporarily made it Canada’s largest public company. The e-commerce company’s shares initially surged 6.8% and pushed it above RBC in terms of market cap. As the Coronavirus pandemic has brought more businesses online, the company has reported a 47% increase in sales from the same quarter last year. During the pandemic, Shopify launched a redesigned point of sale service to offer more flexibility in moving inventory, including curbside pickup and local delivery options.

The e-commerce giant says it is closely monitoring the impact that rising unemployment has on new shop creation as well as consumer spending as habits continue to transition to online shopping. In the report, CEO Tobi Lutke said: “We are working as fast as we can to support our merchants by retooling our products to help them adapt to this new reality.”

SHOPIFY introduces “SHOP” – April 28th, 2020

Shopify has introduced Shop, a first-of-its-kind shopping assistant app for customers and merchants alike. Designed to bridge the gaps in online shopping, Shop offers users the ability to easily discover local businesses, receive relevant product recommendations from their favorite brands, check out effortlessly, and track their online orders. The app is an update and rebrand of Arrive, an app for tracking packages from Shopify merchants and other retailers, which the company says has been used by 16 million consumers.

With Shop, customers will have a faster online checkout experience with Shop Pay to help lift conversion by up to 18% for returning customers, and by providing relevant recommendations, help merchant stores drive repeat business. “Shopify has focused the last decade on solving complex problems for entrepreneurs by making commerce seamless and accessible,” said Carl Rivera, general manager of Shop. He added, “Shop will not include any ads, and it will be available for free to both shoppers and brands.”

SHOPIFY UNITE 2019 | Shopify Product Updates

This year saw a strong focus on merchant usability, augmented reality, vertical integration across merchant and partner touchpoints, international expansion and developer accessibility. The focus on improved user experience is indicative of Shopify’s comprehensive understanding of what merchants and developers need from an e-commerce platform, a key component in its strong share of the vast (and continuously growing) e-commerce seller market. Following the announcements, Shopify’s stock [NYSE:SHOP] rose c.8%—even as the market dipped overall—to reach its highest PPS the yet this year (YTD +121%).

Here are the most signification updates announced at the conference:

Developer Product Updates

• 10 popular open-source libraries become compatible with GraphQL
• Shopify App Bridge adds Feature Detection
• Automated code generation via Shopify App CLI
• Developer previews of new APIs to support API versioning
• Shopify App store translated into 10 new languages

Shopify Fulfillment Network

• Shopify Fulfillment Network launches fulfillment centers with smart inventory-allocation technology using machine learning to optimize shipping, featuring:
  • One back office
  • Cycle counts to maintain inventory visibility
  • 99.5% accuracy
  • Dedicated account manager

POS

• Loyalty and promotion details visible directly in the cart
• Redesign of Shopify POS for faster checkout and with a unified back office
• Improved developer accessibility, including compatibility with all current apps

International Expansion Updates

• Ability to sell in multiple languages via Translations API
• Manage publishing of alternate locales via Shop Locale API
• Ability to sell in multiple currencies rolls out to Shopify merchants worldwide

Core Store Updates

• Improved ease of storefront design (no code required) via:
  • ‘Sections’ on every page
  • master pages facilitating mass changes to particular page types
  • preconfigured content sections within themes
  • portable content vs stored in themes
  • drafts capability
  • new user interface
• Checkout app extension moves subscription app purchases to within Shopify checkout
• Native video and 3D model asset support for products
• Media APIs to associate products with videos and 3D model assets

Backoffice

• Fulfillment API improves tracking and visibility into order fulfillment
• Delivery Profiles API maps shipping rules by location
• Edit open orders via new Order Editing API
• 11 new languages for Shopify Admin
• 10 new languages for Partner Dashboard

Shopify Plus

• Completely new Shopify Plus to improve insights and management of multiple stores
• Shopify Flow moves to Shopify Plus

Here is a full article on the announcement.

Interested in learning more about what your Shopify store or App might be worth? Click here for a free, no obligation valuation or get in touch with us at info@feinternational.com. We are available to answer any questions you may have about the selling process.